Build an app from Airtable

Airtable is a relational database tool and online collaborative tool with a spreadsheet interface. It offers easy to use API documentation. 

Professionals and Bravo power-users often use airtable to build apps. How? When somebody sets out to organize data, they can choose someone else’s system to do it or build their own. The first option often has limited customization possibilities. With the second option, the creator is in complete control but they might waste time. Airtable has a perfect balance between advanced capability, intuitive interface and cost-effectiveness. 

So, let’s see how to bring your ideas to an app using Airtable. 

Before you start using Airtable 

Here are some of the things you need to have ready to kick off your project. 

1. Figma or Adobe XD files of your app design 
2. An Airtable account
3. A Bravo Studio account
4. Bravo Vision app

How to start using your Airtable as the backend for your app

You can easily add content to your app by connecting your Airtable database to your Bravo App. Airtable offers a very easy to use API documentation, however, you can also use Bravo's built-in API wizard to automatically create your API requests.

Depending on the desired functionalities, you can set up different API requests so that app users can create, read, update, and delete data from your airtable directly from your mobile app. 

Using the Airtable API Wizard

The Airtable API Wizard automatically creates GET requests from an Airtable base to display data in your app.  Copy this example Airtable and try it out! 

1. In the Data Library, click + New Collection and select Airtable.

2. Follow the onscreen instructions to find the share link of your Airtable base. Click Continue.

3. Follow the onscreen instructions to find your Airtable API key. Click Complete.

4. Wait for the Wizard to do its magic. Click Continue once all the steps are green.

5. The Wizard creates two requests per table: one for the list page and one for the detail page. Therefore, there are 2 tables in my Airtable, but 4 requests have been created. All the data records from the requests are also selected.

6. You are done! Go back to your Projects and start binding data to your apps. 

How to Connect multiple tables from Airtable to one app

In Airtable, multiple tables can be used to separate the content of different sections in your app. If you need geolocalized content or any other kind of filter, you might find this interesting. 

1. In the design tool, create one app page for each table. You will later create one request per table, and connect each request to each screen in Bravo.

2. In Bravo, create a request for the first table (Indonesia). Open the API Documentation for your Airtable base, locate "Tab 1" Table > List records Copy the URL under "Example Request" (everything before "?")

3. Paste to the Request URL field in Bravo and put in your Authorization key in the Headers. 

4. Press Send & choose the data you want to display in app screen #1. To connect the 2nd (and so on) table to app screen #2, in the Airtable API Documentation, locate

5. Copy the URL for that table. Create a separate request in your data collection in Bravo. Once again, paste to Request URL field in Bravo. Put in your Authorization key in the Headers. Press Send & choose the data you want to display in app screen #1. That’s it! 

Need more Airtable documentation? 

We’ve got you covered! You’ll be able to find all the Airtable docs you need here. Make sure to browse through app cases. They might spark ideas for your app!  

Why should you use Airtable?

If you need to accelerate your processes, add data from different sites and work together with a team on an app that implies using data, Airtable is the right way to go. 

After you’ve created and configured the schema of an Airtable base from the graphical interface, your Airtable base will provide its own API to create, read, update, and destroy records. This is what your app will nurture from. 

Bravo: the best no-code app development software

Bravo is your no-code custom-made mobile app builder for iOS and Android. Create pixel-perfect MVPs, validate ideas and publish on App Store and Google Play Store. You can start Bravorizing today for free. 

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