Terminal.skills
Skills/airtable
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airtable

Build integrations with the Airtable Web API — bases, tables, records, fields, views, webhooks, and OAuth. Use when tasks involve reading or writing Airtable data, syncing external sources with Airtable bases, building automations triggered by record changes, or migrating data to/from Airtable.

#airtable#api#productivity#databases#automation
terminal-skillsv1.0.0
Works with:claude-codeopenai-codexgemini-clicursor
Source

Usage

$
✓ Installed airtable v1.0.0

Getting Started

  1. Install the skill using the command above
  2. Open your AI coding agent (Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, or Cursor)
  3. Reference the skill in your prompt
  4. The AI will use the skill's capabilities automatically

Example Prompts

  • "Transform these meeting notes into action items with owners and deadlines"
  • "Draft a follow-up email to the client summarizing our discussion"

Documentation

Automate and integrate with Airtable bases using the REST API.

Authentication

Personal Access Token (simplest)

Generate at https://airtable.com/create/tokens. Scope to specific bases and permissions.

bash
export AIRTABLE_TOKEN="pat..."

OAuth 2.0 (multi-user apps)

Register at https://airtable.com/create/oauth. Supports PKCE for public clients.

python
"""airtable_oauth.py — OAuth 2.0 with PKCE for Airtable."""
import hashlib, secrets, base64, requests

def start_oauth(client_id: str, redirect_uri: str) -> tuple[str, str]:
    """Generate authorization URL with PKCE challenge.

    Args:
        client_id: From Airtable OAuth integration settings.
        redirect_uri: Your callback URL.

    Returns:
        Tuple of (authorization_url, code_verifier) — store verifier for token exchange.
    """
    verifier = secrets.token_urlsafe(64)
    challenge = base64.urlsafe_b64encode(
        hashlib.sha256(verifier.encode()).digest()
    ).rstrip(b"=").decode()

    url = (
        f"https://airtable.com/oauth2/v1/authorize?"
        f"client_id={client_id}&redirect_uri={redirect_uri}"
        f"&response_type=code&scope=data.records:read data.records:write schema.bases:read"
        f"&code_challenge={challenge}&code_challenge_method=S256"
    )
    return url, verifier

def exchange_token(code: str, verifier: str, client_id: str, redirect_uri: str) -> dict:
    """Exchange authorization code for access token.

    Args:
        code: From Airtable's redirect.
        verifier: The PKCE code_verifier from start_oauth.
        client_id: OAuth client ID.
        redirect_uri: Must match the one used in authorization.
    """
    resp = requests.post("https://airtable.com/oauth2/v1/token", data={
        "grant_type": "authorization_code",
        "code": code,
        "redirect_uri": redirect_uri,
        "client_id": client_id,
        "code_verifier": verifier,
    })
    return resp.json()  # access_token, refresh_token, expires_in

Core API Patterns

Record Operations

python
"""airtable_records.py — CRUD operations on Airtable records."""
import requests, time

API = "https://api.airtable.com/v0"

def headers(token: str) -> dict:
    return {"Authorization": f"Bearer {token}", "Content-Type": "application/json"}

def list_records(token: str, base_id: str, table_name: str,
                 view: str = None, formula: str = None,
                 fields: list = None, sort: list = None) -> list:
    """List all records from a table with optional filtering.

    Args:
        token: Personal access token or OAuth token.
        base_id: Base ID (starts with 'app').
        table_name: Table name or ID.
        view: Optional view name to filter/sort by.
        formula: Airtable formula for filtering (e.g., "AND({Status}='Active', {Score}>80)").
        fields: List of field names to return (reduces payload).
        sort: List of dicts with 'field' and 'direction' keys.

    Returns:
        List of all matching record objects.
    """
    params = {}
    if view:
        params["view"] = view
    if formula:
        params["filterByFormula"] = formula
    if fields:
        for i, f in enumerate(fields):
            params[f"fields[{i}]"] = f
    if sort:
        for i, s in enumerate(sort):
            params[f"sort[{i}][field]"] = s["field"]
            params[f"sort[{i}][direction]"] = s.get("direction", "asc")

    records = []
    offset = None
    while True:
        if offset:
            params["offset"] = offset
        resp = requests.get(f"{API}/{base_id}/{table_name}",
                            params=params, headers=headers(token))
        resp.raise_for_status()
        data = resp.json()
        records.extend(data["records"])
        offset = data.get("offset")
        if not offset:
            break
        time.sleep(0.2)  # Stay under 5 req/s rate limit

    return records

def create_records(token: str, base_id: str, table_name: str,
                   records: list[dict], typecast: bool = False) -> list:
    """Create up to 10 records at a time.

    Args:
        token: Auth token.
        base_id: Base ID.
        table_name: Target table.
        records: List of dicts with field values (max 10 per call).
        typecast: If True, Airtable auto-converts string values to proper types.

    Returns:
        List of created record objects with IDs.
    """
    # Airtable limits to 10 records per request
    created = []
    for i in range(0, len(records), 10):
        batch = [{"fields": r} for r in records[i:i + 10]]
        resp = requests.post(
            f"{API}/{base_id}/{table_name}",
            json={"records": batch, "typecast": typecast},
            headers=headers(token),
        )
        resp.raise_for_status()
        created.extend(resp.json()["records"])
        if i + 10 < len(records):
            time.sleep(0.2)
    return created

def update_records(token: str, base_id: str, table_name: str,
                   updates: list[dict]) -> list:
    """Update existing records (PATCH — partial update).

    Args:
        token: Auth token.
        base_id: Base ID.
        table_name: Target table.
        updates: List of dicts with 'id' and 'fields' keys (max 10 per call).
    """
    updated = []
    for i in range(0, len(updates), 10):
        batch = updates[i:i + 10]
        resp = requests.patch(
            f"{API}/{base_id}/{table_name}",
            json={"records": batch},
            headers=headers(token),
        )
        resp.raise_for_status()
        updated.extend(resp.json()["records"])
        if i + 10 < len(updates):
            time.sleep(0.2)
    return updated

def delete_records(token: str, base_id: str, table_name: str,
                   record_ids: list[str]) -> list:
    """Delete records by ID (max 10 per call).

    Args:
        token: Auth token.
        base_id: Base ID.
        table_name: Target table.
        record_ids: List of record IDs to delete.
    """
    deleted = []
    for i in range(0, len(record_ids), 10):
        batch = record_ids[i:i + 10]
        params = "&".join(f"records[]={rid}" for rid in batch)
        resp = requests.delete(
            f"{API}/{base_id}/{table_name}?{params}",
            headers=headers(token),
        )
        resp.raise_for_status()
        deleted.extend(resp.json()["records"])
        if i + 10 < len(record_ids):
            time.sleep(0.2)
    return deleted

Formula Filtering

Airtable formulas are powerful for server-side filtering:

python
# Common formula patterns
formulas = {
    # Exact match
    "status_active": "{Status} = 'Active'",

    # Multiple conditions
    "high_priority_open": "AND({Priority} = 'High', {Status} != 'Done')",

    # Date filtering — tasks due this week
    "due_this_week": "IS_BEFORE({Due Date}, DATEADD(TODAY(), 7, 'days'))",

    # Text search (case-insensitive)
    "name_contains": "FIND('search term', LOWER({Name}))",

    # Linked records — has at least one linked project
    "has_project": "{Project} != ''",

    # Number range
    "score_range": "AND({Score} >= 80, {Score} <= 100)",

    # Empty/non-empty checks
    "missing_email": "{Email} = ''",
    "has_attachment": "{Attachments} != ''",
}

Schema Operations

Read and modify base structure:

python
def get_base_schema(token: str, base_id: str) -> dict:
    """Get all tables, fields, and views in a base.

    Args:
        token: Auth token with schema.bases:read scope.
        base_id: Base ID.
    """
    resp = requests.get(f"https://api.airtable.com/v0/meta/bases/{base_id}/tables",
                        headers=headers(token))
    return resp.json()

def create_field(token: str, base_id: str, table_id: str,
                 name: str, field_type: str, options: dict = None) -> dict:
    """Add a new field (column) to a table.

    Args:
        token: Auth token with schema.bases:write scope.
        base_id: Base ID.
        table_id: Table ID (not name).
        name: Field name.
        field_type: One of: singleLineText, multilineText, number, percent,
                    currency, singleSelect, multipleSelects, date, checkbox, etc.
        options: Type-specific options (e.g., select choices, currency symbol).
    """
    body = {"name": name, "type": field_type}
    if options:
        body["options"] = options
    resp = requests.post(
        f"https://api.airtable.com/v0/meta/bases/{base_id}/tables/{table_id}/fields",
        json=body, headers=headers(token),
    )
    return resp.json()

Webhooks

Listen for changes in real time:

python
def create_webhook(token: str, base_id: str, notification_url: str,
                   table_id: str = None) -> dict:
    """Register a webhook for record changes.

    Args:
        token: Auth token with webhook:manage scope.
        base_id: Base ID to watch.
        notification_url: Your HTTPS endpoint for receiving payloads.
        table_id: Optional — watch a specific table instead of entire base.
    """
    spec = {"options": {"filters": {"sourceType": "client", "recordChangeScope": base_id}}}
    if table_id:
        spec["options"]["filters"]["watchDataInFieldIds"] = "all"
    resp = requests.post(
        f"https://api.airtable.com/v0/bases/{base_id}/webhooks",
        json={"notificationUrl": notification_url, "specification": spec},
        headers=headers(token),
    )
    return resp.json()

def list_webhook_payloads(token: str, base_id: str, webhook_id: str,
                          cursor: int = None) -> dict:
    """Fetch webhook payloads (poll-based — payloads expire after 7 days).

    Args:
        token: Auth token.
        base_id: Base ID.
        webhook_id: Webhook ID from create_webhook.
        cursor: Cursor from previous response for pagination.
    """
    params = {}
    if cursor:
        params["cursor"] = cursor
    resp = requests.get(
        f"https://api.airtable.com/v0/bases/{base_id}/webhooks/{webhook_id}/payloads",
        params=params, headers=headers(token),
    )
    return resp.json()

Rate Limits

  • 5 requests per second per base
  • Record operations: max 10 records per create/update/delete call
  • List: max 100 records per page (use offset for pagination)
  • Implement backoff on 429 responses

Field Type Reference

TypeAPI nameNotes
Single line textsingleLineTextPlain string
Long textmultilineTextSupports markdown
NumbernumberInteger or decimal
Single selectsingleSelectOne from predefined list
Multiple selectmultipleSelectsArray of selections
DatedateISO 8601 string
CheckboxcheckboxBoolean
URLurlValidated URL string
EmailemailValidated email string
PhonephoneNumberString
CurrencycurrencyNumber with currency formatting
PercentpercentNumber displayed as percentage
AttachmentmultipleAttachmentsArray of file objects with URL
Linked recordmultipleRecordLinksArray of record IDs
LookupmultipleLookupValuesRead-only, from linked records
RolluprollupRead-only, aggregation of linked records
FormulaformulaRead-only, computed value

Guidelines

  • Always paginate list requests -- never assume all records fit in one response
  • Use filterByFormula to reduce payload instead of fetching all and filtering client-side
  • Batch operations in groups of 10 (API limit) with 200ms delays
  • Use typecast: true for imports where field values might need conversion
  • Attachment fields require URLs -- upload to a hosting service first, then pass the URL
  • Linked record fields accept record IDs, not display values
  • Formula and rollup fields are read-only -- you cannot write to them via API
  • Webhook payloads don't contain full record data -- they signal changes, then you fetch details
  • Rate limits are per-base, not per-token -- multiple integrations on the same base share the limit

Information

Version
1.0.0
Author
terminal-skills
Category
Productivity
License
Apache-2.0