Spring Boot RestTemplate returning 401 when calling AirTable API

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1

I’m having trouble with my Spring Boot app. It’s supposed to connect to the AirTable API, but I keep getting a 401 Unauthorized error. Here’s the weird part: when I use Postman or IntelliJ’s REST client with the same URL and API key, it works fine. But my Spring RestTemplate code just won’t cooperate.

Here’s what I’m working with:

RestTemplate restTemplate = new RestTemplate();
HttpHeaders headers = new HttpHeaders();
headers.set("Authorization", "Bearer " + myApiKey);
HttpEntity<String> entity = new HttpEntity<>("params", headers);
String response = restTemplate.getForObject(apiUrl, String.class, entity);

I’ve double-checked the API key and URL. They’re definitely correct. So what’s going on? Why does RestTemplate throw a fit while other tools work just fine? Any ideas on what I might be doing wrong here?

2

hey there! sounds frustrating. have u tried using exchange() method instead of getForObject()? sometimes that helps with header issues. also, double-check ur content-type header - airtable can be picky. if that doesn’t work, maybe try httpclient instead of resttemplate? good luck!

3

I’ve dealt with similar AirTable API issues before. One thing that often gets overlooked is the user-agent header. AirTable can be quite particular about this. Try adding a user-agent to your headers:

headers.set("User-Agent", "YourAppName/1.0");

Also, make sure you’re using HTTPS for the API URL. Sometimes, an HTTP URL can cause unexpected 401 errors.

If those don’t work, you might want to enable debug logging for RestTemplate. Add this to your application.properties:

logging.level.org.springframework.web.client.RestTemplate=DEBUG

This will show you the exact request being sent, which you can compare with your successful Postman request. Often, small differences in headers or request structure can cause these authentication issues.

4

I encountered a similar issue when working with the AirTable API. The problem might be in how you’re setting up the HttpEntity. Try modifying your code to use exchange() method and explicitly set the content type:

HttpHeaders headers = new HttpHeaders();
headers.set("Authorization", "Bearer " + myApiKey);
headers.setContentType(MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON);
HttpEntity<String> entity = new HttpEntity<>(headers);

ResponseEntity<String> response = restTemplate.exchange(
    apiUrl,
    HttpMethod.GET,
    entity,
    String.class
);

This approach gives you more control over the request and allows you to handle the response more flexibly. If this doesn’t resolve the issue, consider enabling logging for RestTemplate to see the exact request being sent. This can help pinpoint any discrepancies between your Spring Boot request and the successful Postman request.