Airtable.js

Overview

Work with Airtable bases to read, query, and process records using the official Airtable.js library. This skill provides patterns for common operations like filtering, sorting, pagination, and handling different field types.

Quick Start

Basic record retrieval:

javascript

const Airtable = require('airtable');

Airtable.configure({
    apiKey: process.env.AIRTABLE_API_KEY
});

const base = Airtable.base(process.env.AIRTABLE_BASE_ID);

// Fetch all records
const records = await base('TableName').select().all();
records.forEach(record => {
    console.log(record.id, record.fields);
});

Common Operations

Read all records from a table

javascript

const records = await base('Projects').select().all();

Filter records with formula

javascript

const activeRecords = await base('Tasks').select({
    filterByFormula: "{Status} = 'Active'"
}).all();

Sort and limit results

javascript

const recentTasks = await base('Tasks').select({
    sort: [{field: "Created", direction: "desc"}],
    maxRecords: 10
}).all();

Get specific fields only

javascript

const records = await base('Contacts').select({
    fields: ['Name', 'Email', 'Phone']
}).all();

Pagination with large datasets

javascript

base('LargeTable').select({
    pageSize: 100
}).eachPage(
    function page(records, fetchNextPage) {
        records.forEach(record => {
            console.log(record.get('Name'));
        });
        fetchNextPage();
    },
    function done(err) {
        if (err) console.error(err);
    }
);

Accessing Field Values

javascript

const record = await base('Projects').find('recXXXXXXXXXXXXXX');

// Two ways to access fields
const name = record.get('Project Name');
const status = record.fields['Status'];

// Get record ID
const id = record.id;

// Get all fields
const allFields = record.fields;

Scripts

read_records.js

Command-line utility for reading Airtable records with filtering and sorting options.

bash

# Basic usage
node scripts/read_records.js "TableName"

# With filters
node scripts/read_records.js "Tasks" --filter "{Status} = 'Active'"

# Sort and limit
node scripts/read_records.js "Projects" --sort "Created:desc" --max 10

# JSON output
node scripts/read_records.js "Contacts" --json

# Specific fields
node scripts/read_records.js "People" --fields "Name,Email,Phone"

Set environment variables AIRTABLE_API_KEY and AIRTABLE_BASE_ID, or pass via --api-key and --base options.

References

airtable_guide.md

Comprehensive reference covering:

•Authentication and setup
•All read operations with examples
•Filtering formulas and patterns
•Field type handling
•Error handling and rate limiting
•Working with linked records

Read this reference when implementing complex queries, working with specific field types, or troubleshooting issues.