> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.custral.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Become a provider

> Apply for developer access, get approved, and open the provider portal where you build blocks for other workspaces.

## Overview

A **provider** is the name your integration is listed under when other workspaces install it. You get one by applying for developer access. Custral reads the application, and approving it creates your provider and opens the **provider portal** to you.

A provider belongs to your Custral **account**, not to a workspace. Switching workspace does not change what you see, and leaving a workspace does not take the provider with it.

<Note>
  Building something for your own workspace only? You do not need a provider. Create an [application and an API key](/dev/applications) instead.
</Note>

## Apply

<Steps>
  <Step title="Sign in and open the developer page">
    Go to [app.custral.com/developers](https://app.custral.com/developers). Signed out, the page shows **Sign in to apply** and brings you back after you sign in.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Fill in the application">
    Enter a provider name, an optional website, and what you want to build. The fields are described below.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Apply for access">
    The page changes to show your application as **with us now**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

| Field                          | What to enter                                                                                  |
| ------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Provider name**              | How your integration is listed to workspaces, e.g. "Northbeam". Must be unique across Custral. |
| **Website**                    | Optional. A bare host like `northbeam.io` is fine.                                             |
| **What do you want to build?** | What the integration does, and which workspaces it is for. This is what the reviewer reads.    |

## What happens next

| Outcome          | What you see                                                                                 | What to do                                                                      |
| ---------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Approved**     | An email saying your provider is approved, and **Open the provider portal** on `/developers` | Open the portal at [app.custral.com/provider](https://app.custral.com/provider) |
| **Not approved** | An email, and the reviewer's reason on `/developers`                                         | Address the reason, then click **Apply again**                                  |

Approval means you can build. It does not list you anywhere:

* **Your provider starts hidden.** No workspace is offered it in the connections catalog until Custral lists it.
* **Every block you create starts private.** An embed block reaches customers only after it passes [review](/dev/providers/register-an-embed#review).
* **Every module you create starts private.** Custral decides whether it is listed. The portal shows where it stands and has no control to change it.

## The provider portal

The portal is a separate area of the app at `/provider`. Its sidebar lists:

| Section                               | What it is for                                                                                            |
| ------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Overview**                          | Counts of your blocks by state (**Live**, **In review**, **Not approved**) and the one thing to do next   |
| **Embeds**                            | Your embed blocks. Start here: see [Register an embed block](/dev/providers/register-an-embed)            |
| **Workflow blocks** / **Task blocks** | Blocks that run inside a workspace's automations                                                          |
| **Modules**                           | Groups of blocks a workspace installs together, each showing whether Custral has listed it                |
| **Authentication**                    | How a workspace connects to your own service over OAuth, when your blocks call your API as that workspace |

A new provider's Overview says **Create your first embed**, with a **New embed block** button.

## Troubleshooting

| Symptom                                | Cause                                                                                                         | Fix                                                                           |
| -------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `provider_name_taken`                  | Another provider, including a built-in one like GitHub, already uses that name. Case and spacing are ignored. | Choose a different name.                                                      |
| `provider_access_pending`              | You already have an application waiting                                                                       | Wait for the decision. You can't submit a second one.                         |
| `provider_access_already_granted`      | Your account already holds a provider                                                                         | Open `/provider`. For a second provider, contact [support](/support).         |
| **Apply for access** stays disabled    | The name or the description is too short                                                                      | Fill in both. The website is the only optional field.                         |
| `/provider` sends you to `/developers` | Your account holds no provider, or you are signed out                                                         | Sign in with the account that applied, or apply.                              |
| No decision email                      | The email bounced or was filtered                                                                             | Revisit `/developers`. It always shows the current state of your application. |

## Related

* [Build for other workspaces](/dev/providers/overview): applications vs providers vs embeds
* [Register an embed block](/dev/providers/register-an-embed): your first block
* [Embed blocks](/dev/embeds/overview): the frame protocol and token


## Related topics

- [Developer Overview](/dev/overview.md)
- [Register an embed block](/dev/providers/register-an-embed.md)
- [Build for other workspaces](/dev/providers/overview.md)
- [Deliverability](/comms/deliverability/overview.md)
- [Typeform](/integrations/typeform.md)