/airtable

name: airtable
description: Airtable REST API via curl. Records CRUD, filters, upserts.
version: 1.1.0
author: community
license: MIT
platforms: [linux, macos, windows]
prerequisites:
  env_vars: [AIRTABLE_API_KEY]
  commands: [curl]
metadata:
  hermes:
    tags: [Airtable, Productivity, Database, API]
    homepage: https://airtable.com/developers/web/api/introduction

Airtable — Bases, Tables & Records

Work with Airtable's REST API directly via `curl` using the `terminal` tool. No MCP server, no OAuth flow, no Python SDK — just `curl` and a personal access token.

Prerequisites

1. Create a **Personal Access Token (PAT)** at https://airtable.com/create/tokens (tokens start with `pat...`). 2. Grant these scopes (minimum):

• `data.records:read` — read rows
• `data.records:write` — create / update / delete rows
• `schema.bases:read` — list bases and tables

3. **Important:** in the same token UI, add each base you want to access to the token's **Access** list. PATs are scoped per-base — a valid token on the wrong base returns `403`. 4. Store the token in `${HERMES_HOME:-~/.hermes}/.env` (or via `hermes setup`):

   AIRTABLE_API_KEY=pat_your_token_here

> Note: legacy `key...` API keys were deprecated Feb 2024. Only PATs and OAuth tokens work now.

API Basics

• **Endpoint:** `https://api.airtable.com/v0`
• **Auth header:** `Authorization: Bearer $AIRTABLE_API_KEY`
• **All requests** use JSON (`Content-Type: application/json` for any POST/PATCH/PUT body).
• **Object IDs:** bases `app...`, tables `tbl...`, records `rec...`, fields `fld...`. IDs never change; names can. Prefer IDs in automations.
• **Rate limit:** 5 requests/sec/base. `429` → back off. Burst on a single base will be throttled.

Base curl pattern:

curl -s "https://api.airtable.com/v0/$BASE_ID/$TABLE?maxRecords=5" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AIRTABLE_API_KEY" | python -m json.tool

`-s` suppresses curl's progress bar — keep it set for every call so the tool output stays clean for Hermes. Pipe through `python -m json.tool` (always present) or `jq` (if installed) for readable JSON.

Field Types (request body shapes)

| Field type | Write shape | |---|---| | Single line text | `"Name": "hello"` | | Long text | `"Notes": "multi\nline"` | | Number | `"Score": 42` | | Checkbox | `"Done": true` | | Single select | `"Status": "Todo"` (name must already exist unless `typecast: true`) | | Multi-select | `"Tags": ["urgent", "bug"]` | | Date | `"Due": "2026-04-01"` | | DateTime (UTC) | `"At": "2026-04-01T14:30:00.000Z"` | | URL / Email / Phone | `"Link": "https://…"` | | Attachment | `"Files": [{"url": "https://…"}]` (Airtable fetches + rehosts) | | Linked record | `"Owner": ["recXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"]` (array of record IDs) | | User | `"AssignedTo": {"id": "usrXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"}` |

Pass `"typecast": true` at the top level of a create/update body to let Airtable auto-coerce values (e.g. create a new select option on the fly, convert `"42"` → `42`).

Common Queries

List bases the token can see

curl -s "https://api.airtable.com/v0/meta/bases" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AIRTABLE_API_KEY" | python -m json.tool

List tables + schema for a base

curl -s "https://api.airtable.com/v0/meta/bases/$BASE_ID/tables" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AIRTABLE_API_KEY" | python -m json.tool

Use this BEFORE mutating — confirms exact field names and IDs, surfaces `options.choices` for select fields, and shows primary-field names.

List records (first 10)

curl -s "https://api.airtable.com/v0/$BASE_ID/$TABLE?maxRecords=10" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AIRTABLE_API_KEY" | python -m json.tool

Get a single record

curl -s "https://api.airtable.com/v0/$BASE_ID/$TABLE/$RECORD_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AIRTABLE_API_KEY" | python -m json.tool

Filter records (filterByFormula)

Airtable formulas must be URL-encoded. Let Python stdlib do it — never hand-encode:

FORMULA="{Status}='Todo'"
ENC=$(python -c 'import sys, urllib.parse; print(urllib.parse.quote(sys.argv[1], safe=""))' "$FORMULA")
curl -s "https://api.airtable.com/v0/$BASE_ID/$TABLE?filterByFormula=$ENC&maxRecords=20" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AIRTABLE_API_KEY" | python -m json.tool

Useful formula patterns:

• Exact match: `{Email}='user@example.com'`
• Contains: `FIND('bug', LOWER({Title}))`
• Multiple conditions: `AND({Status}='Todo', {Priority}='High')`
• Or: `OR({Owner}='alice', {Owner}='bob')`
• Not empty: `NOT({Assignee}='')`
• Date comparison: `IS_AFTER({Due}, TODAY())`

Sort + select specific fields

curl -s "https://api.airtable.com/v0/$BASE_ID/$TABLE?sort%5B0%5D%5Bfield%5D=Priority&sort%5B0%5D%5Bdirection%5D=asc&fields%5B%5D=Name&fields%5B%5D=Status" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AIRTABLE_API_KEY" | python -m json.tool

Square brackets in query params MUST be URL-encoded (`%5B` / `%5D`).

Use a named view

curl -s "https://api.airtable.com/v0/$BASE_ID/$TABLE?view=Grid%20view&maxRecords=50" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AIRTABLE_API_KEY" | python -m json.tool

Views apply their saved filter + sort server-side.

Common Mutations

Create a record

curl -s -X POST "https://api.airtable.com/v0/$BASE_ID/$TABLE" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AIRTABLE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"fields":{"Name":"New task","Status":"Todo","Priority":"High"}}' | python -m json.tool

Create up to 10 records in one call

curl -s -X POST "https://api.airtable.com/v0/$BASE_ID/$TABLE" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AIRTABLE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "typecast": true,
    "records": [
      {"fields": {"Name": "Task A", "Status": "Todo"}},
      {"fields": {"Name": "Task B", "Status": "In progress"}}
    ]
  }' | python -m json.tool

Batch endpoints are capped at **10 records per request**. For larger inserts, loop in batches of 10 with a short sleep to resp