Airtable automation trigger: When record created

Last updated: September 28, 2026

Plan availability

All plan types with varying limitations

Permissions

  • Owner / Creator - Create, delete, duplicate, configure, or rename an automation and edit an automation’s description

  • Editor - View an automation’s configuration or copy an automation’s URL

Platform(s)

Web/Browser, Mac app, and Windows app

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Considerations before using the “When record created” trigger

  • The "When record created" trigger is triggered whenever a new record is created, meaning if you are manually entering data, this trigger will likely fire before you've finished inputting your data.

  • The "When record created" trigger is best used when a record is created programmatically — by a form submission, another automation, the API, or a sync bringing in new rows.

  • For situations where you'd like an automation to fire whenever a certain preset condition is met, we recommend the "When record matches conditions" trigger or the "When record enters view" trigger.

    • With either one, make sure the trigger's conditions—or the view's filters—include the field that a person fills in last. A record created programmatically can match a condition or enter a view the instant it is created, before anyone has filled in the rest of it, and a record that never leaves the view won't re-enter it, so the automation won't run again.

    • For records arriving through a sync, see "Triggering automations from synced records" in Getting started with Airtable sync.

Setting up an automation to trigger when a new record is created

  1. Open your Airtable home screen.

  2. Open the base where you want to create an automation.

  3. Click Automations.

  4. Click + Create new.

  5. Click + Create automation.

  6. Click + Add trigger. .

    1. Once clicked, the available triggers will be displayed for you to choose from. Choose the When record created option.

  7. Under the “Table” section, select the table where created records will trigger this automation to run.

  8. Next, test the trigger step. It’s important to test the trigger at this point so that you can utilize dynamic tokens in the automation action steps. Dynamic tokens allows you to pull in information from the created record that triggered this automation such as record ID or time of creation. You can click Use suggested record to allow our system to choose a random record that aligns with the trigger type you selected or you can click Choose record to be able to select a specific record of your choice that may fit your needs when testing other steps of the automation. You will see a green “Step successful” message under the “Results” section after the trigger step has successfully tested.

  9. Then, you want to add one or more automation actions. Check out our help center’s Automation actions section to learn more about each action Airtable offers.

  10. Finally, test and turn on the automation. Be sure to test all of the steps in the automation that you are building. Once every part of the automation has tested successfully, you’ll be ready to turn the automation on. Find the red colored “OFF” toggle and click it so the automation now appears as “ON” in green.