Feature · Automation
Keep Airtable up to date without babysitting it
Once an import is right, let it run on its own. Every automated run builds the same preview as a manual one, and Rowvela holds the run for your approval when the changes look unusual.
Ways to start a run
| Trigger | How it works |
|---|---|
| Schedule | Every N minutes (down to 5), hours or days; optional weekdays and a time of day, in an IANA time zone with daylight-saving time handled. |
| Webhook | A private URL; a POST starts the run. GET only shows a confirmation page, so link previews never trigger imports. |
| Airtable button | A Button field with a generated formula runs a per-record import for the clicked record. |
| Airtable change trigger | Runs when records are created or updated in a table, or enter a view, with loop protection for imports writing to the same table. |
| Manual | Preview and apply from the app, with full review. |
Review guard
An API that suddenly returns half its data, or a mapping that shifts every value, should not be applied at 3 a.m. Rowvela holds an automated run instead of writing when:
- more than 25% of existing records would change (in tables with at least 20 records), or
- the source returns more than 30% fewer rows than the last successful run, or
- deletes exceed the threshold you set.
Thresholds are adjustable per import. The held run keeps its preview for 24 hours, the owner gets an email, and the import pauses until someone approves (applied exactly as previewed after a fresh drift check) or dismisses it.
Failures and pausing
- After a configurable number of consecutive failures (3 by default), an automated import pauses itself and notifies verified members.
- Choose whether to stop on the first rejected batch or skip batches Airtable definitively rejects, up to a limit.
- Treat an empty response as an error, or treat listed status codes such as 404 as "no data".
- Imports waiting in the queue survive a server restart; running ones are marked failed, never replayed.
Sequences
A sequence runs several imports in a fixed order, for example customers first, then invoices that link to them. Each step uses the same preview and review guard. You decide whether a failed step stops the sequence. Sequences can be run by hand, scheduled, called by webhook or triggered by changes in Airtable.
Webhooks and buttons
Webhook tokens are stored only as hashes and limited to 60 calls per hour per import. Add ?record_id= to run a per-record import for one record, which is what the generated Airtable button formula does.