# FAQ

## Basic concepts

### What is an item?

An item represents the connection between a user and a financial institution, together with all the data returned by that connection.

### What is an application, and which types are available?

An application is the pair of `clientId` and `clientSecret` keys used to reach the API. Handle them carefully: they are the only thing standing between the outside world and your data. You can create applications in both the `Development` and `Production` environments.

### What is the difference between an apiKey and a connectToken?

The [apiKey](/reference/auth/auth-create) grants access to the API. You obtain it from your Pluggy credentials (`clientId` and `clientSecret`) and it is valid for 2 hours.

The [connectToken](/reference/auth/connect-token-create) is the key used to open the Pluggy Connect widget — the graphical interface on top of the API. Getting a connectToken requires an apiKey first, and it lasts 30 minutes.

## Connectors and financial institutions

### What is the difference between Pluggy connectors and Open Finance connectors?

|                | Pluggy connectors (unregulated)         | Open Finance connectors (regulated)      |
| -------------- | --------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| **Technology** | Pluggy's own                            | Framework regulated by the Central Bank  |
| **Access**     | Direct to the financial institution     | Through the user's consent               |
| **Data**       | As shown in the internet banking        | Standardised and enriched                |

For more detail, see [Item](/docs/connections/item).

### How do I check which financial institutions are available?

There are three ways to look up the available institutions (connectors):

- **Documentation** — [Open Finance (regulated)](/docs/open-finance/overview#institutions-supported-by-open-finance) and [Pluggy connectors (unregulated)](/docs/connections/connectors-coverage).
- **API** — [`GET /connectors`](/reference/connector/connectors-list).
- **Dashboard** — the [Customization](https://dashboard.pluggy.ai/customization) tab.

### Which institutions need a token to connect?

The institutions that require a token are listed in [Connectors coverage](/docs/connections/connectors-coverage).

### How do I enable connectors in my application?

Open the **Customization** tab in the [dashboard](https://dashboard.pluggy.ai/customization).

### Can I skip the bank-selection step in the Pluggy Connect widget?

Yes. The `selectedConnectorId` attribute shows only the connector you pre-select. See [Environments and configurations](/docs/connect-widget/environments#available-configurations).

## Managing items and connections

### If a user connects the same account twice, are two different connections created?

Yes. Every time the user gives consent — entering credentials on a Pluggy connector, or picking which data to share on an Open Finance one — a new connection is created with a new `itemId`. To avoid this, create the connection once and update that same `itemId` whenever you need fresher data.

There is also a setting that checks whether the account has been connected before: see [avoiding duplicates](/docs/connections/item#avoiding-duplicates).

### How can I tell which of my users an `itemId` belongs to?

Send the `clientUserId` field when the item is created, or when you open the Pluggy Connect widget. It takes any string you like; we recommend `"name | email | cpf_or_cnpj"`. See the [connect token options](/reference/auth/connect-token-create).

### How do I revoke a consent (a connection)?

Delete the corresponding item through the API. That ends the connection and removes the data associated with it.

### Why did my `itemId` stop updating?

The most common cause is hitting the institution's request limit, which happens when the same account is connected many times over.

<Callout variant="warning">
**Limit per CPF/CNPJ**: this limit is shared across every `itemId` belonging to the same CPF or CNPJ. Once it is reached, transactions only resume updating the **following month**.
</Callout>

### The item hit the limit — what can I do?

The limit cannot be lifted within the current month. To keep it from happening again, avoid creating multiple connections for the same account: reuse the same `itemId` and update it when you need more recent data.

### Can I list every item I have created at Pluggy?

Yes, with [GET /v2/items](/reference/items-list-by-cursor), filtered by `clientUserId` or `connectorId`. The endpoint is **opt-in and disabled by default**: listing lets an API key enumerate every connection you hold, so it is enabled per team on request — see [Contact and support](/docs/get-started/contact) — and cannot be enabled on the Free plan or on Meu Pluggy personal-use accounts. Until then it responds `403` with `LIST_ITEMS_FEATURE_NOT_ENABLED`. Either way, the most reliable approach is to store each `itemId` on your side when the item is created (the widget's `onSuccess` and the `item/created` webhook both carry it). See [Searching and listing items](/docs/connections/item#searching-and-listing-items).

### I lost an itemId. How do I find it again?

Keep each `itemId` on your side when the item is created — it comes in the widget's `onSuccess` callback (`item.id`) and in the `item/created` webhook (`itemId`), together with the `clientUserId` you set. If a connection fails, the widget's error screen shows the item id as the error code, so your user can hand it to you. Listing items with `GET /v2/items` is opt-in per team — see [Searching and listing items](/docs/connections/item#searching-and-listing-items).

### Can one Meu Pluggy account hold banks of different holders?

Today, yes. This is under review for compliance reasons and may be restricted in the future (no date yet), so do not build a product flow that depends on it.

### Are new transactions on an account updated in real time?

No. New transactions become available only after the connection is updated — see [updating an item](/docs/connect-widget/updating-item).

<Callout variant="info">
On Open Finance (regulated) connectors, new transactions can take up to 24h to become available.
</Callout>

### How does automatic updating work?

Pluggy can update your `itemId`s on a schedule — just ask through any of our channels. You can choose the hour the updates start; items are queued and updated according to available processing capacity, so nothing is overloaded.

## Environments and production

### How do I go to production?

Create a production application in the dashboard, under `Applications`, using `Go to production`. A production application matters because:

- automatic updating is available;
- there is no limit on the number of `itemId`s;
- there is no demo page, so no customer data is exposed.

### Can I keep Development and Production separate? Does the client_id/secret change?

Yes. Create the environments in the [dashboard](https://dashboard.pluggy.ai/); each new environment gets its own `clientId` and `clientSecret`.

<Callout variant="warning">
The **Development** environment is capped at **100 items**.
</Callout>

## Webhooks and events

### Which webhook events are available?

The full list is in the [webhooks reference](/docs/developer-tools/webhooks-ref).