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Add your Airtable base to Sequin

First, let’s connect your Airtable base to Sequin:

(For this quickstart, we’ll be using the Inventory Tracking template. Feel free to join along or use another great sample from the Airtable Universe!)

Step 1: Create a new account at https://app.sequin.io/signup.

Step 2: Select Airtable as the platform you want to sync.

Step 3: Connect us with your Airtable account.

Step 4: Select the Airtable base you want to sync.

Step 5: Select the destination database you want to sync your data to. If you don’t have one ready, you can sync to a demo Sequin-hosted database for now.

Step 6: Click Create.

After you click Create, we’ll immediately connect to Airtable and begin syncing with your base.

For most Airtable bases, the sync will complete in a couple seconds. For larger bases of around ~10,000 records, the sync might take around a minute to complete.

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Query your base using SQL

Connect to your database via Sequin’s Postgres Proxy, which lets you write to your synced tables as well as read them. We’ll use psql as an example in this setup guide, but you can use any SQL client that works with Postgres.

Step 1: Go to Connection Instructions on the Sequin console. Copy the psql command to connect to your database via the Proxy.

Step 2: Open your terminal, and paste the psql command. Press Enter. This will open a connection to your database so you can write your first query:

psql -d {your_connection_string_here}
psql (14.2, server 12.11)
Type "help" for help.

db7hea89oah3tas=>

Step 3: To get a sense of your schema, list all the tables you’re syncing to your database by typing the command \dt:

db7hea89oah3tas=> \dt

                   List of relations
 Schema |           Name            | Type  |  Owner
--------+---------------------------+-------+----------
 public | _sync_cdc                 | table | postgres
 public | manufacturers             | table | postgres
 public | product_inventory         | table | postgres
 public | purchase_orders           | table | postgres
 public | warehouse_locations       | table | postgres
(6 rows)

You’ll see all the Airtable tables you selected when setting up your sync are now tables in your database. You’ll also see some _sync tables which Sequin uses to manage your sync.

Step 4: Now, write your first query. You can start with a simple select to get your bearings:

db7hea89oah3tas=> select count(*) from product_inventory;

 count
-------
    15
(1 row)

Now, pull the id, product_name, and price of one of the product inventory records for the next step:

db7hea89oah3tas=> select id, product_name, price from product_inventory limit 1;

  id               | product_name         | price
-------------------+----------------------+------
 rec1AhWrQbnQLBIqB | The High Street      | 12000
(1 row)

Great, you can now use this id in the last step of this setup guide.

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Write back to Airtable

To create, update, or delete objects in Airtable, you can insert, update, or delete rows in your Postgres database.

When you’re connected to your database through the Sequin Proxy, the Proxy listens for changes. When you make a mutation, the Proxy applies the mutation to Airtable’s API first. If the mutation succeeds, your database is updated as well. If it fails, your database mutation will be rolled back, and you’ll receive a Postgres error.

In this example, you’ll update the product_inventory in the prior step by giving them a new first and last name:

update product_inventory
set product_name = 'Sequin Dress', price = '99999'
where id = '{{product_inventory_id}}'

This call will update the product name and price of that item in the product inventory. If the Postgres write returned without an error, that means the API write succeeded as well!

You can see over on Airtable that the record has updated.

Step 3: Now, confirm the change in your database. Go back to psql and check the product_inventory you just updated:

db7hea89oah3tas=> select product_name, price from product_inventory where id='{{product_inventory_id}}';

 product_name | price
--------------+----------
 Sequin Dress | 99999
(1 row)

Great, Airtable and your database were updated simultaneously.

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Next steps

Your Airtable tables are now available as fully readable and writeable tables in your database. You can query for all your data using SQL, and mutate data thanks to Sequin’s Postgres Proxy. To build on this foundation, here are some next steps:

  • Setup your ORM to work with your synced tables.
  • Edit the Airtable objects and properties you’re syncing at any time.
  • Create views on your Airtable data to tailor your schema to your needs.
  • Invite your team to your Sequin account and start building!

If you need assistance setting up your sync, just send us a note. We’re around and eager to help.

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