I’m trying to work with Notion databases and need help with updating relationship properties. I have a database where I want to change the connected records in a relation field, but I’m not sure how to do this properly using Zapier’s custom action feature.
I’ve been experimenting with different approaches but keep running into issues. The regular Zapier Notion integration doesn’t seem to handle relation updates the way I need it to. Has anyone successfully updated relation properties in their Notion databases using custom Zapier actions? What’s the correct way to structure the API call?
I would really appreciate any guidance on the proper syntax or steps needed to make this work. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!
Notion relationships in Zapier custom actions are tricky - you need to get the request payload structure right. Send a PATCH request to https://api.notion.com/v1/pages/{page_id} with your relation field in the properties object. The relation property needs an array format: each connected record looks like {“id”: “page-id-here”}. Here’s where people mess up - don’t use record titles, only actual page IDs work with Notion’s API. Test your API calls in Postman first before building them in Zapier. Make sure your integration token has read/write access to both databases. Your property name has to match exactly what’s in your Notion database - spaces, special characters, everything.
I hit the same issue syncing Airtable and Notion data. The key thing I figured out: Notion’s API needs relationship data as an array of objects with page IDs - not just record names or titles. For your Zapier custom action, structure the relation field properly in the request body. The property name should match an array where each item is an object with “id” containing the related record’s page ID. Getting these page IDs is the tricky part - I usually have to make a separate API call to query the related database first, then update the relationship. Use the PATCH method on the pages endpoint. Double-check your auth token has permissions for both databases in the relationship. And make sure the relation property name in your API call exactly matches what’s in Notion’s property settings.
totally get ya, this stuff can be a pain! Notion’s API is def picky. make sure to check how your relations are formatted in the raw API response, and don’t forget to verify your permissions. I had the same issue and permissions were the blocker for me too!