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Airtable

Airtable is an AI-native app building platform that enables teams to create custom applications, workflows, and automations without coding, transforming data into sophisticated business solutions with enterprise-grade security and scalability.

Airtable icon

Power end-to-end data operations for your Airtable API with Nexla. Our bi-directional Airtable connector is purpose-built for Airtable, making it simple to ingest data, sync it across systems, and deliver it anywhere — all with no coding required. Nexla turns API-sourced data into ready-to-use, reusable data products and makes it easy to send data to Airtable or any other destination. With comprehensive monitoring, lineage tracking, and access controls, Nexla keeps your Airtable workflows fast, secure, and fully governed.

Features

Type: API

SourceDestination

  • Seamless API Integration: Connect to any endpoint as source or destination without coding, with automatic data product creation
  • Visual Composition & Chaining: Build complex integrations using visual templates, chain API calls, and compose workflows with data validation and filtering
  • API Proxy: Expose curated slices of your data securely with a secure and customizable API proxy that validates and transforms data on the fly
  • Request optimization with intelligent batching, retry, and caching to minimize API calls and costs

Prerequisites​

Before creating an Airtable credential in Nexla, you need to choose an authentication method and obtain the required credentials. Airtable supports OAuth 2.0 authentication (recommended) and legacy User API Key authentication (deprecated).

OAuth 2.0 authentication is the recommended method for accessing the Airtable API. The legacy User API Key method has been deprecated by Airtable. For detailed information about setting up OAuth 2.0 authentication, see the Airtable OAuth documentation.

  1. Access Airtable Developer Portal: Sign in to your Airtable account and navigate to the Airtable Developer Portal.

  2. Create an OAuth App: Create a new OAuth app in the developer portal. This will generate a Client ID and Client Secret that you'll use for authentication.

  3. Configure OAuth Settings: Configure your OAuth app settings, including redirect URIs and scopes. The redirect URI should match the callback URL provided by Nexla during the OAuth flow.

  4. Obtain Client Credentials: Copy your Client ID and Client Secret from the OAuth app settings. These credentials are used to authenticate with the Airtable OAuth 2.0 service.

Legacy User API Key Setup (Deprecated)​

The User API Key authentication method has been deprecated by Airtable. It is recommended to use OAuth 2.0 authentication instead. For information about migrating from API keys to OAuth, see the Airtable API documentation.

  1. Access Account Settings: Sign in to your Airtable account and navigate to your Account Page.

  2. View API Keys: Locate the API section in your Account Page to view and manage your API keys.

  3. Generate or Copy API Key: Generate a new API key or copy an existing one. The API key is used to authenticate API requests and provides access to your Airtable account data.

Authenticate​

Credentials required​

Airtable User API Key: Note that this authentication mechanism has been deprecated by Airtable. Please use PAT or Oauth Authentication instead.

FieldRequiredSecretDescription
API KeyYesYesEnter your Airtable API Key. You can view and manage your API keys in your Account Page
API VersionYesNoThe version of the API, such as 'v0', 'v1', 'v2', etc.

Create a credential in Nexla​

  1. After selecting the data source/destination type, click the Add Credential tile to open the Add New Credential overlay.

New Credential Overlay – Airtable

AirtableCred.png

  1. Enter a name for the credential in the Credential Name field and a short, meaningful description in the Credential Description field.

  2. Select the authentication method that this credential will use, and follow the steps for that method below.

Airtable Authentication Methods

OAuth 2.0 authentication is the recommended method for accessing the Airtable API. This method provides secure, token-based authentication with automatic token refresh.

  1. Enter your Airtable Client ID in the **Client ID** field. This should be the Client ID obtained from your OAuth app in the Airtable Developer Portal.
  2. Enter your Airtable Client Secret in the **Client Secret** field. This should be the Client Secret obtained from your OAuth app in the Airtable Developer Portal.
  3. Enter your Airtable API Version in the **API Version** field. This should be the version of the API you want to use, such as 'v0', 'v1', 'v2', etc. The default value is 'v0'.
  4. Optionally, enter the access scope in the **Access Scope** field if you need to specify custom scopes for your OAuth integration.
  5. Complete the OAuth authorization flow by following the prompts to authorize Nexla to access your Airtable account. The OAuth flow will automatically handle token exchange and refresh.
  1. Click the Save button at the bottom of the overlay. The newly added credential will now appear in a tile on the Authenticate screen during data source/destination creation.

Use as a data source​

To create a new data flow, navigate to the Integrate section, and click the New Data Flow button. Select the Airtable connector tile, then select the credential that will be used to connect to the Airtable instance, and click Next; or, create a new Airtable credential for use in this flow.

Endpoint templates​

Nexla provides pre-built templates that can be used to rapidly configure data sources to ingest data from common Airtable endpoints. Select the endpoint from which this source will fetch data from the Endpoint pulldown menu. Available endpoint templates are listed in the expandable boxes below.

Fetch Records from Table

This endpoint retrieves all records from a specified Airtable table. Use this endpoint when you need to access records from a specific table in your Airtable base. Note that table names and table IDs can be used interchangeably. Using table IDs means table name changes do not require modifications to your API request.

  • Enter the Base ID of the Airtable base containing the table you want to access in the Base ID field. Base IDs can be found in your Airtable base URL or through the API.
  • Enter the Table ID or table name of the table you want to retrieve records from in the Table ID field. Table IDs are more stable than table names and won't require updates if you rename the table.
  • The endpoint uses offset-based pagination, automatically fetching additional pages as needed. The endpoint will return all records from the specified table, organized into pages for efficient data retrieval.

This endpoint supports pagination through offset tokens. Nexla automatically handles pagination to retrieve all available records. For detailed information about retrieving records, see the Airtable API documentation.

Fetch Bases

This endpoint returns the list of bases that your API key can access, in the order they appear on your home screen. Use this endpoint when you need to discover available bases or retrieve base metadata.

  • This endpoint automatically retrieves all accessible bases from your Airtable account. No additional configuration is required beyond selecting this endpoint template.
  • The endpoint uses pagination to handle large numbers of bases, retrieving up to 1000 bases at a time. Nexla automatically handles pagination to retrieve all available bases.
  • The endpoint will return base information including base IDs, names, and metadata that can be used to access specific tables within those bases.

This endpoint supports pagination through offset tokens. Nexla automatically handles pagination to retrieve all available bases. For detailed information about retrieving bases, see the Airtable API documentation.

Once the selected endpoint template has been configured, click the Test button to the right of the endpoint selection menu to retrieve a sample of the data that will be fetched. Sample data will be displayed in the Endpoint Test Result panel on the right, allowing you to verify that the source is configured correctly before saving.

Manual configuration​

Airtable data sources can also be manually configured to ingest data from any valid Airtable API endpoint, including endpoints not covered by the pre-built templates, chained API calls, or custom request parameters. Select the Advanced tab at the top of the configuration screen, and follow the instructions in Connect to Any API to configure the API method, endpoint URL, date/time and lookup macros, path to data, metadata, and request headers.

Airtable API endpoints typically follow the pattern https://api.airtable.com/{api_version}/{base_id}/{table_id} for table records or https://api.airtable.com/{api_version}/meta/bases for base metadata. For a complete list of available Airtable API endpoints, see the Airtable API documentation.

Once all of the relevant settings have been configured, click the Create button in the upper right corner of the screen to save and create the new Airtable data source. Nexla will now begin ingesting data from the configured endpoint and will organize any data that it finds into one or more Nexsets.

Use as a destination​

Click the + icon on the Nexset that will be sent to the Airtable destination, and select the Send to Destination option from the menu. Select the Airtable connector from the list of available destination connectors, then select the credential that will be used to connect to the Airtable organization, and click Next; or, create a new Airtable credential for use in this flow.

Endpoint templates​

Nexla provides pre-built templates that can be used to rapidly configure destinations to send data to common Airtable endpoints. Select the endpoint to which data will be sent from the Endpoint pulldown menu. Then, click on the template in the list below to expand it, and follow the instructions to configure additional endpoint settings.

Create Records in Table

This endpoint creates new records in a specified Airtable table. Use this endpoint when you need to add records to a table in your Airtable base from your Nexset data. Please check the API documentation link for all required properties in Nexset records.

  • Enter the Base ID of the Airtable base containing the table where you want to create records in the Base ID field. Base IDs can be found in your Airtable base URL or through the API.
  • Enter the Table ID or table name of the table where you want to create records in the Table ID field. Table IDs are more stable than table names and won't require updates if you rename the table.
  • The endpoint will send the Nexset data as JSON in the request body to create records. Ensure your Nexset contains all required fields for the selected table. See the API documentation for details about required properties for each table.
  • Each record in the Nexset will be sent as a separate API request to create a new record in your Airtable table.

The request body must contain valid JSON with all required fields for the selected table. For detailed information about required fields and data formats, see the Airtable API documentation.

Manual configuration​

Airtable destinations can also be manually configured to send data to any valid Airtable API endpoint. Select the Advanced tab at the top of the configuration screen, and follow the instructions in Connect to Any API to configure the API method, data format, endpoint URL, request headers, attribute exclusions, record batching, and response webhooks.

Airtable API endpoints typically expect JSON format for request bodies. For update/upsert operations, include the ID of the object to be updated at the end of the URL. Airtable API endpoints typically follow the pattern https://api.airtable.com/{api_version}/{base_id}/{table_id} for creating records in a table.

Save & activate​

Once all endpoint settings have been configured, click the Done button in the upper right corner of the screen to save and create the destination. To send the data to the configured Airtable endpoint, open the destination resource menu, and select Activate.

The Nexset data will not be sent to the Airtable endpoint until the destination is activated. Destinations can be activated immediately or at a later time, providing full control over data movement.