How to export Airtable data
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Airtable exports one grid view at a time as a CSV file. There's no Excel file and no export of a whole base. The CSV keeps the fields visible in the view, but attachments come out as links that expire within hours, and comments stay behind. Here is how to run it, how to open it in Excel or Google Sheets, and what to do when you need everything.
How do you download a view as CSV?
- Open the base and the grid view you want to export.
- Click the arrow next to the view name and choose Download CSV.
- The file lands in your downloads folder.
It works on the web and desktop apps, from grid views only, as described in Airtable's guide to views. On Enterprise plans an admin can turn CSV downloads off.
How do you get every record and every field?
The CSV contains only what the view shows: hidden fields are skipped, and filters leave records out. Create a new grid view with no filters and every field visible, and export that one. Repeat it for each table: each table is its own file.
How do you open it in Excel or Google Sheets?
- Excel: use Data, From Text/CSV, so accents and symbols come through correctly.
- Google Sheets: use File, Import, Upload, then pick the CSV.
For a sheet that stays up to date you need an automation, such as Zapier, Make or a Google Sheets add-on, because the CSV is a one-off copy.
What does the CSV leave out?
According to Airtable, comments on records, field descriptions and the base guide are not included. In practice you also lose:
- attachments as files: you get a file name and a link, and the links expire after a few hours, so download what you need right away
- the links between tables: a linked record comes out as its name, as plain text, not as something you can follow
That's fine for a report or for sharing a table. It isn't a copy you could rebuild your base from.
Can you export a whole base?
Not as a file. Base snapshots save the whole base, but you can't download them: restoring one creates a new base inside Airtable. To keep everything outside Airtable you have two options:
- The Airtable API. A developer can read records, comments and attachments page by page, but has to download every file before its link expires, stay within the API limits of your plan and keep the script running.
- A backup service. Airtable Backup, which we build, does it every day: records, attachments as real files, comments, linked records and the schema of every base, ready to download from any day you choose.
Before you rely on an export
Open the file and check it against Airtable: count the rows, look at linked fields and attachments, and make sure nothing important sits in comments. An export you haven't checked is easy to trust too much.