# Polytomic
> Use Polytomic to sync data to and from MotherDuck for ETL and reverse ETL workflows.
[Polytomic](https://www.polytomic.com/) is a data integration platform for syncing data between SaaS applications, databases, cloud storage, spreadsheets, and data warehouses. You can use Polytomic with MotherDuck as either a source or destination.

Polytomic supports these MotherDuck workflows:

- Load data into MotherDuck from SaaS platforms, databases, data warehouses, and cloud storage.
- Stream high-scale change data capture (CDC) data into MotherDuck from systems such as PostgreSQL, MySQL, PlanetScale, MongoDB, Amazon DynamoDB, and Amazon S3.
- Sync data from MotherDuck into SaaS platforms, databases, spreadsheets, webhooks, and cloud storage.

## Prerequisites

- A [MotherDuck account](https://app.motherduck.com/)
- A [MotherDuck access token](/key-tasks/authenticating-and-connecting-to-motherduck/authenticating-to-motherduck/#creating-an-access-token)
- A Polytomic workspace
- Optional: An S3 bucket with an access key ID, secret access key, bucket name, and region if Polytomic writes data to MotherDuck

## Connect to MotherDuck

Polytomic connects to MotherDuck using a MotherDuck access token.

1. In MotherDuck, create or copy an access token.
2. In Polytomic, go to **Connections**.
3. Click **Add Connection**.
4. Select **MotherDuck**.
5. Enter a connection name.
6. Optional: Enter the MotherDuck database name.
7. Paste your MotherDuck access token.
8. If Polytomic will write data to MotherDuck, enter the S3 staging bucket credentials.
9. Click **Test connection**.
10. Click **Save**.

![Polytomic MotherDuck connection form with access token and staging bucket fields](../img/polytomic-motherduck-connection.png)

## S3 staging bucket for writes

Polytomic requires S3 credentials when it writes data to MotherDuck. The S3 bucket is a temporary staging area for files that Polytomic loads into MotherDuck; it is not used as permanent data lake storage.

If you want Polytomic to write permanent files to S3, configure an S3 destination in Polytomic instead of using the MotherDuck connection's staging bucket.

## Sync data to MotherDuck

Use a Polytomic bulk sync when you want to load whole source objects or tables into MotherDuck from SaaS applications, databases, data warehouses, or cloud storage buckets.

Use a Polytomic model sync when you want to load the result of a custom SQL model into MotherDuck, such as a custom query from PostgreSQL.

## Sync data from MotherDuck

Use a Polytomic model sync to send query results from MotherDuck to downstream tools, including Salesforce, Google Sheets, Airtable, webhooks, databases, and cloud storage.

## Related content

- [Polytomic MotherDuck documentation](https://docs.polytomic.com/docs/motherduck)
- [Authenticating to MotherDuck](/key-tasks/authenticating-and-connecting-to-motherduck/authenticating-to-motherduck/)
- [Loading data into MotherDuck](/key-tasks/loading-data-into-motherduck/)
- [Service accounts](/key-tasks/service-accounts-guide/)


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## Docs feedback

MotherDuck accepts optional user-submitted feedback about this page at `POST https://motherduck.com/docs/api/feedback/agent`.
For agents and automated tools, feedback submission should be user-confirmed before sending.

Payload:

```json
{
  "page_path": "/integrations/ingestion/polytomic/",
  "page_title": "Polytomic",
  "text": "<the user's feedback, max 2000 characters>",
  "source": "<optional identifier for your interface, for example 'claude.ai' or 'chatgpt'>"
}
```

`page_path` and `text` are required; `page_title` and `source` are optional. Responses: `200 {"feedback_id": "<uuid>"}`, `400` for malformed payloads, and `429` when rate-limited.