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Reading multiple select values with API

  • July 29, 2025
  • 3 replies
  • 60 views

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I am using the Python client for the Airtable API. I am trying to read records from a multiple select column, and all I get back are values that look like the following: ['reccUldOjxhd0jlJW']. These seem to be a hash or maybe a pointer? How can I get the actual values?

3 replies

TheTimeSavingCo
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‘reccUldOjxhd0jlJW’ looks like a record ID, so if I were to hazard a guess I’d say you were looking at a linked field?  You should get [{id, name}]: 

https://airtable.com/developers/web/api/field-model#foreignkey

If you’re looking at a multiple select, you should get [{id, name, color}]

https://airtable.com/developers/web/api/field-model#multiselect


ScottWorld
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  • Genius
  • July 29, 2025

@doubleaA707 

When you see the record ID’s, that means you are looking at a linked record field (which links to another table). 
 

You can either:

  • Use the API to query the linked table for those record IDs
    or
  • In your original table in Airtable, you can create a lookup field or a calculation field based on the linked record field. Then, the API will see the text that you want to see.

Hope this helps!

If you have a budget and you’d like to hire the best Airtable consultant to help you with anything that is Airtable-related, please feel free to contact me through my website: Airtable consultant — ScottWorld


djseeds
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  • Inspiring
  • July 29, 2025

@doubleaA707 I believe Adam and Scott are correct: it sounds like you're dealing with linked records rather than multiple select fields. If you need to work with data across multiple tables via the API, I wrote a comprehensive guide on handling cross-table joins that might help: https://baseql.com/blog/cross-table-joins-with-airtable-api.html