Within Airtable, each record has a unique identifier known as a Record ID. If you are familiar with Entity-Relationship Diagrams or ERDs, then the record id would be the primary key.

For most, record id's remain behind the scenes. However, learning to find and use record ids will also help you to better leverage your information organized in Airtable. 

How do I find a record id?

A record ID can only be displayed when a record is expanded. To expand a record, hover over any record and look for the expand icon that will appear at the very left hand side of the record. Click the icon to expand the record. 

After expanding a record, take notice of your web address bar. The URL will show something like 'airtable.com/tblxxxxxxxxx/viwxxxxxxxx/recxxxxxxxx'. The 'recxxxxxxx' portion of the URL string is the unique record id.

Using the RECORD_ID formula function

Another way to obtain a record ID is by using a formula field and the RECORD_ID() function. This function can be used to produce each unique record id in a table. To start, add a formula field to your table and input the function as shown in the example below. 

Save the formula, and you'll then see the unique record ID for every record in your table. 

What can I do with a record id?

Besides using record ID in an API integration, you can also use it when setting up automations or within the Scripting App. 

You can additionally create a record-specific URL using a formula field. Expand a record and wrap the text up until 'rec' in quotes followed by an ampersand (&). Then, use the RECORD_ID() function to fill in each record id dynamically.