airtable-cli

Files (2)

• SKILL.md
• openai.yaml · agents/

SKILL.md (first lines)

# airtable-mcp

## Self-discovery

Tools are fetched from the MCP server at runtime, so the CLI never has a hardcoded command list. Discover what's available:

```sh
airtable-mcp tools            # human-readable list
airtable-mcp tools --json     # machine-parseable list
airtable-mcp <tool> --help    # show flags and descriptions for a tool
```

Run `airtable-mcp tools` before assuming a tool exists. Tool names, arguments, and output shapes can change between server releases without a CLI update.

## Install

```sh
npm install -g @airtable/mcp-cli
```

## Auth

The CLI needs an Airtable personal access token (PAT). Two paths:

**Environment variable (preferred for scripts/agents):**

```sh
export AIRTABLE_TOKEN=pat_xxx
```

**Interactive configure (stores token in `~/.airtable/cli.json` with 0600 permissions):**

```sh
airtable-mcp configure
```

Create tokens at https://airtable.com/create/tokens. Ensure the token has the scopes required by the tools being called.

`AIRTABLE_TOKEN` takes precedence over saved profiles when no `--profile` flag is set. Never log or echo tokens.

## Quick reference

| Task                   | Command                                                 |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| Set up credentials     | `airtable-mcp configure`                                |
| Add a named profile    | `airtable-mcp configure --profile work`                 |
| Check auth status      | `airtable-mcp whoami`                                   |
| Remove credentials     | `airtable-mcp logout`                                   |
| Remove all profiles    | `airtable-mcp logout --all`                             |
| List available tools   | `airtable-mcp tools`                                    |
| Run a tool             | `airtable-mcp <tool> --flagName value`                  |
| Get tool help          | `airtable-mcp <tool> --help`                            |
| Pass args via stdin    | `echo '{"key":"val"}' \| airtable-mcp <tool> --input -` |
| Bypass tool cache      | `airtable-mcp <tool> --refresh`                         |
| Suppress status msgs   | `airtable-mcp <tool> -q`                                |
| Raw text output        | `airtable-mcp <tool> --output raw`                      |
| Use a specific profile | `airtable-mcp <tool> --profile work`                    |

Tool names use hyphens on the CLI (`list-records`) but underscores in MCP (`list_records`). The CLI translates automatically.

## Workflow

1. **Auth** — set `AIRTABLE_TOKEN` or run `airtable-mcp configure`
2. **Discover** — run `airtable-mcp tools` to see available tools
3. **Inspect** — run `airtable-mcp <tool> --help` for flags and descriptions
4. **Check access** — in `tools --json` output, check the `access` field: `read-only`, `write`, or `destructive`. Confirm with the user before running `destructive` tools.
5. **Execute** — run `airtable-mcp <tool> --flagName value`

## Output & automation

-   Default output is formatted JSON to stdout. Status messages go to stderr.
-   `--json` on `tools` gives a JSON array of `{name, title, access}`.
-   `-q` / `--quiet` suppresses stderr status messages (cache warnings, etc).
-   `--output raw` returns the raw server response text instead of parsed JSON.
-   `--input -` reads tool arguments as a JSON object from stdin, bypassing flag parsing.
-   Exit codes: `0` success, `1` error (auth, tool failure, not found), `2` usage error (bad flags, bad input).

## Common tasks

**Find a base and list its tables:**

```sh
airtable-mcp search-bases --searchQuery "Project Tracker" -q
airtable-mcp list-tables-for-base --baseId appK9MtBqFw3o5jGN -q
```

**List records with specific fields:**

```sh
airtable-mcp list-records-for-table \
  --baseId appK9MtBqFw3o5jGN --tableId tblL4GpTfEz8byRsW \
  --fieldIds '["Name","Status"]' --pageSize 10 -q
```

**Filter records** — filters use structured JSON, not formula strings. Wrap conditions in an `operands` array; the top-level `operator` defaults to `and` if omitted:

```sh
airtable-mcp list-records-for-table \
  --baseId appK9MtBqFw3o5jGN --tableId tblL4GpTfEz8byRsW \
  --filters '{"operator":"and","operands":[{"operator":"=","operands":["Status","Done"]}]}' -q
```

For select fields, filter by choice ID (from `get-table-schema`), not the display name. The `airtable-filters` skill covers compound filters, date filters, and operator-by-field-type details.

**Search records** — use `search-records` for free-text/fuzzy queries on large tables. Use `list-records-for-table` with `--filters` when filtering by exact field values:

```sh
airtable-mcp search-records \
  --baseId appK9MtBqFw3o5jGN --table tblL4GpTfEz8byRsW \
  --query "acme" --fields '["Name","Notes"]' -q
```

Pass `--fields ALL_SEARCHABLE_FIELDS` to search across every indexed field. Date, rating, checkbox, and button fields are not searchable.

**Update records** — complex args are easier via `--input -`:

```sh
echo '{"baseId":"appK9MtBqFw3o5jGN","tableId":"tblL4GpTfEz8byRsW","records":[{"id":"recVnR3xPq8sD2yLk","fields":{"fld8WsrpLHHevsnW8":"Done"}}]}' \
  | airtable-mcp update-records-for-table --input - -q

From zfifteen/skills-catalog, MIT.

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