Overview
Automations allow you to configure custom trigger-action workflows directly within your Airtable base. This will allow you and your team to save time by automating repetitive tasks, increasing communication efficiency, and reducing the overall margin of error.
Automations are scoped to individual bases and can be found next to the Share button in a base on desktop/browser versions of Airtable. Automations on our iOS and Android apps are unavailable at this time.
Automations can only be created/edited by individuals with Owner or Creator permissions. Collaborators with Editor level permissions and below will be able to view but not edit Automations.
An automation consists of a trigger followed by one or more actions.
Triggers
A trigger is a specified event that initiates the automation. Available triggers include:
NOTE
Existing records in your base
will not trigger a newly created automation. Only
after you've turned your automation on, will any record that meets the new trigger condition cause the automation to run. For making big updates to multiple existing records in your base we recommend checking out the
Batch update app.
Actions
An action is a step that performs a task such as sending an email. When the trigger fires and the subsequent actions are complete, the automation is said to be executed.
There are many actions currently available:
Tips to ensure proper setup
Before creating an automation, creating a
view solely for that automation or set of automations is suggested. Take advantage of the power of
filters here.
Consider
locking the view and adding a note that editing the view filters could cause unintended automations to run.
Consider when you want the record trigger and subsequent action to occur. Is it when a record is created, a status is changed or when all fields in a record have been populated and the record is considered 'complete'? Some ideas include:
- A status field changed to 'Ready to send email' or other appropriate phrase for the particular action.
- A 'Created On' field using the created time field type. Set the view filter to only include records before today. This will create a delay on when records are sent.
- Use a form. By only using a form to create new records, all fields are added simultaneously upon submission. Ideal for automations that trigger when a record is created.
- For a simple way to mark a record as complete, add a checkbox field.
Make sure the
first record in the view has
a value in all the fields needed in your automation. During creation, you will be prompted to test your automation with a real record. At the moment, usable fields are derived from the test result of the trigger. If a test field is blank, it will not be shown in the setup.
More on test records here.
Having a firm grasp of
record IDs within Airtable can be very useful for Automations, especially when using the update record action.
If your base has any
field or table editing permissions that restrict editing to only specific users, you can add permissions for automations to make changes using this toggle:
If you’d like, you can add up to 25 automations to a base. Additionally, you can create up to 25 actions in one automation. Where applicable, an action can use outputs from previous actions in the same automation.
Run limits
| Workspace Plan |
Automation runs (per month, per workspace) |
Automation run history |
Notes |
| Enterprise |
500,000 |
3 years |
|
| Pro |
50,000 |
1 year |
|
| Plus |
5,000 |
6 months |
“Send email” action can only email collaborators on the base, not arbitrary email addresses |
| Free |
100 |
2 weeks |
“Run a script” action is unavailable |
TIP
Automation run limits reset on the first day of every month.
Our system counts an automation “run” each time a trigger is invoked. This means that both failed and successful automation attempts will count against a workspace’s monthly run allowance.
Quick start videos