Important: Action needed for apps using Airtable data source

[ShirleyN]

If your app does not use Airtable as a data source then you can ignore this post 

Background

AppSheet supports app creation with data stored in different data sources such as AppSheet databases, Sheets and Airtable. For Airtable specifically, an Airtable API key is required to authenticate this connection. Airtable has announced that the Airtable API key is a legacy authentication mechanism and is being replaced in favor of two new authentication methods: Personal Access Tokens (PATs) and OAuth for integrations. AppSheet supports the authentication method with Personal Access Tokens. 

Action needed

To ensure apps with an Airtable data source continue working as expected, migrate Airtable API keys to use Personal Access Tokens by February 1, 2024. To do this, follow the steps below:

1. Create a new personal access key, as described in Creating a token:
1. Use any name
2. Set the following minimum required scopes:
• data.records:read
• data.records:write
• schema.bases:read
3. For Access, select explicit base(s) to connect to Appsheet. (It’s not recommended  to use ‘All current and future bases in all current and future workspaces’ as this is a less secure option.)
4. Create the token.
5. Copy the created token.
2. Go to  the AppSheet account sources page.
3. Add a new Airtable data source (how to add an Airtable data source) using the existing base ID (how to find base id) and table names, but using the newly generated Personal Access Token
4. Create a test app using the Airtable data source to make sure that the token is configured correctly. In the test app, try the sync, create, update, and delete operations. All should work as expected, if not check that the token has correct scopes assigned and has access to correct bases.
5. Go to apps that use Airtables data source with old API key and update them to a new data source
1. Open the Appsheet Editor.
2. Go to Data.
3. Select a table that is using the Airtable as a data source.
4. Click Tables settings.
5. Expand the Storage section.
6. For Source Path select browse for more data.
7. Select the new Airtable data source with the PAT (if you don't see it,  refresh the page).
8. Click Done.
6. Wait for 1-2 minutes (to make sure that auth change is picked up by all servers). 
7. Test your app and make sure that everything works as expected. If not, to rollback repeat step 5 but select the old Airtable data source with the API key.
8. Once you update and test all the apps that use Airtable data source, go to the AppSheet Account Sources page and remove the old Airtable data source
9. Verify that apps that were using the removed Airtable data source continue working.

Please report any issues you encountered with AppSheet support. 

Thank you, 

AppSheet