Automation: “Linked record” field showing both array + string record ID in update step

Hm could you provide screenshots of of the run log, automation set up and relevant tables please?  

I tried to recreate your setup but couldn’t see anything weird with the automation history or the run logs

Thanks for the quick reply!

Here are the screenshots you asked for:
1️⃣ Automation setup showing the “Create record” and “Update record” steps
2️⃣ Run log showing the linked record value — you’ll see it lists both the array format (["recXXXXXXXXXX"]) and the plain record ID
3️⃣ The “Linked Prelims (NEW)” field setup — it’s a linked-record field connected to the “Prelims Summary (Client Breakdown)” table

The automation runs successfully — it creates and links the correct Prelims record — but the run log always shows both values, and the field itself sometimes duplicates the link.

I just want to confirm whether this is:

• a harmless display issue in the run log, or

• something in my JSON array format that should be changed (e.g. escaping or wrapping).

Appreciate any insight!

Ah, that ‘Update Record’ shouldn’t have the ‘[“”]’ bits and should look like this:

I’m surprised your setup works actually!

Thanks Adam

Finally got it working, after days of trialling 😂