[Plugin] Bubble to Airtable Two-Way Sync by Idea Link

Hey Bubble community :wave:,

We’ve finally completed the Bubble to Airtable two-way sync plugin.

This plugin allows you to have the same database entries on Airtable & Bubble, so that you could use native Bubble features and not needing to deal with the Airtable API, slow loading speeds and other issues such as API throttling.

UNIQUE FEATURES:

  • Setup takes 5 minutes (just generate and input Airtable API keys);
  • Fully synchronise Bubble database with Airtable and vice versa;
  • Load data from Airtable to the Bubble database and vice versa;
  • Load or insert new rows from Airtable to the Bubble database and vice versa;
  • Update entries from Airtable to the Bubble database and vice versa;
  • Update relationships between rows/tables in Airtable and Bubble;
  • Delete rows/tables from Airtable and Bubble simultaneously.

Notice: the plugin achieves optimum performance when handling Airtable sheets (databases) of up to 1000 entries.

USE CASES:

  • Expand the functionalities of Bubble.io
  • Use Native Bubble.io
  • Open up your database for edits by non-technical staff, as Airtable is a lot easier to use
  • Back up your Bubble database data

If you have any questions feel free to question here or send us an email at info@idealink.tech

We’ll soon have the list of all plugins that we’ve developed on idealink.tech

Would love to hear your feedback about using this plugin as this was a pain that we came across many times.

9 Likes

Hi @rokas, CONGRATS!. Thanks for the heads-up on this release. I was excited to get your tag in the other thread. THANKS!

I just spent a little time skimming the documents, and I have some questions. Prior to diving deeper, I was under the assumption this was mostly going to be a “configure API keys, choose tables to sync, set it and forget it”. Have a look at what Stacker, Softr, Noloco, and more are doing (hands-off sync for their no-code platforms).

If I’m reading correctly, this is more of a DIY sync. You’ve provided the pieces and parts to do adds/moves/changes between the two, but not an overarching system that will just intelligently handle the work on the back-end.

Is this accurate?

I’m not downplaying the value at all, by the way. I think it’s huge. I just had different expectations on my end. Migrating all of my direct Airtable API queries would be a huge undertaking either way, but would be made easier if I didn’t have to think about the how-and-when to properly sync.

Either way, appreciate any thoughts! Feels like a great product!

Oh, one more thing I think I saw. The “Sync Tables” function seems to only sync to Bubble. Is there another that syncs to Airtable? Or does this one handle both simultaneously? Might have missed it.

Hey, @allenyang - heads up. This is a step in the right direction for the type of thing I was talking about re: better Airtable sync for Bubble in our email threads. Competition has you guys smoked right now in that arena.

Cheers!
Al

Hey, it’s all made to be fully customizable, so that it’s as applicable as possible (so the UI is not as perfect).

Sync tables synchronises all airtable tables to bubble. All the actions from Bubble side are using the other workflows. This was done with the idea that you probably need finer control over Bubble what to sync. But it may make sense in the future to build such an action too.

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Hi @rokas
I like this idea. I’m wondering however if there’s a way to use this without requiring that “AirTable tables must have a field named “BubbleId”?”

Also, how well will this work with an Airtable sheet with > 12K records?

Thanks,
George

Hi @gnelson you currently need the ID as it’s used for the two-say sync.

As for the 12k records, it will be a bit slower, but you can try it out:)

Ok. Thanks!

Before I pay for this…does this work like a backend workflow where any changes on Airtable will automatically be added to Bubble without the user needing to be online? Let me know :slight_smile:

The plugin was made with the intention of needing user interaction, but you can set up the workflows to sync in the backend. You can either set up recurring backend workflows that sync data every once in a while or you would have to set up an public backend endpoint inside bubble and some external listener who would know when airtable is updated and would call the bubble endpoint (this can be done with the help of zapier).

The plugin itself knows what data is missing from either Airtable or Bubble and appropriately syncs them, there is no need to specifically tell them what has been added or removed, all you need to do is properly set up the databases in bubble and airtable, then set up the links with workflows (can be client-side or server-side) and then the plugin will do the rest

The best way is to test it out and see if it meets your need. If you subscribe, and test it for a day you’ll essentially pay less than a dollar:)

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Would it be possible for you guys to add these process in your demo ?
I would also be interested to automate these without user interactions

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Hi ! How do you map infos like option set in Bubble or Single select in Airtable please ?
Do you reference single select in Airtable as text in Bubble ? Are Option sets considered as link_record in Airtable ? Can you limit the syncronisation of related_table to a certain view ?
Thnaks !

Help! I’m stuck with the setting process. I put all the information following the document and tried workflow to import my airtable data. Is there any video tutorial?

You can check the video tutorials here - Bubble to Airtable Two-way Sync Plugin

Guys, if you will have any questions or problems regarding to this plugin please ask me here or via email - support@idealink.tech and I will help you!

Hello,

In order to better illustrate the process, we have developed a new demo for our plugin. You can check it out here - New demo.

Hello! I’m having some trouble finding how to use the Plugin with several bases (I have 4 different bases to sync). I don’t see the option… Can you give me some guidance?
Also, is there some documentation on how to use the “sync tables” function on the Backend Workflows? I would like to trigger it from Make, which returns a success message, but nothing happens.

Hi!

At the moment you can only do it with a single base. We have a new update ready to push (final touches now) that will allow multiple bases and you won’t need JSON structure anymore for your sync, so will be much more user-friendly. Please stay tuned!

A complete overhaul to the plugin!

Now you can simply choose a data table, determine which airtable base you want to sync and it will happen automatically. New documentation is available here too: Bubble to Airtable Two-way Sync Plugin v2 (and on the plugin link itself).

You can now run the workflows via the back-end workflows (meaning you can set-up automatic syncs based on data being changed).

Have a great time using it and looking forward to your feedback!

1 Like

Hey @rokas @idealink
The plugin works but it only imports 10 rows on the action ‘sync table to bubble’. How can I further debug his or what could I do to help fix this error?

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Set up a recurring workflow to run another 1000 times until all 10,000 rows are synced. Welcome to AirTable. LOL. :wink:

Just kidding. I’m just not an AT fan but currently my employer loves it. :confused: