Inconsistent query results from Airtable: records not always found

Other Questions Airtable
1

I’m having trouble with Airtable’s Node.js library. The filterByFormula feature is acting weird. Sometimes it finds records, other times it doesn’t, even when I’m sure they’re there. This is causing problems because I’m set up to create new entries if I can’t find existing ones.

Here’s what my code looks like:

async function findBooking(bookingID) {
  const bookings = await bookingsTable('Bookings').select({
    view: 'Main',
    filterByFormula: `{Booking ID} = "${bookingID}"`,
    maxRecords: 1,
  }).all();

  return bookings.length ? bookings[0] : null;
}

I use it like this:

const existingBooking = await findBooking(booking.id);
if (!existingBooking) {
  addNewBooking(booking);
} else {
  modifyBooking(booking);
}

It’s crucial that I get the record if it exists. But sometimes Airtable doesn’t return an existing record, leading to duplicates. Am I missing something? Or is there a known issue I should be aware of?

2

yo, i’ve seen this before. airtable can be a pain sometimes. have u tried checkin ur network connection? also, maybe add some logging to see whats goin on. like console.log the bookingID and the result. that might help u figure out where its messin up. good luck dude!

3

I’ve encountered similar issues with Airtable’s Node.js library, particularly with filterByFormula. One potential solution is to implement a retry mechanism. This can help mitigate temporary network issues or Airtable API hiccups.

Consider wrapping your findBooking function in a retry loop:

async function findBookingWithRetry(bookingID, maxRetries = 3) {
  for (let i = 0; i < maxRetries; i++) {
    const result = await findBooking(bookingID);
    if (result) return result;
    await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 1000)); // Wait 1 second before retrying
  }
  return null;
}

This approach gives Airtable multiple chances to return the correct result. It’s not a perfect solution, but it has significantly reduced inconsistencies in my projects. Additionally, ensure your Airtable base isn’t hitting rate limits, as this can cause sporadic failures.

4

I’ve dealt with this exact issue before, and it can be incredibly frustrating. One thing that helped me was implementing a caching mechanism on my end. Essentially, I stored the results of my Airtable queries in a local database or memory cache for a short period (say, 5-10 minutes).

This approach not only improved the consistency of my results but also significantly reduced API calls to Airtable, which helped with rate limiting issues. Here’s a rough idea of how you could modify your findBooking function:

const NodeCache = require('node-cache');
const myCache = new NodeCache({ stdTTL: 300 }); // Cache for 5 minutes

async function findBooking(bookingID) {
  const cachedBooking = myCache.get(bookingID);
  if (cachedBooking) return cachedBooking;

  const bookings = await bookingsTable('Bookings').select({
    view: 'Main',
    filterByFormula: `{Booking ID} = "${bookingID}"`,
    maxRecords: 1,
  }).all();

  const booking = bookings.length ? bookings[0] : null;
  if (booking) myCache.set(bookingID, booking);

  return booking;
}

This won’t solve the root cause of Airtable’s inconsistency, but it should make your application more reliable. Just remember to clear the cache when you make updates to ensure you’re not working with stale data.