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Reference · Credentials

Airtable API credentials

Used by 2 BusyBot nodes.

Type airtableApi 1 field

The Airtable credential holds a personal access token, which replaced Airtable's older API keys. Tokens are explicitly scoped and must be granted access to each base they will touch — that scoping step is what most setups miss.

Fields

FieldTypeRequiredNotes
Personal Access Token
accessToken		 password Yes Your Airtable Personal Access Token. Generate one at https://airtable.com/create/tokens

Getting your credentials

  1. Go to the Airtable developer hub while signed in.
  2. Create a new personal access token and give it a name.
  3. Add the scopes the nodes need — typically read and write access to records, plus schema read if you list tables or fields.
  4. Add the bases the token may access. A token with no bases added can authenticate but sees nothing.
  5. Create the token, copy it immediately — it is shown only once — and paste it into the credential’s Access Token field.

Permissions and scopes

Airtable tokens are scoped twice over: by permission scope and by base. Both must be right. Grant the narrowest scopes that cover your operations, and add only the bases the workflow actually uses.

Troubleshooting

  • 403 or not authorized — the token has not been granted access to that base, or lacks the required scope. Edit the token and add both.
  • 404 on a table — the table ID is wrong. Table IDs differ from the tab labels shown in the Airtable UI.
  • Worked then stopped — the token was revoked or its base access changed.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my valid token return 403?

Almost always because the base was not added to the token. Airtable tokens are scoped to specific bases as well as specific permissions, and both have to be granted.

Do old Airtable API keys still work?

Personal access tokens are the current mechanism. Create a token rather than trying to reuse a legacy key.

Which scopes should I grant?

The narrowest that cover your operations — typically record read and write, plus schema read if you list tables or fields.

Can I use one token for several bases?

Yes — add each base to the token. That is preferable to creating a token per base, provided the scopes suit both.

Nodes that use Airtable API

One credential works across every node below — create it once and reuse it.

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