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Directory Sync keeps your directory populated and up to date from the system that’s the source of truth for who’s in your organization. There are two ways to do it:

Connect a source system

Link a live source - an HRIS such as Workday or BambooHR, or another directory solution - and Iru pulls people from it and syncs on a schedule, creating, updating, and removing users on its own. More providers are on the way.

Import a file (manual)

No direct connector for your system? Export your people to a CSV - from a legacy HR system, a Student Information System (SIS), or anything you can produce a file from - and upload it. Re-upload an updated export whenever your list changes to keep users current.
When you connect a live source, updates flow into Iru on their own - so when someone is hired, changes roles, or leaves, your directory follows with no manual work. The rest of this guide covers connecting a source system; for the manual route, see CSV import. Today you can connect the HR systems Workday and BambooHR, with more providers - including other directory solutions - on the way. Setup is the same guided flow for each; only a couple of steps differ by provider.
Connecting a source system needs administrator access to your Iru tenant and administrator credentials for that system. The connection only reads people from the source - it never writes back to it.
The Directory page in Iru on the Sync tab, listing a BambooHR connection (Active) and a Workday connection (Inactive), with a Connect Source button.

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How it works at a glance

  1. Choose your provider.
  2. Connect - authorize Iru to read your people data.
  3. Configure (some providers only) - tell Iru where your data lives.
  4. Map the source’s fields to Iru fields.
  5. Enable - turn on syncing.
Once a connection is enabled, Iru re-syncs it automatically on a schedule, every 60 minutes - so changes in your source (new hires, role changes, departures) flow into your directory within the hour, with no manual steps.

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Ideas that apply to every connection

  • Your source system leads. Once connected, it’s the authority on people data; Iru reflects what it sends.
  • Every person needs a stable ID. You pick one field that uniquely and permanently identifies each person, so Iru always updates the right record.
  • You decide how fields line up. Iru doesn’t guess - you map each source field to the matching Iru field, and can transform values with IQL when they don’t line up one-to-one.

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Set it up

Choose your provider

In Directory → Sync, select Connect Source and pick your provider - Workday or BambooHR.
The Select user source picker opened from Connect Source, offering Workday, Bamboo, and an Other Sources option marked Coming Soon.

Connect and authorize

Give the connection a name (and optional description), then Connect. A secure window opens where you sign in to your provider and authorize access with your administrator credentials. When the provider confirms it, the window closes and Iru continues.
Use a dedicated admin / integration account where you can, so the connection keeps working regardless of any one person’s status.

Configure where your data lives (some providers)

Some providers need you to point Iru at the right data source. Workday asks for the report that exposes the worker fields you want, plus the integration user that runs it. BambooHR reads its standard employee directory, so it skips this step. See the provider guides below.

Map your data to Iru

Iru reads the fields your provider makes available and lays them out for you to match - see Map your data below.

Finish and enable

Save your mappings to finish setup. A new connection starts disabled, so nothing syncs until you’ve reviewed it - then Enable it to run the first import and keep syncing on a schedule.

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Map your data

Mapping is the heart of setup: connecting your source’s fields to the matching fields in Iru.
The Mapping tab of a connection, showing the Unique user identifier field and an Attributes list mapping Bamboo fields (firstName, lastName, workEmail) to Iru attributes (name.firstName, name.lastName, primaryEmail.email), with some values built from IQL expressions.

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Set a unique identifier

Choose the field that uniquely identifies each person - often an employee ID or similar stable identifier. Iru relies on one stable value per person to update the right record on every sync, even when names or emails change.
Pick something that never changes for a person. Once you save the connection, the unique identifier can’t be changed - changing it would break Iru’s ability to recognize the people it has already imported.

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Match fields to Iru

For each Iru attribute, pick the source field that should fill it. Four attributes are required and always mapped:
  • Email
  • First name
  • Last name
  • Username
Any attribute you’ve marked required in your schema is required here too. Everything else is optional, but mapping it brings over the full picture of each person - title, department, manager, location, and more.

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Transform values with IQL

Most fields are a simple pick-and-go. When the value you want needs to be built from a field rather than copied as-is, write a short IQL expression instead. As you type, Iru suggests the available fields and checks your expression, so you catch a typo or a missing field before you save - not during a sync. See Attribute mapping and IQL expressions for the full syntax. Common examples (use your provider’s own field names):
  • Build a username from an email (everything before the @): email.split("@")[0]
  • Combine two fields into one value: firstName + " " + lastName
  • Prefer one field, fall back to another when the first is blank: optional.ofNonZeroValue(workEmail).orValue(homeEmail)
If a field is sometimes blank, guard against it so the sync doesn’t trip on empty records - wrap the value with optional.ofNonZeroValue(...).orValue("") before transforming it. For example, only deriving a username when an email exists: optional.ofNonZeroValue(email).orValue("").split("@")[0]

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Choose your provider

The flow is the same for each; these guides cover the steps that differ.

Connect Workday

Read workers from a Workday report - includes the report and integration-user step.

Connect BambooHR

Read from BambooHR’s standard employee directory - no report to configure.
StepWorkdayBambooHR
Connect and authorizeYesYes
Configure a reportYesNo - standard fields
Map fields (unique ID, required fields, IQL)YesYes
Enable and sync on a scheduleYesYes

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What happens on each sync

Once enabled, Iru syncs on a schedule and reconciles your directory with the source system:
Change at the sourceWhat Iru does
A new person appearsCreates a matching user in your directory
A person’s details changeUpdates the user’s profile attributes
A person is no longer presentRemoves the user from your directory
As profiles arrive and change, Auto Groups update their membership automatically, so access follows people without manual work.
The Effective Users tab of a connection, listing synced users such as Ashley Adams and Charlotte Abbott with their created date and ID.

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Manage the connection over time

From a connection’s detail page you can:
  • Re-authenticate - submit fresh credentials when they expire or change, without touching your mappings.
  • Edit your configuration or mappings - adjust what’s imported as your needs evolve.
  • Force attribute sync (Workday) - re-read the latest available fields from your report without waiting.
  • Review activity, effective users, and sync errors - see what’s flowing in and spot anything that needs attention.
  • Enable or disable the connection, or remove it.
The Configuration tab of a connection detail page, showing Status Enabled, Connection details with the provider and instance, a Re-authenticate action, and the left-hand Configuration, Mapping, Effective Users, Activity, and Sync errors tabs.
The connection shows its status and when it was last updated. If your provider credentials expire or change, use Re-authenticate to submit new ones - your attribute mappings are not affected.
When Iru can’t process a particular record, it records a sync error you can review - when it occurred, the affected person, the action Iru attempted, an error code, and a message. If many records fail with the same error, the cause is usually a mapping: a required attribute left unmapped, or a unique identifier that isn’t actually unique. Fix the mapping, then let the next sync run.
The Activity tab of a connection showing a FAILED entry and an expanded error detail explaining that a user could not be provisioned because a required attribute was missing.

Connect Workday

The Workday-specific setup, including the report step.

Connect BambooHR

The BambooHR-specific setup.

Attribute mapping

The IQL you use to shape incoming values.

Schema

The attributes your source fields map into.