# Introduction

> **If you know your way around CDK already, you can jump to the CLI and DSL references directly:** - [@trayio/cdk-cli](https://tray.ai/documentation/developer/connector-development-kit/reference/cli-reference)
> - [@trayio/cdk-dsl](https://tray.ai/documentation/developer/connector-development-kit/reference/dsl-reference)Make sure you check out the [sample connectors repo](https://github.com/trayio/CDK-examples-public) which covers a variety of examples / use cases.

Tray has a huge library with hundreds of connectors for 3rd party Services.

Two general scenarios which would necessitate the use of the Tray CDK are:

* You are looking to integrate with a 3rd party service and Tray does not have an existing connector for the service.
* You are looking for some API operations which aren't yet covered in an existing connector.

Tray's Connector Development Kit allows you to build a connector for any 3rd party service.

In this guide, we'll show you how to:

1. Install and run the CDK CLI (Command Line Interface)
2. Obtain your organisations namespace
3. Create a new connector project
4. Set up testing for your connector
5. Run your first test

Once your set up is ready i.e. you have run your first test, you can jump to the quickstart to start development.

## Prerequisites

***

### Languages / environments

* [Node](https://nodejs.org/en) (v18 or higher)
* [Typescript](https://www.typescriptlang.org/download)

> **You are not required to be a Typescript expert to build a connector.** Knowledge of Javascript with a basic understanding of Types is sufficient. Here are some resources to get you started:* [TypeScript for the New Programmer](https://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/handbook/typescript-from-scratch.html)
> * [TypeScript for JS Programmers](https://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/handbook/typescript-in-5-minutes.html)
> * [Basic Types](https://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/handbook/2/basic-types.html)

## Install CDK CLI

***

Open a terminal window and:

`npm install -g @trayio/cdk-cli`

This will install the CDK CLI globally on your machine.

'Globally' means the CDK commands can be used from a terminal window on any folder.

Test the installation of CDK using:

`tray-cdk version`

This will show the CDK CLI version that's installed along with your system architecture and node version you are using.

So, depending on your version, something like the following:

```cli
@trayio/cdk-cli/3.0.0 darwin-arm64 node-v20.9.0
```

## Create or retrieve your organisation namespace

***

Before deploying a connector to Tray platform, you will need to obtain your organisational 'namespace'.

To create a namespace for your organisation use the following:

`tray-cdk namespace create ORGID NAMESPACE [--us] [--eu] [--ap]`

To retrieve a namespace for your organisation the following:

`tray-cdk namespace create ORGID NAMESPACE [--us] [--eu] [--ap]`

Where \[ORGID] is the UUID of your organisation, which can be found in the tray app URL eg. `https://app.tray.io/workspaces/[UUID]`

When creating a namespace we recommend:

* Associating with your company’s legal entity or brand name
* Choose a shorter name over a longer one
* Hyphens are supported, numbers and other symbols are not supported
* For example `enter-company-name`

> **Each Tray organisation is limited to one namespace. However, you can use the same namespace across multiple organisations owned by use (e.g. for eu or ap can share the same namespace).** 

## Create a new Connector project

***

Now open a terminal window in the folder where you want to build your connector project.

For example, this could be `~/projects/tray-connectors`

### Initialize project

***

Then run the following command:

`tray-cdk connector init [CONNECTOR_NAME]`

Where \[CONNECTOR\_NAME] is the name of your connector eg. `tray-cdk connector init acme`

> **We recommend doing the next steps in a terminal window within an IDE such as VS Code so you can visualize the folder structure.** 

### Install dependencies

***

`cd` to the newly created connector folder e.g. `cd acme`

Now run:

`npm i`

This will install the project dependencies.

> **Tip: When intializing a project, you can simultaneously install the dependencies using the \`-i\` or \`--install\` flag e.g. \`tray-cdk connector init acme -i\`:** 

## Test your installation

***

Each time a project is initialized a test connector with one operation is installed.

To test your setup, you can run:

`npm test`

You should see the following message in your terminal:

```cli
> acme@1.0.0 test
> jest --config ./jest.config.js

 PASS  src/get_product/handler.test.ts
  Operation get_product Test
    ✓ should get a product (353 ms)

Test Suites: 1 passed, 1 total
Tests:       1 passed, 1 total
Snapshots:   0 total
Time:        1.316 s
Ran all test suites.
```

Now you can continue to the quickstart on the next page.

This will guide you on how to add new operations, add test auth, test operations and finally deploy your connector.