Airtable MCP server

Airtable MCP is a server that connects AI tools directly to Airtable, allowing you to interact with your Airtable data using natural language. It enables querying, creating, updating, and deleting records, along with base management, table operations, and schema manipulation through a standardized Model Context Protocol (MCP) interface compatible with Claude Desktop.

Installation and Setup

Getting Your Airtable Credentials

Before you begin, you'll need:

• An Airtable API token from your account page
• Your base ID from your Airtable base URL (in the format: appi7fWMQcB3BNzPs)

Configuring Claude Desktop

1. Open your Claude Desktop configuration file:

   open ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
   

2. Add the following configuration to the file:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "airtable-mcp": {
         "command": "npx",
         "args": [
           "@smithery/cli",
           "run",
           "@rashidazarang/airtable-mcp",
           "--token",
           "YOUR_AIRTABLE_TOKEN",
           "--base",
           "YOUR_BASE_ID"
         ]
       }
     }
   }
   

3. Replace YOUR_AIRTABLE_TOKEN and YOUR_BASE_ID with your actual credentials

4. Save the file and restart Claude Desktop

Using Airtable MCP

After configuration, open Claude Desktop and wait approximately 30 seconds for the connection to establish. You can then interact with your Airtable data using natural language.

Available Tools and Commands

Here are the key tools you can use through natural language:

Example Commands

Here are some examples of how to interact with your Airtable data:

• Viewing tables: "What tables do I have in my current Airtable base?"
• Reading records: "Show me the first 10 records in the Projects table"
• Creating data: "Create a new record in the Tasks table with name 'Complete report' and status 'In Progress'"
• Updating records: "Update the due date to next Friday for record rec123 in the Tasks table"
• Filtering data: "Show me all records in Contacts where the state is California"

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Connection Problems

   • Verify Node.js is installed by running node -v (should be v14 or higher)
   • Double-check your API token and base ID
   • Restart Claude Desktop after making configuration changes

2. JSON Configuration Errors

   • Ensure your configuration file uses valid JSON format
   • Avoid unnecessary escape characters
   • Use the exact format shown in the installation instructions

3. Command Not Found Errors

   • Install or update Node.js from nodejs.org
   • Update npm by running npm install -g npm@latest
   • Verify the CLI tool works by running npx @smithery/cli --version

If problems persist, try fully closing and reopening Claude Desktop, or check if your Airtable API token has the necessary permissions for the operations you're attempting.

How to add this MCP server to Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > MCP and click "Add new global MCP server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "cursor-rules-mcp": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "cursor-rules-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explictly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.