Multi user support with API

[Igor_Vidrevich]

Hi, Im trying to build a custom front-end on top of the Airtable base. There will be a number of users that can view and update the data-tables via the front-end.

Currently, I only have one API key (which is linked to my account) which is what the front-end uses to connect to the Airtable backend. What’s the best way of creating multi-user support that would be consistent with multi-user setup in Airtable?

For instance, if I create/update a record via the API – it lists my user-id as the “creator” (regardless of who actually uses the front-end). Do I have to have each user setup an API key for themselves in AirTable and then store it in their user profile?

Is there a cleaner/easier way?

[ScottWorld]

Welcome to the community, @Igor_Vidrevich!

You are correct that the API is tied to a specific user account, so it will always look like that particular user is making changes to your base, even though it’s going through the API.

Also, if that user account gets deleted (for example, if that person leaves the company) — then your API calls won’t work anymore, because that account is gone.

The way that I usually solve this issue for my clients is that we create a “generic” Airtable account with the name of the company.

Then, we use that generic account’s API Key. Any changes that are made to a record will always show up as “Company Name” instead of a person’s name.

The downside to this is that it requires paying for an extra user account every month. But it does solve most of the issues associated with the API.