Airtable is the most flexible no-code database many teams ship on. Connecting Airtable to clariBI brings any base, table, or record into your AI analyses.
Why connect Airtable
Airtable bases are perfect for tracking everything from content calendars to vendor lists. Querying them at scale or alongside other data sources is where general analytics tools struggle.
With Airtable connected, you can ask "How many new vendor records did we add this quarter?", "Find content scheduled for next month", or "List orders over $5,000 by region" without exporting CSVs.
How the connection works
clariBI talks to Airtable through its hosted MCP server at https://mcp.airtable.com/mcp. Authentication uses an OAuth flow that clariBI registers itself for (no developer console setup on your side). Tokens stay encrypted server-side and never leave clariBI in clear form.
sequenceDiagram
actor U as You
participant C as clariBI
participant V as Airtable
U->>C: Click Authorize with Airtable
C->>V: Open OAuth authorization
V-->>U: Grant read access?
U->>V: Approve
V-->>C: Authorization code
C->>V: Exchange code for tokens
V-->>C: Access + refresh tokens
C->>C: Encrypt and store credentials
C-->>U: Connection ready
Available tools
The AI engine selects from these read-only Airtable tools during analyses. None of them modify data in Airtable.
| Tool | Returns | Example question |
|---|---|---|
ping | Server health check. | Is Airtable MCP up? |
list_bases | Airtable bases you have access to. | List my Airtable bases. |
list_workspaces | Workspaces you have access to. | What Airtable workspaces am I in? |
list_tables_for_base | Summary of tables in a base. | What tables exist in the customer base? |
get_table_schema | Detailed schema of a table. | Columns and types in the Orders table? |
list_records_for_table | Records from a table with optional filtering. | Show me orders from this month. |
display_records_for_table | Interactive widget showing record data. | Display orders over $1000. |
search_records | Free-text search across records in a table. | Find records mentioning "renewal". |
search_bases | Search bases by name. | Find bases with "customer" in the name. |
list_pages_for_base | Interface pages in a base. | What interface pages exist on this base? |
list_records_for_page | Records from a specific interface page. | Records on the Sales Pipeline page? |
get_record_for_page | Single record from an interface page. | Pull record rec_001 from the page. |
Data flow during analysis
When you ask a question that maps to Airtable, the AI engine routes to the right tool, reads the result, and pairs the answer with a chart you can pin to a dashboard.
sequenceDiagram
actor U as You
participant C as clariBI
participant AI as AI engine
participant V as Airtable
U->>C: Ask a question about structured records and tables
C->>AI: Plan the analysis
AI->>V: Call the right tool
V-->>AI: Tool result
AI->>AI: Summarize and chart
C-->>U: Answer plus visual
Setting up the connection
- Open Data Sources in the clariBI sidebar.
- Click Add data source.
- Open the MCP Servers tab.
- Click the Airtable card.
- Click Authorize with Airtable.
- Sign in to Airtable in the popup window and grant the requested read scopes.
- Back in clariBI, give your data source a name.
- Click Finish.
Permissions and data access
clariBI requests read access to records and base schemas. No records can be created, updated, or deleted, and no schema changes are possible. Disconnect from your Airtable account settings or from clariBI Settings.
Troubleshooting
| Error | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| "Field not found" in analysis | A field referenced in the question was renamed in Airtable. | Use the current field name; the schema is cached and refreshes when you ask the next question. |