2. Inserting data into Airtable

In this step of the workflow, you will learn how to insert the data received from the HTTP Request node into Airtable using the Airtable node.

Spreadsheet nodes

You can replace the Airtable node with another spreadsheet app/service. For example, n8n also has a node for Google Sheets.

After this step, your workflow should look like this:

View workflow file

Configure your table

If we're going to insert data into Airtable, we first need to set up a table there. To do this:

1. Create an Airtable account.

2. In your Airtable workspace add a new base from scratch and name it, for example, beginner course.

   

   Create an Airtable base

3. In the beginner course base, by default, you have a table called Table 1 with four fields: Name, Notes, Assignee, and Status. These fields aren't relevant for us since they aren't in our "orders" data set. This brings us to the next point: the names of the fields in Airtable have to match the names of the columns in the node result. Prepare the table by doing the following:

   • Rename the table from Table 1 to orders to make it easier to identify.
   • Delete the 3 blank records created by default.
   • Delete the Notes, Assignee, and Status fields.
   • Edit the Name field (the primary field) to read orderID, with the Number field type.
   • Add the rest of the fields, and their field types, using the table below as a reference:

   Field name	Field type
   orderID	Number
   customerID	Number
   employeeName	Single line text
   orderPrice	Number
   orderStatus	Single line text

Now your table should look like this:

Orders table in Airtable

Now that the table is ready, let's return to the workflow in the n8n Editor UI.

Add an Airtable node to the HTTP Request node

Add an Airtable node connected to the HTTP Request node.

Remember

You can add a node connected to an existing node by selecting the + icon next to the existing node.

In the node panel:

1. Search for Airtable.
2. Select Create a record from the Record Actions search results.

This will add the Airtable node to your canvas and open the node details window.

In the Airtable node window, configure the following parameters:

• Credential to connect with:
  • Select Create new credential.
  • Keep the default option Connect using: Access Token selected.
  • Access token: Follow the instructions from the Airtable credential page to create your token. Use the recommended scopes and add access to your beginners course base. Save the credential and close the Credential window when you're finished.
• Resource: Record.
• Operation: Create. This operation will create new records in the table.
• Base: You can pick your base from a list (for example, beginner course).
• Table: orders.
• Mapping Column Mode: Map automatically. In this mode, the incoming data fields must have the same as the columns in Airtable.

Test the Airtable node

Once you've finished configuring the Airtable node, execute it by selecting Test step. This might take a moment to process, but you can follow the progress by viewing the base in Airtable.

Your results should look like this:

Airtable node results

All 30 data records will now appear in the orders table in Airtable:

Imported records in the orders table

What's next?

Nathan 🙋: Wow, this automation is already so useful! But this inserts all collected data from the HTTP Request node into Airtable. Remember that I actually need to insert only processing orders in the table and calculate the price of booked orders?

You 👩‍🔧: Sure, no problem. As a next step, I'll use a new node to filter the orders based on their status.