Guide · checked 2026-10-22
Export everything from Airtable
Airtable has no single "download this base" button. Here is what each export route keeps, what it loses, and how to bring a whole base, with its links, formulas and attachment files, into Rowflare.
Three ways to get data out of Airtable
CSV download, one view at a time
Every view has a Download CSV item in its menu. You get one file per view with cell values only: linked records, lookups and rollups arrive as text, formulas as their current results, and attachments as links. Those attachment links are download URLs on airtableusercontent.com that Airtable expires after a short time for security, so a CSV saved today will not fetch the files next week.
Base snapshots
Snapshots are recovery points inside Airtable. Restoring one creates a new base in a workspace where you have Creator permissions; Airtable does not describe a snapshot as a file you can download. Useful before a risky change, not as an export.
The Airtable Web API
With a personal access token the API returns the schema (tables, fields, field options) and every record, including attachment metadata. That is how full exports are done: open-source tools such as airtable-export write a base to YAML, JSON or SQLite files, and Rowflare's direct import (below) reads the API and copies attachment files before their links expire.
Sources: Airtable attachment URL behavior, Taking and restoring snapshots, checked 2026-10-22.
Import into Rowflare, option A: CSV, one table at a time
- In Airtable, open the table and the view you want. Use the view menu and choose Download CSV. Repeat for each table or view.
- In Rowflare, open a base and choose Import CSV.
- Rowflare creates a new table and infers field types (number, date, checkbox, select and so on) from the values.
CSV carries values only: links between tables, lookups, rollups, formulas and attachment files do not come across. Use direct import for those.
Option B: direct import of a whole base
1. Create an Airtable personal access token
- In Airtable, go to the Builder hub, Personal access tokens and create a token.
- Add the scopes
schema.bases:readanddata.records:read. - Under Access, add the base you want to import.
- Copy the token. Airtable shows it only once.
2. Find the base id
Open the base in Airtable. The base id is the part of the URL that starts with app, for example https://airtable.com/appXXXXXXXXXXXXXX/tbl....
3. Import
- In Rowflare, choose Import from Airtable.
- Paste the token and the base id, then start the import.
- Rowflare reads the schema, then copies records, links and attachments into a new base.
The token is used for the import only. Revoke it in Airtable when the import is done.
What is imported
- Tables and fields
- Records
- Linked records
- Lookups and rollups
- Formulas (kept as formulas when Rowflare supports the syntax, otherwise converted to text with their current values)
- Attachments, copied into your R2 bucket because Airtable attachment URLs expire
What is not imported
- Interfaces
- Automations
- Extensions
- Button fields
- Comments
- Revision history
Field type mapping
| Airtable field type | Rowflare field type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
singleLineText | Single line text | |
email | Email (text) | |
url | URL (text) | |
phoneNumber | Phone (text) | |
multilineText | Long text | |
richText | Long text | |
number | Number | |
currency | Number | |
percent | Number | |
rating | Number | |
duration | Number | |
singleSelect | Single select | |
multipleSelects | Multi select | |
date | Date | |
dateTime | Date (with time) | |
checkbox | Checkbox | |
multipleAttachments | Attachment | Files are copied into your R2 bucket |
multipleRecordLinks | Link to records | |
lookup / multipleLookupValues | Lookup | |
rollup | Rollup | |
formula | Formula | Unsupported syntax becomes text with the current values |
createdTime | Created time | |
lastModifiedTime | Last modified time | |
singleCollaborator / multipleCollaborators | User | Matched by email when that person is a workspace member, otherwise text |
autoNumber | Autonumber | |
barcode, button and any other type | Single line text |
Size limits
Rowflare is designed for bases up to 50,000 rows (Airtable Team's limit) and supports up to 125,000 rows per base (Airtable Business's limit). Every Airtable base on Team or Business therefore fits.