# Connecting to custom data sources

The Qlik Sense platform allows you to integrate custom data sources by using the Qlik data eXchange (QVX) SDK. It encapsulates the logic in a custom connector and provides a seamless user experience.

There are two ways of connecting to custom data sources:

* Using an intermediate QVX file
* Using a named pipe to stream data into Qlik Sense

QVX is a public, free and fully documented file/stream format for high performance data input into Qlik Sense. A QVX formatted file contains metadata describing a table of data and the actual data.

## Learn more

* [Building custom connectors with the Qlik QVX SDK](https://help.qlik.com/en-US/sense-developer/May2025/Subsystems/QVXSDKAPI/Content/Sense_QVXSDKAPI/Introducing-QVX.htm)