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

1. API Token: Set environment variable CODA_API_TOKEN with your Coda API token
• Get token at: https://coda.io/account -> API Settings
2. Python 3.7+ with requests library installed
3. 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

1. Token Storage: Never commit CODA_API_TOKEN to version control
2. Token Scope: The token has full access to all docs the user can access
3. Workspace Restrictions: Creating docs requires Doc Maker role in target workspace
4. 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