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Re: Using Scripting Block to push a webhook on button click

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dave_brand
6 - Interface Innovator
6 - Interface Innovator

Hey, is it possible to create some Action Buttons to push webhooks with json data with the scripting block?

39 Replies 39

Yes. Here’s an example that does this. It targets a web service in Google Cloud Platform, but could easily target any webhook endpoint as long as it is CORS-enabled.

//
// http post test (from GCP)
//
output.markdown('## HTTP POST Test (from GCP)');

let payload = {
    "field" : "name",
    "value" : "Bill Frenchy"
}

let postOptions = {
    method: "post",
    headers: {
        'Accept' : 'application/json',
    },
    body: JSON.stringify(payload)
}

const postResults = await fetch(gcpUrl, postOptions);
const jsonPost    = await postResults.json();

output.markdown("Display JSON Object");
output.inspect(jsonPost);
output.markdown(jsonPost.field + " = " + jsonPost.value);

Excuse my ignorance, but how is this script triggered?
Is there an “Action Button” functionality in Airtable that I’m not aware of?

Run button in Script Blocks.

:man_facepalming: of course… thanks!

Jonny_Matthews
4 - Data Explorer
4 - Data Explorer

Any idea how to alter this script to work with a Zapier or Integromat webhook? Been having a go but had no luck.

Trying to get all or a select few record fields included in the payload too…

Welcome to the community, @Jonny_Matthews! :grinning_face_with_big_eyes: I’ve got this working with an Integromat webhook, though I’m only passing the record ID and letting an Airtable “Retrieve a record” module in the scenario pull the rest of the data I need, but you could send over as much or as little as you want. Here’s what I’ve got, stripped down to just the basics:

let url = "https://hook.integromat.com/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx?recordID=";
let table = base.getTable("Invoices");
let view = table.getView("Outstanding: Actions");

let record = await input.recordAsync("Pick a record", view);
await fetch(url + record.id);

When I click the button on an invoice record, it’s fed into the script, and the webhook is called with the ID included. Again, you can add more to the payload as you wish.

Chris_Ortega
4 - Data Explorer
4 - Data Explorer

@Justin_Barrett
how would I go about attaching field contents to that? I’ve tried a couple of different things to no avail

Without seeing precisely what you’re trying to do, I can suggest that …

  1. Field values needed by the webhook must be collected by the Script Block;
  2. Then passed to the webhook in some manner (either as URL parameters or as data).

#1 is achieved by adding to the script the necessary code to get the values of the record by the record ID. #2 is achieved by modifying the fetch() call with additional parameters on the URL variable.

Thanks for this Justin!

It works like a charm. When I press the button the blocks dashboard opens, is there any way to have this running in the background with seeing the blocks every time the script runs?

It’s not currently possible to prevent the Blocks sidebar from opening when using this method. It’s a highly-requested modification, though. Several users (myself included) have asked for this in various threads. I can’t find a single request thread for this change, but it couldn’t hurt to write to Airtable support directly and let them know.

Well, I believe you could eliminate the button and use a script action (see beta offering) to invoke the script silently. A few caveats…

  1. The script block would need to be converted to a script action. There may be aspects of your script block that would rule this idea out.
  2. The trigger for this would require that the record flow into a view and then be removed from that view upon completion of the script process.

Great! but im having an issue, how do i use a variable inside the payload ?

thanks in advance

There have been significant updates to Airtable’s automation system since the earlier part of our conversation. Could you share more details about what you’re trying to achieve? We can give you more accurate guidance that way.

I tried this script and work fine with a string value, but i want that everytime I click on the button I could get all the info from a specific row (id)

let url = “URL_ENDPOINT”;
let table = base.getTable(“Sorteo”);
let view = table.getView(“vista”);
let record = await input.recordAsync(“Pick a record”, view);

let payload = {
“set_variables”:“record”,
“set_variables_values”: “i need here the value of a record”,
}

let postOptions = {
method: “post”,
headers: {
‘Accept’ : ‘application/json’,
},
body: JSON.stringify(payload)
}
const postResults = await fetch(url, postOptions);
const jsonPost = postResults.json();
let id = (jsonPost.field + " = " + jsonPost.value);

You’ll need to add lines to your script to get those values, then insert them into the payload variable. Each field’s value must be collected separately using either the getCellValue or getCellValueAsString methods. For example, if you have a {First Name} field, the line to collect its value would look like this:

let firstName = record.getCellValue("First Name")

How you add the collected field values to your payload object will depend on the JSON structure required by the API you’re calling.

Hi, How are you thinking about security here? Is there a way to store secrets for calling the api without exposing them on the JavaScript/html of the client?

Is there a way to tell air table to invoke (server side) the service on your behalf, injecting secrets server side rather than invoking client side?

Thanks

The example I gave earlier is part of a system that has only one user: me. It’s admittedly pretty sparse on the security side because only I have access to the data and accounts. For situations where security is a greater concern, it’s probably not the best. My understanding of how to handle security in those situations is slim, but On2Air: Storage—part of the On2Air series of products by @openside—is specifically designed to work with Airtable for the purpose of securing storing data needed by Airtable scripts. It’s definitely worth investigating.

Thanks. Very interesting, I’ll check them out.

Hi Justin,

thanks for your example.
I’m using it in a Test Base. In that base i have a button which starts the script.
I was expecting that the script runs automaticly and the record id pushed to integromat.
But if i click the button i need to select a record first in the script. Only after i’ve done that manually the script sends the data to integromat.

Am i making something wrong here or do i miss something?

Thanks for your help.

Here is the link to the test base: Airtable - Webhook Integromat (Test)

Have a nice weekend.

Kai