Airtable Connector

Who can do this: Owners, Admins, and Editors can add and manage project connectors. See Roles and Permissions for details.

Connect your Airtable bases and build the interfaces you wish Airtable had. Searchable tables, Kanban boards, content calendars, and focused tools that hide complexity and show exactly what each user needs.

What you can do

Access your base data:

• Read records from any table you have access to
• Browse table schemas, field types, and views
• Query with filters, sorts, and search
• Access comments and record metadata

Build custom interfaces:

• Searchable tables with column filters and inline editing
• Kanban boards using status fields as columns
• Content calendars with publish dates as tiles
• Operations dashboards with focused views

Keep Airtable as your source:

• Your team keeps working in Airtable
• Changes reflect in your built apps
• No data duplication or manual syncing
• External users get a cleaner interface

Two ways to connect

Airtable works with Sticklight at two levels, depending on what you’re building.

Connector (for building)

The Airtable connector lets Sticklight access your bases while you build. Connect once and Sticklight can read your tables, understand your schema, and show you live data in the editor.

Use this for: Dashboards, reports, read-only interfaces that display your Airtable data.

API key (for live updates)

When you build something that needs to stay in sync with Airtable or write data back, like a Kanban board with drag-and-drop status changes, Sticklight needs your Airtable API key. This lets your published app read fresh data and save changes.

Use this for: Inline editing, add-record forms, Kanban boards, anything where your app writes to Airtable.

Sticklight prompts you for the API key when it’s needed. You don’t have to set it up in advance.

Available data

Once connected, your project can access:

Data	What you get
Bases	All bases your account can access
Tables	Table names, views, and configurations
Fields	Names, types, options, and formulas
Records	All rows with their field values
Comments	Record-level comments and discussions

Common use cases

Custom table interface

A cleaner view of your Airtable data. Search across records, filter by any column, sort as needed, and optionally edit inline. Perfect for sharing with teammates who find Airtable overwhelming.

“Build a searchable interface for my Airtable Projects base. Show the project name, status, owner, and due date columns. Add filters for status and owner, and let users edit records inline.”

Connection needed: Connector + API key (for editing)

Kanban board

Your Airtable records as draggable cards. Status field options become columns, records become cards showing key fields. Drag a card to update its status in Airtable.

“Create a Kanban board from my Airtable Tasks table. Use the Status field for columns and show task name, assignee, and due date on each card. Dragging should update the status.”

Connection needed: Connector + API key

Content calendar

A visual calendar built from your editorial or content table. Records with publish dates appear as tiles on the right day. See gaps in your schedule and filter by channel or owner.

“Build a content calendar from my Airtable Editorial base. Show posts on their publish date, color-code by channel, and let me filter by status and content type.”

Connection needed: Connector only (or + API key for editing)

Client portal

A focused view for external collaborators. Clients see their projects, status updates, and deliverables without navigating Airtable or seeing other clients’ data.

“Create a client portal from my Airtable Projects base. Filter to show only records matching the logged-in client, display project name, status, timeline, and deliverables.”

Connection needed: Connector + API key

Connecting Airtable

Step 1: Connect the connector

You can connect from chat or from your project settings.

From chat:

“Connect my Airtable account”

From project settings: Open Settings, go to Connectors, and select Airtable.

When you start the connection:

1. Click Connect Account.
2. Log in to Airtable when the authorization window opens.
3. Select the bases you want Sticklight to access.
4. Click Grant access to authorize Sticklight.

Once connected, Sticklight can access your selected bases while you build.

Step 2: Add your API key (when needed)

If you’re building something that writes to Airtable or needs live data after publishing, Sticklight enables Cloud Backend automatically. This provides the backend function needed to securely connect to Airtable. Then it prompts you for your Airtable API key.

To find your API key:

1. Go to airtable.com/create/tokens
2. Click Create new token
3. Name it (e.g., “Sticklight App”)
4. Add scopes: data.records:read and data.records:write for full access
5. Select which bases the token can access
6. Click Create token and copy it
7. Paste it into Sticklight when prompted

The key is stored securely and only used by your published app to read and write Airtable data.

Base and table structure

When prompting, it helps to name your specific base and table:

• Base: The top-level container (like “Client Projects” or “Content Calendar”)
• Table: A tab within the base (like “Tasks” or “Posts”)
• View: A saved filter/sort configuration (like “Active Projects” or “This Week”)
• Field: A column in your table (like “Status” or “Due Date”)

Good prompt: “Build a Kanban from my Client Projects base, Tasks table, using the Status field for columns.”

What visitors see

When you publish your app, anyone with access can view the Airtable data you choose to display. If you enable editing, they can also modify records.

Consider your audience:

• Internal tools: Team members see operational data
• Client portals: Filter data so clients only see their own records
• Public dashboards: Be mindful of what business data you expose

You control what your app displays and who can edit. Build with your use case in mind.

Limitations

• Base-level access. During connection, you choose which bases to authorize. Only those bases are accessible.
• Account permissions. You can only access bases your Airtable account has permission to view or edit.
• API rate limits. Airtable limits API requests. High-frequency updates or large bases may be throttled.
• Schema changes. If you rename fields or tables in Airtable, your app may need updates to match.

FAQ

Does connecting Airtable cost anything?

No. Connecting is free. You only spend credits when you build something.

Will this change anything in my Airtable base?

Read-only dashboards don’t modify your data. If you build editing features like inline updates or add-record forms, those changes write back to Airtable. You control whether editing is enabled.

What’s the difference between the connector and the API key?

The connector lets Sticklight read your Airtable data while you build. The API key lets your published app read fresh data and write changes back. Read-only displays only need the connector. Editing features need both.

Do I need to know how to code?

No. Describe what you want in plain language and Sticklight builds it. If you do write code, the files are there to open and edit.

How do I get the best results?

Name your specific base, table, and fields. Instead of “build a Kanban,” try “build a Kanban from my Projects base, Tasks table, using Status for columns and showing Assignee and Due Date on each card.”

Can I build tools for clients without giving them Airtable access?

Yes. That’s a primary use case. Build a focused interface that shows filtered data, and clients never need to log into Airtable.

What if I rename a field in Airtable?

Your app references fields by name. If you rename a field in Airtable, you may need to update your app to use the new name.

Can I connect multiple Airtable accounts?

Each project connects to one Airtable account. For multiple accounts, create separate projects.