Registry stack documentation: machine-readable Markdown.
Index of all pages: https://docs.registrystack.org/preview/llms.txt
Full corpus: https://docs.registrystack.org/preview/llms-full.txt

# Connect your data

> Move from the working Registry Stack sample to one reviewed workbook your institution owns.

Start from a working local sample, then replace its synthetic workbook with
one reviewed non-personal workbook. Registry Stack does not infer access
policy or safe fields from source data. You make those decisions in small
reviewed project files.

## Start from the protected sample

Complete [Run your first registry API](../tutorials/publish-spreadsheet-secured-registry-api/)
before adapting a source. The sample gives you a known-good project, a
loopback-only runtime, and maintained denied and allowed checks.

## Use a spreadsheet

Choose this path when the source is one reviewed `.xlsx` workbook with a
stable key, one selected worksheet, and a fixed set of columns.

[Use your own spreadsheet](../tutorials/use-your-spreadsheet/) walks from the
working sample to a strictly described workbook and protected API.

## Explore advanced source patterns

Registry Stack also documents bounded HTTP, reviewed script, exact snapshot,
and Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) source patterns. No
end-to-end tutorial is published for these advanced options.

Use [integration patterns](../explanation/integration-patterns/) to compare
their boundaries. Use the [configuration reference](../reference/project-configuration/)
to inspect the exact authored fields and validation metadata.

## Know what you own

| Surface | What it controls | Who changes it |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Workbook copy | The source rows and columns used by this project | Source owner |
| Entity file | The stable key, fields, types, and row limits | Project reviewer |
| Project file | The service purpose, caller scopes, filters, and returned fields | Project reviewer |
| Environment file | The workbook location, worksheet, callers, and local runtime | Environment operator |
| Generated build and runtime directories | Product configuration and local runtime state | `registryctl`; do not edit |

Keep real credentials and personal data out of tutorials and fixtures. Use a
reviewed non-personal derivative when you test institution-owned data.

## Next

- [Validate a project](../verify/)
- [Understand generated files and ownership](../generated-artifacts/)
- [registryctl CLI reference](../reference/registryctl/)