Airtable API integration

This guide walks you through building an Airtable API integration, using a football data API as a practical example. You’ll learn how to connect Airtable to an external API, import data into your base, and set up automatic syncing, so your data stays up to date

What is an Airtable REST API Integration?

An Airtable API integration connects your Airtable base to an external system so data can be imported and updated automatically, instead of being copied manually. APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) are a standard way for applications to exchange data over the web, usually returning structured data in formats like JSON.

Many APIs follow REST principles and use standard HTTP methods such as GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE, but the same integration approach applies to other API styles as well. With an Airtable API integration, external data becomes part of your base and can be kept in sync on a schedule.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to:Connect an API to your Airtable base

• Connect an API to your Airtable base

• Import external data from an API endpoint

• Map API response fields to Airtable fields

• Schedule automatic updates to keep data in sync

Installing the Data Fetcher Extension

Before you can connect APIs to Airtable, you'll need to install Data Fetcher from the Airtable extension marketplace.

1. Install Data Fetcher from the Airtable extension marketplace.

2. Create your free account by entering your email address and password, then click Create your free account. Alternatively, sign up using a Google account.

How to connect an API to Airtable

To build an Airtable API integration, you configure a connection between your Airtable base and an external API. This involves choosing an API endpoint and telling Airtable what data to import.

In this example, we’ll use a football data API to import English football competitions into Airtable. The same approach works for connecting Airtable to any API.

Step 1: Create a new API integration

1. Open Data Fetcher in your Airtable base, then click Create your first request.

2. Select Custom under Application.

3. Rename the request to "Import football competitions".

Step 2: Choose the API endpoint

4. Copy and paste this competitions endpoint URL into the URL input:

http://api.football-data.org/v4/competitions

This endpoint returns competition data from the football data API.

Step 3: Filter the data you import

Most APIs allow you to filter or limit the data they return. This helps you import only the data you need into Airtable.

5. Click Add + under Parameters.

6. Enter areas under Parameter and 2072 under Value.

• The areas parameter filters competitions by location.
• 2072 is England's unique ID in this API.
• Each API has different parameters - check your API's documentation.

When parameters are added, Data Fetcher automatically includes them in the API endpoint URL.

7. Click Save and Run in the bottom right corner.

Map API data to Airtable fields

After you click Save and Run, Data Fetcher retrieves data from the API and opens the Response Field Mapping screen. This is where you control how API data is mapped to fields in your Airtable table.

How field mapping works

For each field returned by the API, you can choose how it should be handled in Airtable:

• Include or exclude fields – Use the checkbox to import a field or skip it

• Create new fields – Let Data Fetcher create new columns automatically

• Map to existing fields – Match API data to columns that already exist

• Set field types – Choose the correct Airtable field type (text, number, date, attachment, etc.)

This gives you full control over your table structure and keeps your base clean.

Understanding Field Mapping Options

For each piece of data from the API, you can:

• Import or exclude it - Use the checkbox to include or skip each field.
• Create new fields - Let Data Fetcher create new columns in your table.
• Map to existing fields - Match API data to columns you already have.
• Set the field type - Choose whether data should be text, number, date, etc.

Select the fields you want to import

The football data API returns around 30 fields, but you only need a small subset. To import just the fields you care about:

1. Click Deselect All to clear the selection.

2. Select and configure the following fields:

• Competitions id → New field "Id" (Number)
• Competitions emblem → New field "Emblem" (Attachment)
• Competitions name → Map to existing "Name" field
• Competitions type → New field "Type" (Single select)
• Competitions current season start date → New field "Current season start date" (Date)

Tip: If you can’t find a field, use the Find field search bar or scroll horizontally to see all available fields.

3. Click Save and Run in the bottom right corner.

Your Airtable table will now be populated with English football competition data, with each field mapped to the correct Airtable field.

Keep records updated (avoid duplicates)

When you run an API integration multiple times, you may want existing Airtable records to be updated rather than creating new ones each run.

Data Fetcher can update records based on a unique field — for example an ID returned by the API. This lets you keep one row per item while syncing changes over time.

To do this, choose a unique field (such as an API ID) in Advanced settings → Update based on field.

Learn more about updating records based on a field.

Handle API authentication in Airtable

Many APIs require authentication to access data, increase rate limits, or unlock paid features. When connecting an API to Airtable, authentication ensures your integration can reliably fetch and sync data over time.

Data Fetcher supports common API authentication methods, including API keys, bearer tokens, basic authentication, and custom headers.

For example, the football data API requires authentication to access match data and to make more than a limited number of requests per minute.

Add API authentication in Data Fetcher

To add authentication to your Airtable API integration:

1. Open your request in Data Fetcher and click the Authorization tab.

Select the authentication method required by the API (for example, Bearer Token, API Key, or Basic Auth).

3. Enter the credentials provided by the API service.

Once configured, Data Fetcher automatically includes your credentials with every sync, so you don’t need to manage authentication manually.

Most API providers issue authentication credentials after you sign up for their service. These are usually available in the provider’s dashboard and clearly labelled as an API key or access token.

Add custom headers

Headers let you send additional information with your API integration, such as the data format you expect, the API version to use, or other configuration options required by the API.

While authentication controls who can access the API, headers control how the API processes your request.

Add headers in Data Fetcher

To include custom headers in your Airtable API integration:

1. Open your request in Data Fetcher and click the Headers tab.

2. Add the header names and values required by the API.

Common API headers

Some APIs require specific headers to be set. Common examples include:

• Content-Type – Specifies the format of the data being sent (often application/json)

• Accept – Defines the data format you want returned

• API-Version – Requests a specific version of the API

Header requirements vary by API. Always check the API’s documentation to confirm which headers are required and how they should be configured.

Handle API pagination in Airtable

Many APIs limit how much data they return in a single response. When an endpoint returns large lists of records, the data is often split across multiple pages. This is known as API pagination.

When building an Airtable API integration, pagination ensures that all records are imported, not just the first page of results.

Data Fetcher supports the most common pagination methods out of the box, including page-based, offset-based, cursor-based, and GraphQL pagination.

Configure pagination in Data Fetcher

To enable pagination for your Airtable API integration:

1. Open your request in Data Fetcher.

2. Open Advanced settings.

3. Under Pagination, select the pagination method used by your API.

4. Choose how many pages to fetch, or select Fetch all pages.

Data Fetcher automatically handles the follow-up requests and combines all results into your Airtable table.

Note: Each page fetched counts as a workspace run. If you’re working with large datasets, test pagination with a small number of pages first.

Airtable API Automation

Manual imports are useful for one-off data pulls, but most Airtable API integrations need to stay up to date. Data Fetcher’s scheduling feature automatically runs your integration at set intervals, keeping your Airtable base in sync with external data.

Automatic scheduling is available on paid Data Fetcher plans.

Upgrade your account

1. Open your request in Data Fetcher and scroll to the Schedule tab.

2. Click Upgrade to view available plans.

3. Select the plan that matches your needs and complete payment.

Set up automatic syncing

4. Click + Authorize to grant Data Fetcher permission to update your Airtable base.

5. In the authorization window, click + Add resources to select the bases Data Fetcher can access.

6. Click Grant Access.

7. Turn on Schedule this request and choose how often the integration should run:

• Minutes (every 15, 30, or 45 minutes)
• Hours (every 1, 2, 6, or 12 hours)
• Days (daily at a specific time)
• Months (monthly on a specific date)

8. Click Save to activate automatic updates.

Once enabled, Data Fetcher will run your Airtable API integration on the schedule you’ve chosen and keep your base updated with the latest data from the API.

Other ways to connect APIs to Airtable

Depending on the API you’re working with, there are a few different ways to build an Airtable API integration using Data Fetcher.

Use no-code integrations

Data Fetcher includes pre-built Airtable integrations for popular tools like Google Sheets, Facebook Ads, and Stripe. These integrations don’t require any API knowledge — just connect your account, choose what data to import, and sync it to your base.

This is the fastest option when a ready-made integration is available.

Use cURL commands from API docs

If an API provides example requests as cURL commands, you can paste them directly into Data Fetcher. This automatically imports the URL, headers, parameters, and authentication settings.

Our guide on running cURL commands in Airtable shows how to use this approach to set up integrations quickly without manual configuration.

Work with GraphQL or POST requests

Not all APIs use simple GET requests. Data Fetcher also supports:

• GraphQL APIs, including pagination

• POST requests, commonly used for search endpoints, reporting APIs, or complex filters

This makes it possible to connect Airtable to modern APIs that require request bodies, variables, or more advanced querying.

You now have everything you need to connect Airtable to virtually any API. Start with a simple import, confirm the data looks right, then add scheduling to keep your base automatically up to date.