How to Import Videos from YouTube URLs in Airtable

In this easy-to-follow tutorial, we'll import YouTube videos for a list of URLs into Airtable. We'll use the Data Fetcher Airtable extension and Microlink to download the YouTube videos and then add them as attachment files in Airtable. This tutorial does not need any code, and Data Fetcher and Microlink are both free to start using.

N.B. Please always be aware that the videos will always remain the property of the YouTube channel or copyright holder after downloading them.

Set up Videos Table

First, create a table called 'Video' in your Airtable base.

Next, create a field called 'URL' and add the URLs of the YouTube videos to import. ⁠⁠Create another field called 'Video' with type 'Attachment'.

Create a new Grid view called 'Needs Video' with the following filters:

• The 'URL' field is not empty.
• ⁠The 'Video' field is empty.

Install Data Fetcher

Install Data Fetcher from the Airtable marketplace. After it launches, sign up for a free Data Fetcher account by entering a password and clicking 'Sign up for free', or by using your Google account. If you already have a Data Fetcher account, then click the 'Have an account?' text in the bottom left of the screen.

Import YouTube Videos from URLs into Airtable

On the home screen of the Data Fetcher app, click 'Create your first request'. Requests in Data Fetcher are how you import data into or send data from your Airtable base.

On the create request screen in Data Fetcher, for Application, select 'Microlink'.

For Endpoint, select 'Create videos from URLs'.

Enter a Name for your request, e.g. 'Import YouTube Videos'. Then click 'Save & Continue'.

On the next screen, under URL we need to insert a reference to the values in our 'URL' Airtable field. To do this click the + button.

On the modal that opens, select 'URL' for Field. Then select 'Needs video' for Run for every record in view. Then click 'Confirm'.

URL should now contain a reference to your output table.

Make sure the Output Table & View is set to 'Videos' and 'Needs Video'.

Click 'Save & Run'.

The request will run and the Response field mapping modal will open. This is where you set how to map the fields from Microlink to your fields in Airtable.

Click 'Filter all' to remove all the pre-selected fields, then use the 'Find field' search bar to locate the fields you want to import.

For this example, we'll import the 'Image url', 'Video' and 'Title' fields.

Make sure the 'Video' field is mapped to the existing 'Video' field.

Click 'Save & Run'.

Data Fetcher will then run this request, download each YouTube video from the specified URLs, and add them as attachments to our 'Video' field. The Image URLs and titles will appear in the new fields that have also been created in the output table.

Note: if you run into Microlink's free plan limits, you can buy a Microlink paid plan here, set the Authorization type to 'Header' and enter your API Key to increase your limit.

Schedule YouTube Videos to Import into Airtable Automatically

At the moment, you'd need to manually run your Data Fetcher request to import any updates to these Youtube videos. It is possible to run the request automatically at regular intervals using Data Fetcher's paid scheduling feature.

You will need to upgrade your account to this, so in Data Fetcher, scroll to Schedule and click 'Upgrade'.

Choose a plan from the different options depending on your needs and enter your payment details.

Back in Data Fetcher, click 'I've done this'.

Under Schedule click '+ Authorize'.

Next, a window will open and prompt you to authorize the Airtable bases you want Data Fetcher to have access to.

It's recommended to select 'All current and future bases in all current and future workspaces' to avoid any issues with unauthorized bases in the future.

Click 'Grant access'.

Back in Data Fetcher, you'll see Schedule this request is now toggled on.

Select a schedule based on intervals of 'Minutes', 'Hours', 'Days' or 'Months'. Click 'Save', and any changes to the YouTube videos will automatically import from your specified URLs into your Airtable base.

What is Microlink?

Microlink is a cloud-based service which provides a powerful API for automating browser actions. Data Fetcher's Microlink allows you to use it inside Airtable. In addition to importing YouTube videos, you can create screenshots from URLs or create PDF attachements from a list of URLs.