> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.coreflux.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Data Pipeline Routes Overview

> Move data between your Coreflux broker and other systems using LoT ROUTES

## Data Pipeline Integration

Data pipeline routes move messages between your Coreflux broker and the systems that surround it — other MQTT brokers, email inboxes, and event streaming platforms. Configure the connection once in LoT, and the broker keeps the data flowing automatically.

<Tip>
  **Like a postal forwarding service.** Mail (messages) sent to your old address (local broker) automatically gets forwarded to your new address (a remote broker, an inbox, or a Kafka topic). You set up the forwarding rules once, and it just works.
</Tip>

## Pipeline Route Types

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="MQTT Bridge" icon="arrow-right-arrow-left" href="./mqtt-bridge">
    Broker-to-broker communication for edge-to-cloud sync and multi-site connectivity.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Email" icon="envelope" href="./email">
    Send templated notifications and alerts triggered by MQTT messages.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Kafka" icon="bolt" href="./kafka">
    Stream data both ways between MQTT topics and Apache Kafka clusters.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

***

## Choosing a Route

| Route           | Connects to             | Best for                                                | Direction        |
| --------------- | ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------- |
| **MQTT Bridge** | Another MQTT broker     | Edge-to-cloud sync, multi-site links, backup brokers    | Out, in, or both |
| **Email**       | An SMTP server          | Human-facing alerts and reports                         | Out only         |
| **Kafka**       | An Apache Kafka cluster | High-throughput data pipelines, analytics, event replay | Out and in       |

<Note>
  Need to store messages in a database instead? See [Data Storage Routes](../data-storage/overview). Need to call an HTTP API? See [REST API Routes](../rest-api-routes).
</Note>

***

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="MQTT Bridge" icon="arrow-right-arrow-left" href="./mqtt-bridge">
    Sync topics between two MQTT brokers.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Kafka" icon="bolt" href="./kafka">
    Bridge MQTT and Apache Kafka in both directions.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>