How to Connect N8N to Airtable

Connecting n8n to your Airtable bases is a straightforward process that unlocks powerful automation capabilities. This tutorial will walk you through creating a personal access token in Airtable and using it to configure the Airtable node in your n8n workflow.

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Prerequisites

• An n8n workflow.
• An Airtable account with a base and table you want to access.

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Step 1: Create an Airtable Personal Access Token

To allow n8n to access your Airtable data, you need to generate a Personal Access Token.

1.1 Go to the Tokens Page

1. Log in to your Airtable account.
2. Navigate to the developer hub or go directly to the Personal Access Tokens page.

1.2 Create a New Token

1. Click the "+ Create new token" button.
2. Give your token a descriptive name, such as n8n Testing Token.

1.3 Add Scopes

You need to grant the token specific permissions, or "scopes," so n8n can perform actions. Add the following scopes:

• data.records:read - Allows reading records.
• data.records:write - Allows creating, updating, and deleting records.
• schema.bases:read - Allows reading the structure of your bases.

1.4 Grant Base Access

For security, you must specify which bases this token can access.

1. Under the Access section, click "+ Add a base".
2. Select the specific base you want n8n to connect to (e.g., Email List).
3. Click "Create token".

Airtable will generate your token. Copy it immediately and store it somewhere safe. You will not be able to see it again.

⚠️ Important: Treat this token like a password. Anyone with this token can access and modify the base you selected.

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Step 2: Configure the Airtable Node in N8N

Now, let's set up the connection in your n8n workflow.

2.1 Add the Airtable Node

1. In your n8n workflow, add a new node and search for "Airtable".
2. For this example, we will get a single record. Set the Operation to Get.

2.2 Create New Credentials

1. In the Airtable node properties, click the Credential dropdown and select "Create New".
2. You can connect via Access Token or OAuth. Choose Access Token as it's simpler for this purpose.
3. Paste the Personal Access Token you copied from Airtable into the Access Token field.
4. Click "Save".

If the token is correct, you'll see a "Connection tested successfully" message.

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Step 3: Fetch a Record from Airtable

With the connection established, you can now configure the node to retrieve data.

1. Base: Use the dropdown to select the base you granted access to (e.g., Email List). The list will populate automatically.
2. Table: Select the table within that base you want to query.
3. Record ID: To get a specific record, you need its unique ID.
   • In Airtable, open your table and expand the record you want to fetch.
   • Look at the URL in your browser's address bar.
   • The Record ID is the string that starts with rec. It looks like this: https://airtable.com/tblxxxx/viwxxxx/recxxxx.
   • Copy the entire rec... string.
4. Paste the Record ID into the corresponding field in the n8n Airtable node.

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Step 4: Execute and Verify

1. Click "Execute Node" to run the workflow.
2. The node should successfully execute and pull the data for the specific record you requested from Airtable.
3. You can view the results in the output panel, which will show all the fields and values for that record in JSON format.

You have now successfully connected n8n to Airtable! You can use this same credential to perform other operations like creating, updating, searching, and deleting records to build powerful automations.