Coda API Skill

Interact with the Coda REST API v1 to manage docs, tables, rows, pages, and automations.

When to Use

Use this skill when the user wants to:

List, search, create, or delete Coda docs
Read from or write to tables (insert, upsert, update, delete rows)
Explore doc structure (pages, tables, columns, formulas, controls)
Trigger automations (push buttons)
Export doc content or analytics

When NOT to Use

Do NOT use for general document editing advice unrelated to the API
Do NOT use for Pack development (this skill covers Doc management, not Pack creation)
Do NOT use for operations requiring Doc Maker permissions unless confirmed the user has them

Prerequisites

API Token: Set environment variable CODA_API_TOKEN with your Coda API token
- Get token at: https://coda.io/account -> API Settings
Python 3.7+ with requests library installed
Permissions: Some operations (create doc, update doc title, create page) require Doc Maker role in the workspace

CLI Tool Usage

The skill includes a Python CLI tool at scripts/coda_cli.py:


# Setup
export CODA_API_TOKEN="your_token_here"

# List docs
python scripts/coda_cli.py docs list --query "Project"

# Get doc info
python scripts/coda_cli.py docs get <doc-id>

# Create doc
python scripts/coda_cli.py docs create --title "My New Doc"

# List tables in doc
python scripts/coda_cli.py tables list <doc-id>

# List rows in table
python scripts/coda_cli.py rows list <doc-id> <table-id>

# Insert row
python scripts/coda_cli.py rows insert <doc-id> <table-id> --data '{"Name": "Task 1", "Status": "Done"}'

# Update row
python scripts/coda_cli.py rows update <doc-id> <table-id> <row-id> --data '{"Status": "In Progress"}'

# Delete row (requires confirmation)
python scripts/coda_cli.py rows delete <doc-id> <table-id> <row-id>

# List pages
python scripts/coda_cli.py pages list <doc-id>

# Trigger automation (push button)
python scripts/coda_cli.py automations trigger <doc-id> <button-id>

# Force delete without confirmation (use with caution)
python scripts/coda_cli.py docs delete <doc-id> --force

Workflow Guidelines

1. Doc ID Extraction

Coda doc IDs can be extracted from browser URLs:

URL: https://coda.io/d/_dAbCDeFGH/Project-Tracker
Doc ID: AbCDeFGH (remove _d prefix)

The CLI tool accepts both full URLs and raw IDs.

2. Rate Limit Handling

The API has strict rate limits:

Read: 100 requests per 6 seconds
Write (POST/PUT/PATCH): 10 requests per 6 seconds
Write doc content: 5 requests per 10 seconds
List docs: 4 requests per 6 seconds

The CLI tool automatically implements exponential backoff for 429 responses.

3. Asynchronous Operations

Write operations return HTTP 202 with a requestId. The CLI tool optionally polls for completion using --wait flag.

4. Safety Guardrails

Delete Operations (rows, docs, pages, folders):

Always requires explicit user confirmation in interactive mode
Use --force flag only in automation/scripts
Shows preview of what will be deleted

Publishing (docs publish):

Requires explicit --confirm-publish flag
Cannot be combined with --force

Permissions (acl commands):

Requires explicit --confirm-permissions flag for any changes
Read operations (list permissions) are always allowed

Automation Triggers:

Allowed without special flags but logged
User should be aware that automations may trigger notifications or external actions

5. Pagination

List commands support:

--limit: Maximum results (default 25, max varies by endpoint)
--page-token: For fetching subsequent pages
CLI auto-follows pages with --all flag

Common Patterns

Batch Row Operations


# Insert multiple rows from JSON file
python scripts/coda_cli.py rows insert-batch <doc-id> <table-id> --file rows.json

# Upsert rows (update if exists, insert if not) using key columns
python scripts/coda_cli.py rows upsert <doc-id> <table-id> --file rows.json --keys "Email"

Sync Between Docs


# Export from source
python scripts/coda_cli.py rows list <source-doc> <table-id> --format json > export.json

# Import to destination
python scripts/coda_cli.py rows insert-batch <dest-doc> <table-id> --file export.json

Explore Structure


# Get full doc structure
python scripts/coda_cli.py docs structure <doc-id>

# List all formulas
python scripts/coda_cli.py formulas list <doc-id>

# List all controls
python scripts/coda_cli.py controls list <doc-id>

Error Handling

Common HTTP status codes:

400: Bad request (invalid parameters)
401: Invalid/expired API token
403: Insufficient permissions (need Doc Maker role)
404: Resource not found
429: Rate limited (implement backoff)
202: Accepted but not yet processed (async operation)

Security Considerations

Token Storage: Never commit CODA_API_TOKEN to version control
Token Scope: The token has full access to all docs the user can access
Workspace Restrictions: Creating docs requires Doc Maker role in target workspace
Data Exposure: Row data may contain sensitive information; handle exports carefully

Examples

List and Filter Docs

python scripts/coda_cli.py docs list --is-owner --query "Project"

Create Doc from Template

python scripts/coda_cli.py docs create --title "Q4 Planning" --source-doc "template-doc-id"

Update Row Status

python scripts/coda_cli.py rows update AbCDeFGH grid-xyz row-123 \
  --data '{"Status": "Complete", "Completed Date": "2024-01-15"}'

Delete Multiple Rows (with confirmation)

python scripts/coda_cli.py rows delete-batch AbCDeFGH grid-xyz \
  --filter '{"Status": "Archived"}' \
  --confirm "Delete all archived rows?"

Export Table to CSV

python scripts/coda_cli.py rows list AbCDeFGH grid-xyz --format csv > export.csv

Reference

API Documentation: https://coda.io/developers/apis/v1
OpenAPI Spec: https://coda.io/apis/v1/openapi.yaml
Rate Limits: https://coda.io/developers/apis/v1#section/Rate-Limiting

Coda