External database

[Kentarou_Dobash]

Is it possible to export the data operated by airtable with CSV etc.? Is it possible to migrate to an external database immediately?

[kuovonne]

Welcome to the Airtable community!

You can download an individual view of a table to CSV. See this support article for more info. You cannot download the entire base (multiple tables) at once as CSV without a third party tool.

As for migrating to a different database, it depends on your end goals. Do you want to move off the Airtable platform completely, or do you want to move the data to be used both by Airtable and also by some additional tools?

[Kentarou_Dobash]

Thank you for your reply!

What is a third party tool? Other than CSV, there is no problem if it can be migrated to an external database.

Since airtable has a capacity limit, I want to migrate the database when the number of invited users increases.

In that case, I want to completely migrate the database platform. Can airtable do it?

[kuovonne]

If you want to leave the Airtable platform completely, it probably isn’t worth investing in a 3rd party tool for exporting to CSV. Most 3rd party tools are more designed for ongoing backups while you continue to use Airtable.

Airtable native tools are also not designed to make it easy to migrate completely away from the platform. That said, there is nothing to prevent you from downloading each table individual to CSV, and you can import those files into any platform of your choosing that accepts CSV data.

You can also consider upgrading your plan to get increased limits.

[Kentarou_Dobash]

Thank you for your reply!

I don’t need third-party tools to completely migrate the database, right?
Is it possible to export to CSV without anything?

I heard that if I upgrade the plan, there will be no limit, but can I consult individually even with a capacity of 100,000 users and 1 terabyte?

[samer_bahri]

• Airtable offers the User Interface, the business logic and the Database as a Single package. You cannot separate one from the other.

• In order to download the CSV follow the instructions in this screenshot
  

I should mention 2 things however

1. You need to download the CSV for every table/view. You can’t download the entire base in one file.
2. Linking records is going to be a messy business in the CSV, as linking is a feature that CSV does not offer

• Migrating between tools is always a risky business and I always discourage it unless you know what you are doing. My suggestion is to create new bases every so often (for example every year of every department) because the Airtable record limit is per base

• If you insist on migrating off Airtable I suggest you use their API to do so.

[Kentarou_Dobash]

Thank you for your reply.

What I want to know is what to do when the number of users increases due to airtable and the limit is exceeded.

Is it safe to migrate a database with API instead of CSV?

What kind of API is there?

[kuovonne]

Kentarou_Dobashi:

I heard that if I upgrade the plan, there will be no limit, but can I consult individually even with a capacity of 100,000 users and 1 terabyte?

All plans have limits of some sorts. On an Enterprise plan you can have a terabyte of storage. Airtable does not have a documented maximum number of users. However, Airtable does charge for all users who are not read-only users. A third party portal system probably will not work with 100,000 users.

Kentarou_Dobashi:

Is it safe to migrate a database with API instead of CSV?

I’m not sure what you mean by “safe”. The API is just another way of accessing your Airtable data. However, setting it up is probably not worth the effort if you are simply migrating off platform. If you already have an Airtable account, you can see the API documentation.

[Bill_French]

Kentarou_Dobashi:

I heard that if I upgrade the plan, there will be no limit

Pretty sure this is not true; there are always limits with everything.

I get the sense you need something like Sequin. Yes, it’s considered a third-party tool, but it is also an ideal escape hatch should your success swamp the Airtable boat.

[Kentarou_Dobash]

kuovonne:

All plans have limits of some sorts. On an Enterprise plan you can have a terabyte of storage. Airtable does not have a documented maximum number of users. However, Airtable does charge for all users who are not read-only users. A third party portal system probably will not work with 100,000 users.

thank you for your reply. I’m glad that some airtable plans can be used up to 1 terabyte.
Then it can be used by 100,000 users, right?
Is airtable charged for each active user? I understood that it was a charge for each number of records.
Like $ 10 for 5000 records