Airtable CLI

A command-line interface for Airtable that auto-discovers available operations from the Airtable MCP server.

Install

npm

npm install -g @airtable/cli

curl

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Airtable/airtable-cli/main/install.sh | sh

npx (no install)

npx @airtable/cli --help

Note: Node.js 18+ is required for all install methods.

Quick Start

Configure with a personal access token:

airtable configure

List available tools:

airtable tools

Run a tool:

airtable <tool-name> --flag value

Usage

airtable configure          Set up endpoint and personal access token
airtable tools              List available tools
airtable <tool> [--flags]   Run a tool
airtable <tool> --help      Show help for a tool
airtable <tool> --input -   Pass arguments as JSON via stdin
airtable --version          Print version

Profiles

You can manage multiple accounts using profiles:

airtable configure --profile work
airtable configure --profile personal
airtable tools --profile work

Pipe JSON input

For complex arguments, pipe JSON via stdin:

echo '{"baseId": "appXXX", "tableIdOrName": "Tasks"}' | airtable list-records --input -

Output formats

airtable <tool> --output raw    # Raw text output from the server

Configuration

Config is stored in ~/.airtable/cli.json. Tool definitions are cached in ~/.airtable/cache-{profile}.json (5-minute TTL).

Development

Build:

npm install
npm run build

Install locally as the airtable command:

npm run build
npm link

After npm link, the airtable binary points directly to dist/cli.js, so you only need to re-run npm run build to pick up changes — no need to re-link.

Unlink when done:

npm unlink -g @airtable/cli

Type-check:

npm run typecheck

Releasing

Version is tracked in package.json. To cut a release:

1. Bump the version in a PR:

   npm version patch  # or minor / major
   git push -u origin chore/bump-version-x.y.z
   gh pr create

2. Merge the PR.
3. Push a tag matching the new version:

   git checkout main && git pull
   git tag v0.1.1
   git push origin v0.1.1

The release.yml workflow triggers on the tag push and publishes to npm via OIDC trusted publishing — no token needed.

License

MIT