How to back up an Airtable base for free (CSV, schema and attachments)

Описание и применение

Создайте токен с правами чтения, используйте клиентские инструменты для экспорта таблиц, схемы и вложений, либо запустите Node.js‑скрипт, чтобы получить полную резервную копию базы Airtable.

Задача

Airtable’s built‑in safety does not guarantee a personal copy; accidental deletions, bulk edits or lost logins can destroy data. A backup must include records, schema and attachments.

Результат

The backup contains complete data, schema, and attachments, enabling restoration without Airtable. The process is free and can be run manually or automated.

Рабочий процесс

• Create a read‑only personal access token with scopes data.records:read and schema.bases:read.
• Run the Base to CSV tool to download all tables as CSVs in a ZIP.
• Run the Schema export tool to get a data dictionary (CSV/Markdown/JSON).
• Run the Attachment downloader to fetch all files into a ZIP with a manifest CSV.
• Optionally run the Record counter to gauge size and limits.
• For full automation, set AIRTABLE_TOKEN and BASE_ID environment variables and execute the provided Node.js script (backup.mjs).

Доказательства

A complete backup of a base has three parts, and most people only save the first: Records, Schema, Attachments.

Источник

If the view has filters or hidden fields, the CSV has them too, so you can silently miss records or columns.

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Attachment URLs expire after about two hours.

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The Node.js script (version 18 or newer, no dependencies) saves the schema, every table as JSON, and every attachment.

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