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Airtable API issue with Morse Code Website integration

  • May 19, 2026
  • 3 replies
  • 40 views
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Hi everyone, I’m building a Morse Code website that converts text into Morse code and stores user submissions in Airtable through the Airtable API. The website is connected using JavaScript fetch requests and a Personal Access Token. The issue I’m facing is that records are sometimes created successfully, but updates to existing records either fail silently or create duplicate entries instead of updating the original row.

My current workflow is: first I send a GET request using filterByFormula to check whether a record already exists, then I either PATCH the existing record or POST a new one. Even when the API response returns status 200, the Airtable base occasionally does not reflect the expected changes. I suspect the issue could be related to incorrect filterByFormula syntax, record ID handling, async timing in JavaScript, or Airtable caching/rate limits.

Has anyone experienced similar problems with Airtable API integrations? What is the most reliable method to prevent duplicate records and ensure updates happen correctly? If possible, I’d appreciate recommendations for best practices, debugging strategies, or example implementations for searching and updating records safely in Airtable.

    3 replies

    TheTimeSavingCo
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    Hm, so when users are making updates, does your app already know which Airtable record ID it’s updating?

    If not, would it be possible to update it so that it did?  Once that’s a thing you’d be able to just do PATCH requests without the need for the GET or debugging any of that stuff, you know what I mean?  

    Could also look into using `performUpsert` too, feels like that might help!

    Adam, Airtable Consultant - thetimesaving.company
    nroshak
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    • nroshak
    • Inspiring
    • May 20, 2026

    Airtable API calls are rate-limited to 5 per second per base (including read requests!) so if you’re exceeding that, your requests will fail. This limitation makes it very hard to use as a website backend: it can’t handle much traffic. Honestly, I would look into a different database for the backend, like Supabase or mysql.

    Hope that helps,

    Natalka

      T
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      • tomxys
      • New Participant
      • May 22, 2026

      While the root cause is likely related to async timing, filterByFormula syntax, or record ID handling in your JavaScript fetch logic, I wanted to share a tool that’s been a huge help to me when building similar integrations.

      You can try this tool specifically for debugging frontend code that connects to APIs like Airtable. You can paste your HTML/CSS/JS code directly into the editor, and the bidirectional highlighting lets you instantly see which part of your code corresponds to which element in the live preview. This makes it way easier to trace form submissions, debug fetch requests, and spot syntax errors that might be causing unexpected behavior.

      For example, you could use it to:

      Test your form HTML and JavaScript fetch logic in real time

      Verify your async functions and request formatting

      Catch small syntax issues (like missing quotes or unclosed tags) that might break your API calls

      It won’t solve the Airtable API logic itself, but it’s a great way to speed up your frontend debugging and make sure your requests are being sent correctly. Hope it helps you track down the issue!

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