Airtable

Connect & Ingest data from Airtable

Airtable is a cloud-based platform that combines the simplicity of a spreadsheet with the power of a database. The Sling Airtable connector automatically discovers all accessible bases and tables, creating a dynamic endpoint for each table.

CLI Pro Required: APIs require a CLI Pro token or Platform Plan.

Setup

The following credentials and inputs are accepted:

Secrets:

• api_key (required) -> Your Airtable Personal Access Token

Inputs (optional):

• last_modified_field_map (optional) -> A nested map of base names to table names to the field name containing the last modified timestamp. Used for incremental sync.

Getting Your API Key

1. Go to Airtable's token creation page

2. Click "Create new token"

3. Give your token a name (e.g., "Sling Integration")

4. Add the following scopes:

   • data.records:read - To read records from tables

   • schema.bases:read - To discover bases and tables

5. Add access to the bases you want to sync (or all bases)

6. Click "Create token" and copy the token (it starts with pat)

Using sling conns

Here are examples of setting a connection named AIRTABLE. We must provide the type=api property:

sling conns set AIRTABLE type=api spec=airtable secrets='{ api_key: patXXXXXXXXXXXXXX }'

Environment Variable

export AIRTABLE='{ type: api, spec: airtable, secrets: { api_key: "patXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" } }'

Sling Env File YAML

See here to learn more about the sling env.yaml file.

connections:
  AIRTABLE:
    type: api
    spec: airtable
    secrets:
      api_key: "patXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"

With incremental sync configuration:

connections:
  AIRTABLE:
    type: api
    spec: airtable
    secrets:
      api_key: "patXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"
    inputs:
      last_modified_field_map:
        'My Base Name':
          'My Table Name': 'Updated At'
        'Another Base':
          'Customers': 'Last Modified'
          'Orders': 'Modified Time'

Replication

Here's an example replication configuration to sync Airtable tables to a PostgreSQL database:

source: AIRTABLE
target: MY_POSTGRES

defaults:
  mode: full-refresh
  object: public.{stream_table}

streams:
  # sync all tables in all bases
  '*':

  # exclude a specific table
  sales_crm_contacts:
    disabled: True

This replication syncs all Airtable tables to PostgreSQL using full-refresh mode, except for sales_crm_contacts which is disabled.

Dynamic Endpoints

The Airtable connector uses dynamic endpoint discovery. When you connect, Sling automatically:

1. Fetches all accessible bases

2. For each base, fetches all tables

3. Creates an endpoint for each table named {base_name}_{table_name} in snake_case

For example, if you have a base called "Sales CRM" with tables "Contacts" and "Deals", Sling creates:

• sales_crm_contacts

• sales_crm_deals

To discover available endpoints:

sling conns discover AIRTABLE

Each record includes the following metadata fields in addition to your table columns:

• _id - The Airtable record ID

• _created_time - When the record was created

• _base_id - The Airtable base ID

• _base_name - The base name

• _table_id - The Airtable table ID

• _table_name - The table name

Incremental Sync

To enable incremental sync for a table, you must specify which field contains the "last modified" timestamp using the last_modified_field_map input.

Airtable does not have a built-in "last modified" field. You must create a "Last Modified" formula field in your Airtable table that tracks when records are updated.

Example env.yaml with incremental sync:

connections:
  AIRTABLE:
    type: api
    spec: airtable
    secrets:
      api_key: "patXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"
    inputs:
      last_modified_field_map:
        'Data Catalog':
          'Datasets': 'Updated At'

Example replication with incremental mode:

source: AIRTABLE
target: MY_POSTGRES

defaults:
  mode: incremental

streams:
  data_catalog_datasets:
    object: public.airtable_datasets

If you are facing issues connecting, please reach out to us at [email protected], on discord or open a Github Issue here.