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Documentation Index

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Azure Blob Storage Logo

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Azure Blob Storage

Microsoft cloud object storage service

✅ Ready📖 Documentation Available

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What is this?

Azure Blob Storage is Microsoft’s cloud place to keep files — documents, images, backups, anything. This connector copies those files into PipesHub so you can search them from the PipesHub chat and knowledge base, just like any other document. You do not move or delete anything in Azure. PipesHub only reads the files.

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How Azure organises your files

Three words you’ll see again and again:
WordMeans
Storage accountYour top-level Azure storage. Like a house.
ContainerA folder at the top of the house. You can have many.
BlobOne file inside a container (PDF, image, CSV — anything).
When you set up this connector, PipesHub will read the blobs from the containers you pick.

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What you need before you start

  1. An Azure account with access to a Storage account.
  2. Permission to view the storage account’s Access keys (usually Owner or Contributor role).
  3. A PipesHub account where you can add connectors.
That’s it. You don’t need to install anything.

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Setup

Setup

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Step 1 — Get the connection string from Azure

The connection string is one long password-like line that tells PipesHub how to reach your storage. We just need to copy it.
  1. Go to https://portal.azure.com and sign in.
  2. In the search bar at the top, type Storage accounts and click it.
  3. Click the storage account you want PipesHub to read.
  4. In the left menu, click Security + networking → Access keys.
Azure Access keys page
  1. Under key1, click Show next to Connection string.
  2. Click the copy icon next to it.
You now have the connection string in your clipboard. Don’t close the tab yet — if something goes wrong you’ll want to come back.
Treat this string like a password. Anyone who gets it can read (and change) your storage. Don’t paste it into chat, email, or a public file.

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Step 2 — Open Azure Blob in PipesHub

  1. In PipesHub, look at the left sidebar.
  2. Under Workspace, click Connectors.
  3. In the list, find Azure Blob.
  4. Click Setup on its tile.
A panel slides in from the right. This is where you enter your details.

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Step 3 — Paste your connection string

The panel opens on the first tab, Authenticate Instance.
Authenticate Instance tab with Connection String field
  1. In Instance name, type a short name so you can recognise it later (for example Azure blob or Marketing files).
  2. Scroll to Connection String.
  3. Paste the string you copied from Azure.
  4. Click Next → at the bottom.
The eye icon next to the Connection String field hides and shows the value. Use it if you need to double-check what you pasted.
If you see “authentication failed”, the string probably has extra spaces or got cut off. Go back to Azure, click Copy on the connection string again, and paste it fresh.

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Step 4 — Choose how often to sync

The panel moves you to the second tab, Configure Records.
Configure Records tab with Sync settings
Under Sync settings there are two choices:
  • Sync Strategy — leave as Scheduled if you want PipesHub to update on its own. Pick Manual if you want to press a button every time.
  • Sync Interval — how often PipesHub checks Azure for new files. 1 Hour is a good starting point.
Not sure? Keep Scheduled and 1 Hour. You can change it later.

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Step 5 — (Optional) Narrow down what gets synced

If your storage account has lots of files you don’t need, you can tell PipesHub to skip some.Scroll to Indexing & sync filters. Click + Add filter on the right.A small menu opens with the fields you can filter by:
+ Add filter menu showing Container Names, File Extensions, Modified Date, Created Date
  • Container Names — pick specific containers
  • File Extensions — pick file types (e.g. PDFs only)
  • Modified Date — only files changed after / before / between dates
  • Created Date — only files created after / before / between dates
You only need filters if one of these is true:
  • You want only certain containers (not all of them).
  • You want only some file types (e.g. PDFs, not images).
  • You want only recent files (say, the last year).
Common examples:
  • PDFs only — field: File Extensions · operator: In · value: pdf
  • Skip images — field: File Extensions · operator: Not In · value: jpg, png, gif
  • Only one container — field: Container Names · operator: In · pick the container
If you don’t add any filters, PipesHub will sync every file it can read. That’s fine for small accounts.
When you’re done, click Save Configuration at the bottom of the panel.

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Step 6 — Turn sync on

You’re now on the Azure Blob instance page. You’ll see one row (your new instance).
Azure Blob instance card — sync not yet enabled
Right now it says Sync Paused. To start syncing:
  1. Find the Sync Enabled toggle on the right side of the row.
  2. Click it.
The status changes to Syncing and PipesHub starts reading your files.

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Step 7 — Check progress

Click anywhere on the row to open the Overview panel on the right.
Overview panel with Records Status tiles
Here you can see:
  • Total — how many files PipesHub has found.
  • Failed — files it couldn’t read (usually permission or file-type issues).
  • Processing — files it’s still reading right now.
  • Not Started — files waiting their turn.
  • Sync / Full sync buttons — press if you want to run a sync right now.
  • Manage Configuration — open the setup panel again to change credentials or filters.
You can close the panel and come back any time — the sync keeps running in the background.That’s it! 🎉 Your Azure Blob files are now searchable in PipesHub.

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First sync (full scan)

The very first time, PipesHub reads everything in the containers you chose. Big accounts take longer:
Number of filesRoughly how long
Under 1,0005 – 15 minutes
1,000 – 10,00015 – 60 minutes
10,000 – 100,0001 – 3 hours
Over 100,000Several hours or more
Tip: using filters (e.g. PDFs only) makes the first sync much faster.

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Later syncs (just what’s new)

After the first sync, PipesHub only looks at what changed:
  • New files — added.
  • Updated files — refreshed.
  • Deleted files — removed from search.
These later syncs are usually quick, even for big accounts.

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Who can see the synced files?

When you set up the connector you picked a scope:
  • Personal — only you can search the files inside PipesHub.
  • Team — everyone in your organisation can search them.
This only controls PipesHub. It does not change access in Azure.
Text-based files get read word-for-word so you can search inside them:
  • Documents — PDF, DOCX, PPTX, XLSX, ODT, RTF
  • Plain text — TXT, MD, CSV, JSON, XML, HTML
  • Code — .py, .js, .ts, .java, and more

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Synced but not searched inside

These are stored as records but their contents aren’t indexed for text search:
  • Images (JPG, PNG, GIF, …)
  • Video and audio
  • Archives (ZIP, RAR, …)
  • Other binary files
They still show up in results by filename.

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Troubleshooting

  • Go back to Azure, click Copy on the Connection string again, and paste it fresh in PipesHub.
  • Check you didn’t paste an extra space or line break.
  • If the connection string was recently rotated in Azure, you need the new one.
  • Make sure the storage account still exists.
  • Double-check the connection string is the right one.
  • Make sure the storage account has containers (blob containers, not file shares).
  • Some storage accounts have firewall rules — ask your Azure admin to allow PipesHub.
  • Give it a minute. The first sync on a large account takes time.
  • Check your filters — they might be excluding everything.
  • Make sure the connection string’s storage account actually has files.
  • Add filters (container names, file extensions, date range) to sync only what you need.
  • Very large accounts (millions of files) will always take several hours on the first run. Later syncs are fast.
Usually this means the Azure access keys were changed.
  • Go back to Step 1 and copy the new connection string.
  • In PipesHub, open the instance panel and click Manage Configuration.
  • Paste the new string on the Authenticate Instance tab and save.

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Frequently asked questions

Yes. On the Azure Blob instance page click + Add Another Instance and repeat the steps with the new connection string.
No. The connector only reads files. It doesn’t upload, move, rename, or delete anything.
On the next sync, PipesHub notices it’s gone and removes it from search.
Not directly. The easiest workaround is to filter by file extensions or split content into separate containers.
Yes. PipesHub stores it as a secret — it’s not visible in logs or to other users.