Notion, Airtable and Mailchimp

Without the integration, the app does not talk to these tools: the action is refused with the notice that it is not configured in this app. None of the three requires authorizing in the browser: just generate the token at the provider and paste it into the card.

Before you start

• Plan: Builder. The plan is checked on every use: if the account leaves Builder, the app stops talking to them;
• Cost: all three have free plans that are enough to start. Each call the app makes consumes integration credits, and only when the provider accepts;
• Minimum permission. Give the token only the access the app uses, and only to the bases or lists the app needs. The steps below say what the minimum is for each one.

The three cards live in the Integrations tab: Notion and Airtable in the Productivity category, Mailchimp in Communication.

Notion

Card field: Internal Integration Token.

What the app does: creates pages in a Notion database, filling in the database's properties. For example, each form submitted in the app becomes a row in the database.

1. at app.notion.com/developers, create a connection. You need to be an owner of the workspace;
2. on the connection's Configuration tab, copy the token;
3. if the connection asks for capabilities, insert content is the only one the app needs;
4. open in Notion the database the app will use, click ••• and Add connections, and choose your connection;
5. on the Notion card, paste the token and click Save and activate.

Step 4 is what trips up almost everyone: a new token cannot see any page. Without granting access to the database, Notion answers that the database does not exist, even with the right token.

For the app to know which database to write to, it needs the database ID: it is the long code in the database's address, when opened as a full page. Give it in the chat along with the request.

Airtable

Card field: Personal Access Token.

What the app does: lists records from a table (with filter, sort and view) and creates records in it.

1. at airtable.com/create/tokens, click Create new token;
2. under Scopes, add data.records:read (to list) and data.records:write (to create). If the app only reads, the first one is enough;
3. under Access, add only the base the app will use. Without this step the token sees nothing;
4. click Create token and copy the value. It is shown only once;
5. on the Airtable card, paste the token and click Save and activate.

For the app to know where to read and write, it needs the base ID and the table name. The ID is the part that starts with app in the address of the open base (airtable.com/appXXXXXXXX/…). Give both in the chat.

Airtable's old API keys were discontinued: only the Personal Access Token works.

Mailchimp

Card fields: API key and Server prefix (optional, taken from the key).

What the app does: subscribes a contact to an audience (list). Subscribing an email that is already on the list again does not cause an error.

1. in Mailchimp, click your avatar → Account & billing → Extras → API keys → Create A Key;
2. copy the whole key, with the suffix (something like …-us21). The data center comes from the suffix, which is why the Server prefix can be left blank;
3. under Audience → All contacts → Settings → Audience name and defaults, copy the Audience ID;
4. on the Mailchimp card, paste the key and click Save and activate;
5. give the Audience ID in the chat when you ask the app to subscribe contacts.

The Mailchimp key grants access to the whole account, with no choice of scope. Create a key just for this app, so you can delete it without affecting other uses.

To test, use a throwaway audience: the subscription is real and can trigger the list's welcome email.

How to know it worked

These three cards do not test the token on save: Connected means the token was saved. The proof is the first real action:

• Notion: submit the app's form and see whether the row showed up in the database;
• Airtable: see whether the app lists the table's records;
• Mailchimp: subscribe a test email and check the audience.

If it fails, the error that appears carries the provider's own message.

How to revoke

Open the card and click Disconnect. Then delete the token in the same place you created it: the connection in Notion, the token at airtable.com/create/tokens, the key under API keys in Mailchimp.

Common problems

• Notion says the database does not exist. The Add connections step on the database is missing, or the ID given belongs to a page and not a database;
• Notion refuses the properties. The names and types have to match the database's columns. Tell the assistant the exact column names;
• Airtable answers with no permission. The token lacks the required scope or was not given access to that base;
• Airtable refuses a value for a select field. Ask the assistant to write it by the option's name; the integration accepts that when the app asks for it;
• Mailchimp refuses the key. Check that you copied the whole key, with the suffix. If you filled in the Server prefix, it has to match the key's suffix (or leave it blank);
• Many consecutive calls to Airtable fail. Airtable limits the number of calls per second per base. Wait a few seconds and try again.