Converting Airtable records to JSON format in React application

Other Questions Airtable
1

I’m working on a React project where I need to fetch data from Airtable and convert it to JSON format. The issue I’m facing is with my function that retrieves records from the database.

function fetchTableData(tableName) {
  let dataArray = []
  airtableBase(tableName).select().all()
  .then(
    function (retrievedRecords) {
      for (let index = 0; index < retrievedRecords.length; index++)
        dataArray.push(retrievedRecords[index]._rawJson.fields)
      // console.log(dataArray) works fine here
    });
  // return dataArray returns empty array
}

The function successfully retrieves the records and I can see them in the console, but when I try to return the array, it comes back empty. How can I properly return this data and format it as JSON?

2

Been there, done that. Spent way too many hours debugging similar async headaches building data pipelines.

Honest truth? Manual API integration with Airtable gets messy fast. You’re dealing with promises, error handling, rate limits, plus you still need to transform the data format.

I used to write custom functions like this constantly. Then I realized I was reinventing the wheel every project. Now I just automate the whole Airtable to JSON pipeline.

Set up a workflow that watches your Airtable base, automatically converts records to whatever JSON structure you need, and pushes it to your React app. No more async debugging. No more custom fetch functions. Just clean data flowing exactly how you want it.

The workflow handles all the promise management and data transformation in the background. Your React component just receives clean JSON data through webhooks or API calls.

Way cleaner than wrestling with Airtable’s API every time you need data. Plus it scales better when you add more tables or need different data transformations.

3

yep, using async/await is def the way to go. just make your function async and do const records = await airtableBase(tableName).select().all(); then push em into your dataArray. you’ll need to return it after the data loads, or it’ll be empty.

4

JavaScript promises are async, but your return statement runs sync. I hit this same issue building a CMS that pulled from external APIs. Don’t try returning from inside the promise - use a callback or update your component state directly: javascript function fetchTableData(tableName, callback) { airtableBase(tableName).select().all() .then(retrievedRecords => { const dataArray = retrievedRecords.map(record => record._rawJson.fields) callback(dataArray) }) .catch(error => { console.error('Error fetching data:', error) }) } Then in your React component: javascript fetchTableData('yourTable', (data) => { setYourState(data) }) Better error handling and predictable data flow. The callback only fires after you’ve actually got the data, so no more empty arrays.

5

Classic async timing issue. Your function’s returning before the promise resolves.

I hit this exact same problem building a dashboard that pulled from multiple APIs. You need to return the promise itself:

function fetchTableData(tableName) {
  return airtableBase(tableName).select().all()
    .then(retrievedRecords => {
      return retrievedRecords.map(record => record._rawJson.fields)
    })
}

Then call it:

fetchTableData('yourTable')
  .then(data => {
    console.log(data) // your JSON data here
    // use the data in your React component
  })

For React components, wrap it in useEffect and useState. Don’t try returning from inside the then block - handle the promise properly.