Airtable MCP Server

What is Airtable MCP Server?

The Airtable MCP Server is Airtable's official, hosted airtable mcp endpoint at https://mcp.airtable.com/mcp. It lets AI tools like Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor query, create and update records, change base schema, build interfaces and draft automations.

Airtable runs the server, so there is nothing to install. It is available to all users on all Airtable plans, and Airtable says MCP usage has no extra charge. Every action respects your existing Airtable permissions.

How to use Airtable MCP Server?

Prerequisites: an MCP client that supports Streamable HTTP, data in Airtable bases, and permission to use third-party integrations in your Airtable organization. Enterprise admins may need to allow-list the integration.

Authentication: there are two options.

• OAuth (recommended): your client opens a browser sign-in. You pick exactly which bases, interfaces and workspaces to connect. The server supports Dynamic Client Registration, so no client setup is needed.
• Personal access token (PAT): better for CLI, scripts and server-side setups. Create one at airtable.com/create/tokens with the scopes data.records:read data.records:write schema.bases:read schema.bases:write data.recordComments:read data.recordComments:write workspacesAndBases:read. Remove any scopes you do not need. Send it as an Authorization: Bearer header.

Generic config for any MCP client:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "airtable": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.airtable.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

Airtable recommends its official plugin. It bundles the MCP server with Airtable skills:

claude plugin install airtable@claude-plugins-official

Restart Claude Code, open /plugin, find Airtable MCP under Installed and choose Authenticate. To add the server manually with OAuth:

claude mcp add --transport http airtable https://mcp.airtable.com/mcp

Then run /mcp, select airtable and authenticate in the browser. With a PAT stored in AIRTABLE_PAT:

claude mcp add \
  --transport http airtable \
  https://mcp.airtable.com/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer ${AIRTABLE_PAT}"

Claude (web and Desktop)

Open the Airtable connector in the Claude connector directory, click Connect and authorize with OAuth.

Cursor

Use Airtable's install deep link, or add this to ~/.cursor/mcp.json (or a project .cursor/mcp.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "airtable": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.airtable.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Cursor authenticates through OAuth by default. To use a PAT, add "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer ${env:AIRTABLE_PAT}" }.

VS Code

VS Code uses a servers block for remote HTTP servers:

{
  "servers": {
    "airtable": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.airtable.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Airtable also publishes quickstarts for ChatGPT and Google Gemini, plus an @airtable/mcp-cli command-line tool for calling MCP tools from a terminal.

Key features of Airtable MCP Server

• Official, hosted remote MCP server operated by Airtable; Streamable HTTP transport
• OAuth with per-base, per-interface and per-workspace consent, or scoped personal access tokens
• Read, search, create, update and delete records
• Create bases, tables and fields, and update table and field details
• Build interfaces and interface pages; read data from interface pages, even with interface-only access
• Create and update automation drafts (turning them on still happens in the Airtable UI)
• Fill out and submit Airtable forms
• Included on all plans at no extra cost, subject to standard Airtable API rate limits

Airtable MCP Server tools

• Bases and workspaces: list_bases, search_bases, create_base, list_workspaces and list_external_accounts handle discovery. The assistant often starts here to find the right base.
• Tables and fields: list_tables_for_base, get_table_schema, list_views_for_table, create_table, update_table, delete_table, create_field and update_field. Changing a field's type or select choices is not supported.
• Records: list_records_for_table, search_records, create_records_for_table, update_records_for_table, delete_records_for_table and revert_action. Record creation is limited to 10 records per request.
• Interfaces and forms: create_interface, create_page, list_pages_for_base, list_records_for_page, get_record_for_page, get_form_schema and submit_form.
• Automations: list_automations, get_automation, create_automation, update_automation and delete_automation (only for automations that are off). AI tools usually call get_create_automation_instructions first.

Use cases of Airtable MCP Server

• Query a CRM in plain language: "Show me all customers from our CRM base who haven't been contacted in the last 30 days."
• Log work from chat: "Add these 5 new project tasks to my Project Tracker base."
• Keep statuses current: "Update the status of task #123 to 'Complete'."
• Spin up new structure: "Create a new base called 'Q3 Campaign Tracker' in my Marketing workspace."
• Build views for a team: "Create an interface page to track my open tasks."
• Audit workflows: "What automations are configured in my Project Tracker base?"

Airtable MCP Server vs alternatives

Before Airtable launched its hosted server, most people used community local servers. One popular option is domdomegg/airtable-mcp-server, which runs via npx with an AIRTABLE_API_KEY personal access token. A local server still makes sense if you want to pin a version or keep everything on your machine. The official airtable mcp server adds OAuth consent, interfaces, forms and automation tools, and Airtable maintains it. For other no-code databases and workspaces, compare the Notion MCP Server (Official) and ClickUp MCP Server.

Troubleshooting Airtable MCP Server

• Integration blocked in an enterprise org: an admin must allow it under Admin Panel → Settings → Integrations & development → Third party integration allowlist, using the client ID you provide.
• Can read but not write: MCP mirrors your Airtable role. Commenter and read-only users can only read. Your PAT or OAuth grant also needs data.records:write, and schema.bases:write for schema changes.
• Only an "Interface only" token is offered: you have Editor access to an interface, not to the base. Ask a base owner or creator for base-level access.
• Claude Code asks to log in again with a PAT: after adding the server with a PAT header, check that /mcp shows it as connected and authenticated. Do not press Re-authenticate, which starts OAuth.
• Automation or interface limits: MCP cannot turn automations on, create or edit Script actions, add interface filters, or edit an interface that already exists. Do those in the Airtable UI.