Airtable

Log in to your Airtable account at airtable.com. In the top-right corner, click your profile avatar and select 'Developer hub,' or navigate directly to airtable.com/create/tokens. Click 'Create token.' Give it a descriptive name like 'Bubble Integration — [Your App Name].' Under 'Scopes,' add `data.records:read` if you only need to display Airtable data in Bubble. If Bubble will also create or update records (for example, a form that writes leads to Airtable), also add `data.records:write`. Under 'Access,' click 'Add a base' and select the specific Airtable base you want to connect — scoping a PAT to only the bases it needs follows the principle of least privilege. Click 'Create token.' Copy the token immediately and save it somewhere secure (a password manager). Airtable shows the token only once — if you lose it, you will need to create a new one. Also note your Base ID: open your Airtable base in the browser and look at the URL, which looks like `airtable.com/appXXXXXXXXXXXXXX/tblXXXXXXXXXXXXXX/viwXXXXXXXXXXXXXX`. The segment starting with 'app' is your Base ID.

1// Airtable Personal Access Token scope reference
2// Navigate to: airtable.com/create/tokens
3
4// Minimum scope for read-only Bubble integration:
5//   data.records:read
6
7// Add these for write operations from Bubble:
8//   data.records:write
9
10// Your Base ID is in the URL when viewing your base:
11// https://airtable.com/appXXXXXXXXXXXXXX/tblYYYYYYYYYYYYYY/viwZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
12//                       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
13//                       This is your baseId
14
15// API base URL pattern:
16// https://api.airtable.com/v0/{baseId}/{tableName}

Open your Bubble app editor and click 'Plugins' in the left sidebar. If the API Connector plugin by Bubble does not appear in your installed plugins list, click 'Add plugins,' search for 'API Connector,' and install it (it is free). Return to the Plugins tab and click 'API Connector.' You will see an 'Add another API' button — click it. Name this API group 'Airtable.' In the 'Root URL' field, enter your Airtable base's root endpoint: `https://api.airtable.com/v0/appXXXXXXXXXXXXXX` (replace with your actual Base ID). Under 'Shared headers across all calls,' click 'Add a shared header.' For the key, type `Authorization`. For the value, type `Bearer ` followed by your Personal Access Token (for example: `Bearer patXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX`). Check the 'Private' checkbox next to this header — this is critical. It ensures the PAT is used only server-side on Bubble's servers and never sent to a visitor's browser. Add a second shared header: key `Content-Type`, value `application/json` (no Private checkbox needed). Your API group is now configured. All API calls you add under this group will automatically use these headers for every request.

1// Bubble API Connector — Airtable group configuration
2{
3  "api_group_name": "Airtable",
4  "root_url": "https://api.airtable.com/v0/appXXXXXXXXXXXXXX",
5  "shared_headers": [
6    {
7      "key": "Authorization",
8      "value": "Bearer patXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX",
9      "private": true
10    },
11    {
12      "key": "Content-Type",
13      "value": "application/json"
14    }
15  ]
16}

Inside the Airtable API group you just created, click 'Add call.' Name this call 'List [TableName] Records' (replace TableName with your actual Airtable table name, for example 'List Products Records'). Set the method to GET. In the endpoint URL field, type `/{tableName}` — replacing tableName with the exact name of your Airtable table as it appears in Airtable (case-sensitive, spaces are URL-encoded automatically by Bubble, for example `/Products` or `/Blog Posts`). Add URL parameters: click 'Add parameter' and add `maxRecords` with an example value of `100` (the API maximum per page; leave the value flexible so you can pass it from workflows). Optionally add `filterByFormula` (example: `{Status}='Published'`) and `sort[0][field]` with `sort[0][direction]` for sorting. Leave 'Use as' set to 'Data' — this tells Bubble the response should be mappable to a list data type. Now, critically: before clicking 'Initialize call,' make sure your Airtable table has at least one record with real data. Airtable returns an empty `records: []` array for empty tables, and Bubble cannot detect field names from an empty array — it will show no fields to map. With a record in the table, click 'Initialize call.' Bubble fires a real GET request to Airtable using your PAT. If the PAT is valid and the base ID is correct, Airtable returns the first page of records and Bubble displays the detected fields (id, createdTime, fields.FieldName, etc.). Click 'Save.'

1// GET call: List records from an Airtable table
2// Endpoint (appended to root URL): /{tableName}
3// Full URL example: GET https://api.airtable.com/v0/appXXXXX/Products
4
5// Query parameters:
6{
7  "maxRecords": "100",
8  "filterByFormula": "{Status}='Published'",
9  "sort[0][field]": "Name",
10  "sort[0][direction]": "asc",
11  "fields[]": "Name",      // optional: request only specific fields
12  "offset": "<dynamic>"   // for pagination (from previous page's response)
13}
14
15// Airtable response structure:
16{
17  "records": [
18    {
19      "id": "recXXXXXXXXXXXXXX",
20      "createdTime": "2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z",
21      "fields": {
22        "Name": "Product A",
23        "Status": "Published",
24        "Price": 49.99,
25        "Category": "Electronics"
26      }
27    }
28  ],
29  "offset": "recYYYYYYYYYYYYYY"  // present only if more pages exist
30}

If your Bubble app needs to write data back to Airtable (from form submissions, button clicks, or workflow triggers), add two more API calls in the Airtable group. First, click 'Add call' and name it 'Create [TableName] Record.' Set method to POST, endpoint to `/{tableName}`. In the Body section, set type to JSON and add the body structure: `{"fields": {"FieldName": "{{value}}", "AnotherField": "{{otherValue}}"}}`. Replace FieldName and AnotherField with your actual Airtable column names — they must match exactly. The values in double curly braces are dynamic placeholders that Bubble will fill in from workflow inputs. Set 'Use as' to 'Action' (since this call creates a record, not fetches data). Second, add another call named 'Update [TableName] Record.' Set method to PATCH, endpoint to `/{tableName}/{recordId}` (add `recordId` as a URL parameter). Body: `{"fields": {"FieldName": "{{newValue}}"}}`. PATCH in Airtable updates only the fields you specify — unspecified fields keep their current values. Set 'Use as' to 'Action.' For the Initialize call on both POST and PATCH, you will need to provide real example values in the body parameters that match your field types — Airtable returns the created or updated record on success. Click 'Initialize call' to verify the response shape, then save.

1// POST call: Create a new record in Airtable
2// Endpoint: /{tableName}
3// Method: POST
4// Use as: Action
5
6// Request body:
7{
8  "fields": {
9    "Name": "{{name}}",
10    "Email": "{{email}}",
11    "Status": "New",
12    "Created Date": "{{created_date}}"
13  }
14}
15
16// Airtable response on success (200):
17{
18  "id": "recXXXXXXXXXXXXXX",
19  "createdTime": "2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z",
20  "fields": {
21    "Name": "John Doe",
22    "Email": "john@example.com",
23    "Status": "New",
24    "Created Date": "2024-01-15"
25  }
26}
27
28// PATCH call: Update specific fields on an existing record
29// Endpoint: /{tableName}/{recordId}
30// Method: PATCH
31// Use as: Action
32
33// Request body (only include fields to update):
34{
35  "fields": {
36    "Status": "{{new_status}}",
37    "Updated Date": "{{updated_date}}"
38  }
39}

With your API calls initialized, you can now display Airtable records in Bubble's UI. In the Bubble editor, drag a Repeating Group element onto your page. In the Repeating Group's settings panel, set 'Type of content' to 'Airtable List [TableName] Records record' (or similar — Bubble names the type based on the API call name). Set 'Data source' to 'Get data from an external API' → select 'Airtable - List [TableName] Records.' Pass any parameters Bubble asks for (like maxRecords or filterByFormula). Inside the Repeating Group's first cell, add text elements, image elements, and other UI components. To bind an element's value to an Airtable field: click the text element → click 'Insert dynamic data' → 'Current cell's Airtable List [TableName] Records record's fields Name' (or whatever field you need). Airtable field names with spaces appear in the dropdown as-is. If a field does not appear in the dropdown, re-initialize the API call after ensuring that field has a value in at least one record. Repeat this for each field you want to display. To implement a filtered view, add a dropdown or search input on the page. Set the Repeating Group's data source to include the filter: in the 'filterByFormula' parameter, reference the dropdown's value using Bubble's dynamic expression builder. The Repeating Group will re-query Airtable when the filter value changes.

1// Bubble Repeating Group setup (conceptual, configured in Bubble editor)
2// Type of content: Airtable - List Products Records - record
3// Data source: Get data from an external API
4//   API: Airtable
5//   Call: List Products Records
6//   Parameters:
7//     maxRecords: 100
8//     filterByFormula: AND({Status}='Published', {Category}=Input Category Filter's value)
9//     sort[0][field]: Name
10//     sort[0][direction]: asc
11
12// Inside repeating group first cell:
13// Text element: Current cell's record's fields Name
14// Text element: Current cell's record's fields Price :formatted as $#,###.##
15// Image element: Current cell's record's fields Image URL
16// Button: On click → Call Airtable 'Update Products Record'
17//   recordId: Current cell's record's id
18//   new_status: 'Archived'

Airtable's 5 requests-per-second rate limit applies across all users of your Bubble app simultaneously, not per user. If your page makes one Airtable API call on load and 6+ users open it at the same moment, you will hit the limit and receive HTTP 429 errors, which appear as empty repeating groups or silent failures in Bubble. The production-safe pattern is to cache Airtable data in Bubble's own database. Create a Bubble data type that mirrors your Airtable table structure (for example, a 'Product' data type with fields matching your Airtable columns, plus an 'airtable_record_id' text field to track the Airtable record ID). Enable Backend Workflows in your Bubble app (Starter plan or above required). Create a Backend Workflow named 'Sync Airtable Products.' Inside it, add an API call step: Airtable - List Products Records (with maxRecords=100 and filterByFormula for active records). For each record in the response, use 'Search for Products where airtable_record_id = [record id]': if found, update the existing Bubble Product; if not found, create a new one. Finally, schedule this Backend Workflow to run on a recurring schedule (every 15 or 30 minutes) using Bubble's 'Schedule API workflow (recurring)' action, triggered on page load or from an admin button. Once the sync runs, change your UI repeating groups to use 'Search for Products' from Bubble's database instead of the live Airtable API call. Users now get fast, database-speed responses, and Airtable is only called by the scheduled sync workflow — typically once every 15 minutes regardless of user count. If RapidDev's team can help you design this sync architecture for your specific Airtable schema, reach out for a free scoping call at rapidevelopers.com/contact.

1// Bubble Backend Workflow: 'Sync Airtable Products'
2// Triggered: Recurring schedule (every 15 minutes)
3// Requires: Starter plan (Backend Workflows)
4
5// Step 1: Call Airtable API
6//   API call: Airtable - List Products Records
7//   Parameters: maxRecords=100, filterByFormula={Status}='Published'
8
9// Step 2: For each record in Step 1's response records list
10//   (Use 'Schedule API workflow on a list' → 'Upsert Single Product' sub-workflow)
11
12// Sub-workflow 'Upsert Single Product' (parameter: record = one Airtable record):
13//   Search for Products where airtable_record_id = input record id
14//   If found (count > 0):
15//     Make changes to thing: update Product fields from input record fields
16//   If not found (count = 0):
17//     Create new thing: Product with airtable_record_id = input record id
18//     and all fields from input record fields
19
20// Result: Bubble database stays in sync with Airtable
21// UI repeating groups: use 'Search for Products' (Bubble DB, fast, no rate limits)
22// not 'Get data from external API' (live Airtable, rate-limited)