Airtable Automation
Automate Airtable bases with views, automations, integrations, and cross-platform workflows. Based on n8n's Airtable integration templates.
Overview
This skill covers:
- Database design and views
- Built-in automations
- n8n integration workflows
- Formula and rollup design
- Reporting and dashboards
Database Design
Base Structure Template
base: "Project Management"
tables:
Projects:
fields:
- Name: single_line_text (primary)
- Status: single_select [Planning, Active, On Hold, Complete]
- Priority: single_select [P0, P1, P2, P3]
- Owner: collaborator
- Start Date: date
- Due Date: date
- Budget: currency
- Tasks: link_to_records (Tasks)
- Progress: rollup (Tasks.Status, COUNTIF(Done)/COUNT)
- Days Remaining: formula (DATETIME_DIFF(Due Date, TODAY(), 'days'))
Tasks:
fields:
- Task Name: single_line_text (primary)
- Project: link_to_records (Projects)
- Status: single_select [To Do, In Progress, Review, Done]
- Assignee: collaborator
- Due Date: date
- Hours Estimated: number
- Hours Actual: number
- Attachments: attachment
Team:
fields:
- Name: single_line_text (primary)
- Email: email
- Role: single_select [PM, Developer, Designer, QA]
- Current Projects: link_to_records (Projects)
- Capacity: number (hours/week)
- Utilization: rollup (calculate from Tasks)
Views Configuration
views:
Projects:
- Grid: All Projects
fields: [Name, Status, Owner, Due Date, Progress]
sort: Due Date (ascending)
- Kanban: By Status
group_by: Status
card_fields: [Name, Owner, Due Date]
- Calendar: Timeline
date_field: Due Date
- Gallery: Project Cards
cover: Attachments
Tasks:
- Grid: My Tasks
filter: Assignee = {Current User}
sort: Due Date
- Kanban: Sprint Board
group_by: Status
- Calendar: Task Calendar
date_field: Due Date
Automations
Built-in Airtable Automations
automation_1:
name: "New Task Notification"
trigger:
when: record_created
table: Tasks
actions:
- send_slack:
channel: "#project-updates"
message: |
📋 New task created!
Task: {Task Name}
Project: {Project}
Assignee: {Assignee}
Due: {Due Date}
automation_2:
name: "Overdue Task Alert"
trigger:
when: record_matches_conditions
table: Tasks
conditions:
- Status: not "Done"
- Due Date: before today
actions:
- send_email:
to: "{Assignee.email}"
subject: "⚠️ Overdue Task: {Task Name}"
body: "Your task '{Task Name}' was due on {Due Date}."
- update_record:
field: Status
value: "Overdue"
automation_3:
name: "Project Complete"
trigger:
when: record_updated
table: Projects
field: Progress
condition: equals 100%
actions:
- update_record:
field: Status
value: "Complete"
- send_slack:
channel: "#wins"
message: "🎉 Project '{Name}' completed!"
n8n Integration Workflows
workflow: "Form to Airtable to CRM"
trigger: typeform_submission
steps:
1. create_airtable_record:
base: "Leads"
table: "Contacts"
fields:
Name: "{form.name}"
Email: "{form.email}"
Company: "{form.company}"
Source: "Website Form"
Created: "{timestamp}"
2. enrich_data:
clearbit: lookup_email
update_record:
Company Size: "{clearbit.company_size}"
Industry: "{clearbit.industry}"
3. sync_to_hubspot:
create_contact:
email: "{email}"
properties: from_airtable
4. notify_sales:
slack:
channel: "#new-leads"
message: "New lead: {Name} from {Company}"
Formula Reference
Common Formulas
formulas:
days_until_due:
formula: "DATETIME_DIFF({Due Date}, TODAY(), 'days')"
output: number
is_overdue:
formula: "IF(AND({Status}!='Done', {Due Date}<TODAY()), 'Yes', 'No')"
output: text
full_name:
formula: "CONCATENATE({First Name}, ' ', {Last Name})"
output: text
progress_bar:
formula: |
REPT('▓', ROUND({Progress}/10, 0)) &
REPT('░', 10-ROUND({Progress}/10, 0)) &
' ' & ROUND({Progress}, 0) & '%'
output: text (visual progress)
status_emoji:
formula: |
SWITCH({Status},
'To Do', '⬜',
'In Progress', '🔵',
'Review', '🟡',
'Done', '✅',
'❓'
)
output: text
workdays_remaining:
formula: "WORKDAY_DIFF(TODAY(), {Due Date})"
output: number
quarter:
formula: |
'Q' & CEILING(MONTH({Date})/3) & ' ' & YEAR({Date})
output: text
Rollup Examples
rollups:
task_count:
linked_field: Tasks
aggregation: COUNT(values)
total_hours:
linked_field: Tasks
rollup_field: Hours Estimated
aggregation: SUM(values)
completion_rate:
linked_field: Tasks
rollup_field: Status
aggregation: |
COUNTALL(IF(values='Done', 1)) / COUNT(values) * 100
average_rating:
linked_field: Reviews
rollup_field: Rating
aggregation: AVERAGE(values)
Integration Patterns
Airtable + Slack
slack_integration:
new_record_notification:
trigger: record_created
action: post_to_channel
template: |
*New {Table} Record*
{Field1}: {value1}
{Field2}: {value2}
<{record_url}|View in Airtable>
daily_digest:
schedule: "9am weekdays"
query: records_due_today
action: post_summary
slash_command:
command: /airtable-add
action: create_record_from_slack
Airtable + Calendar
calendar_sync:
airtable_to_google:
trigger: record_with_date_created
action: create_calendar_event
mapping:
title: "{Name}"
start: "{Date}"
description: "{Notes}"
google_to_airtable:
trigger: calendar_event_created
action: create_airtable_record
mapping:
Name: "{event.title}"
Date: "{event.start}"
Type: "Meeting"
Airtable + Zapier/n8n
multi_step_workflow:
name: "Lead Processing Pipeline"
trigger:
platform: airtable
event: new_record
table: Raw Leads
steps:
- enrich:
service: clearbit
input: email
output: company_data
- score:
service: ai_scoring
criteria: [company_size, industry, title]
output: lead_score
- route:
condition: lead_score
high: assign_to_sales
medium: add_to_nurture
low: mark_as_cold
- update_airtable:
table: Qualified Leads
fields: [enriched_data, score, assignment]
- notify:
if: high_score
slack: dm_sales_rep
Reporting Templates
Weekly Status Report
report_automation:
schedule: "Friday 5pm"
queries:
completed_this_week:
table: Tasks
filter:
- Status: Done
- Completed Date: this_week
in_progress:
table: Tasks
filter:
- Status: In Progress
overdue:
table: Tasks
filter:
- Status: not Done
- Due Date: before today
output:
format: markdown
destination: [slack, email]
template: |
# Weekly Status Report - {week}
## Completed ({completed_count})
{completed_list}
## In Progress ({in_progress_count})
{in_progress_list}
## Overdue ({overdue_count}) ⚠️
{overdue_list}
## Metrics
- Completion rate: {rate}%
- On-time delivery: {on_time}%
Dashboard View
dashboard:
name: "Project Dashboard"
widgets:
- summary_bar:
metrics:
- Total Projects: COUNT(Projects)
- Active: COUNT(Status='Active')
- At Risk: COUNT(Days Remaining < 7)
- progress_chart:
type: bar
data: Projects grouped by Status
- upcoming_deadlines:
type: list
query: Projects where Due Date in next 14 days
sort: Due Date ascending
limit: 10
- team_utilization:
type: horizontal_bar
data: Team members by task count
Output Example
Request: "Design an Airtable base for content marketing"
Output:
# Content Marketing Base
## Tables
### 1. Content Calendar
| Field | Type | Purpose |
|-------|------|---------|
| Title | Text | Content title |
| Status | Select | Idea → Draft → Review → Published |
| Type | Select | Blog, Video, Social, Email |
| Author | Collaborator | Assigned writer |
| Publish Date | Date | Target publish date |
| Platform | Multi-select | Blog, LinkedIn, Twitter |
| Keywords | Multi-select | SEO keywords |
| Performance | Link | → Analytics |
### 2. Analytics
| Field | Type | Purpose |
|-------|------|---------|
| Content | Link | → Content Calendar |
| Views | Number | Page views |
| Engagement | Number | Likes + comments |
| Conversions | Number | CTAs clicked |
| Date | Date | Measurement date |
## Automations
**1. New Content Idea**
Trigger: Record created Action: Slack to #content-ideas
**2. Ready for Review**
Trigger: Status → Review Action: Email editor + set due date
**3. Published**
Trigger: Status → Published Action:
- Post to social scheduler
- Add analytics tracking row
- Celebrate in Slack 🎉
## Views
- 📅 Calendar View (by Publish Date)
- 📊 Kanban (by Status)
- 👤 My Content (filtered by Author)
- 📈 Performance Dashboard
Airtable Automation Skill - Part of Claude Office Skills