Connections
Connections let you link the places you already keep your work, Google Drive, Google Calendar, Notion, and Dropbox, so Chat can find and read from them without you downloading and re-uploading anything.
Every connector is read-only. Google Calendar is the one exception, and only to add an event when you explicitly ask. Nothing you connect can be edited, moved, renamed, shared, or deleted by Scholarly. Chat only receives a connector's tools after you connect it, and you can disconnect any of them at any time.
For Google Drive specifically, you choose files through Google's Picker, including native Docs and Slides, and those tools can access only the files you selected.
Scholarly reads only the Drive files you pick through Google's Picker. It cannot browse the rest of your Drive, and it never edits, moves, or deletes anything already in it. A connection also lets you save finished work out to Drive as a new Google Doc or Google Slides file, that always creates a separate copy and never changes an existing one.
What You Can Do
| Connection | What you can do | What Scholarly cannot do |
|---|---|---|
| Google Drive | Search and read the files you share through the Drive picker, including selected Google Docs and Slides, and use them as sources in Chat, Deep Research, and create windows. Save finished pages, generated documents, research reports, videos, and podcasts out to Drive as new Google Docs or Google Slides files. | Browse the rest of your Drive; edit, move, share, or delete files that are already there. |
| Google Calendar | Read your schedule, listing, searching, and opening events on your primary calendar, and add an event when you ask Chat to. | Update or delete events, respond to invitations, or share calendars. |
| Notion | Find and read pages, query databases, read comments, and use your workspace as a source in Chat. | Create, edit, move, or delete anything in Notion. |
| Dropbox | Find files, browse folders, inspect file details, and read supported documents, using them as sources in Chat. | Edit, move, delete, or share your files. |
Scope, Per Connector
The connectors differ in an important way, and it is worth knowing which you are choosing:
- Google Drive is file-by-file. Scholarly reads only the files you hand it through Google's Picker. It cannot see the rest of your Drive.
- Notion and Dropbox are account-wide searches. Once connected, Chat can search across what that account can reach, which is the point, since you are asking it to find something whose location you cannot remember. Both remain strictly read-only, and your own Notion permissions and workspace settings still apply on top.
If you would rather keep a source out of reach entirely, do not connect that service and upload the specific file instead.
Size and Account Notes
- Dropbox reads text from documents up to 5 MB. For something larger, upload the file directly.
- Google Drive supports more than one account. Scholarly uses the default account unless you name another one.
- Notion supports more than one workspace, and expired access can be reconnected without starting over.
- Google Calendar connects separately from Google Drive, even though both are Google accounts.
When you connect more than one Drive account, Scholarly uses the default account unless you select another account in your request or source.
How to Connect
- Open Connections in the sidebar, directly below Library.
- Open the Google Drive card.
- Click Connect (or Add account if Drive already has an account).
- Continue to Google, choose the account, and approve access to files you select with the Picker.
Repeat these steps for any additional Drive accounts you want to use. Each account appears on the Google Drive connection page with its own reconnect and disconnect controls. If a Drive Picker asks you to connect, completing that flow adds Drive access for the chosen account.
Connecting Notion, Dropbox, or Google Calendar
Same route, different card:
- Open Connections in the sidebar.
- Open the Notion, Dropbox, or Google Calendar card.
- Press Connect.
- Sign in to that service and approve the access it shows you.
You are brought back to Scholarly once it completes. If you cancel, or sign-in cannot be completed, the card says so and you can try again, with nothing left half-connected.
For Notion, repeat this for each workspace you want available.
Picking Files
When you open the Drive picker, you'll see your Drive and can select one or more files. Scholarly supports:
| Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Google Workspace | Google Docs, Sheets, Slides |
| Documents | PDF, Word (.docx) |
| Presentations | PowerPoint (.pptx, .ppt) |
| Text | Plain text, Markdown, CSV |
Files you pick become visible to Chat's Drive tools from then on. Native Google Docs and Slides use this same Drive connection; they do not need separate connection cards or permission rounds. The number of sources you can combine at once depends on where you're creating and your plan, see Plans and Limits.
Managing Access
Open Connections in the sidebar, then open the Google Drive card to see its accounts:
- Connected: The account is ready for Drive.
- Reconnect needed: Google expired or revoked the Drive connection. Click Reconnect to approve it again.
- Default: Chat uses this account when your request does not name another one.
Disconnecting
Each Drive account has its own Disconnect button. Disconnecting one stops Scholarly from using that account; your other Drive accounts are unaffected.
If you open the Drive picker before connecting an account, Scholarly says Drive is not connected and points you to Connections rather than showing a generic error.
Saving Finished Work to Drive
With Drive connected, the Export menu on a finished page, generated document, research report, video, or podcast offers Save to Google Docs or Save to Google Slides alongside the Word, PowerPoint, and PDF options. Google Docs is offered wherever Word is, and Google Slides wherever PowerPoint is.
Without a connection, the same menu offers Connect Google Drive instead.
- Exporting creates a separate copy. The original stays in Scholarly with its sharing settings unchanged, and nothing already in your Drive is modified.
- Editable exports, Word, PowerPoint, Google Docs, Google Slides, require a paid plan, as do PDF downloads and printing. View-link sharing is available on every plan.
See Exporting Your Work for the full format-by-content-type matrix.
What's Not Available
- Reading Drive files you have not shared through the Drive picker.
- Searching all native Docs or Slides before you share them through the Drive picker.
- Editing, commenting on, moving, or deleting files that are already in your Drive. Saving finished work out creates a new file and leaves everything else untouched.
- Separate Google Docs or Google Slides connection cards; both file types use the same Drive connection.
- Writing to Notion or Dropbox. Both connectors only read.
- Updating or deleting calendar events, responding to invitations, or sharing calendars.
- Reading a Dropbox document larger than 5 MB. Upload it directly instead.
Privacy
- Every connection is opt-in. Nothing is connected by default, and Chat has no tools for a service you have not connected.
- Google shows the Drive permission before you approve it. Reading is limited to the files you choose; writing only ever creates new files you asked for.
- Your own permissions still apply. A Notion page you cannot see, Scholarly cannot see either.
- Disconnect any time from Connections, per Drive account, per Notion workspace, or per service.
- See the Privacy Policy for the full details on how connected-app data is handled.
Pricing
Connections are included on every plan, including Free.
Related
- Exporting Your Work, every format, and what saving to Google Docs or Slides does.
- Uploading Content, all the ways to bring material into Scholarly.
- AI Chat, using picked files in chat.
- Privacy, Cookies, and Your Data, what connected-app data is used for.
- Plans and Limits, source and plan limits.