Quickbase logo Quickbase automation · runs daily

Add Quickbase records from a list or an email

A site lead sends the week's jobs as a message, and someone retypes each line into the New record form, one record at a time.

Cotlet does it in your own Quickbase account with list_fields, search_records and create_record, called by your AI agent, an n8n workflow or a script.

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Hosted · nothing to install or maintain

Can Quickbase do this on its own?

Quickbase offers CSV import under More, then Import/Export, an Import with CSV Pipelines step that is limited to 10,000 records, and the RESTful API (checked 23 Oct 2026). All three expect clean columns. None reads a free-text message, decides which line belongs in which field, or skips what already exists.

How you do it in Quickbase today

  1. A user opens the table and clicks the New record button on the page bar. The button carries the table's own record name, for example New Work order.
  2. A blank form opens. Required fields are marked with an asterisk, and a value in the wrong format is rejected when the user saves.
  3. The user chooses Save & new to open the next blank form, or uses the Add record button on the global bar from another page.
  4. For many rows the user either works in Grid Edit, where four blank rows wait at the bottom, or opens More, then Import/Export, and loads a spreadsheet.
  5. Nobody checks the list against existing records first, so a job sent twice becomes two records.

How to add Quickbase records from a list or an email

Prompt

Add each line of this list as a record in the Work orders table of Field Ops. Skip any title that already exists, set Priority High for lines marked urgent, and tell me which required fields you could not fill.
  1. 01

    Learn the form first

    list_fields returns the fields of the Add record form with type and required. App builders decide which fields appear on the form, so the agent never tries to set a field that is not there.

  2. 02

    Split the message into records

    Each line of your list becomes one set of field values. A line that lacks a required field is not created. It goes on the list of lines you have to complete.

  3. 03

    Look for duplicates

    search_records searches the title in the default report. It only checks fields the report marks as searchable, so the agent says when the Title field is not one of them and asks you to pick a report that is.

  4. 04

    Create one record per line

    create_record saves each record and returns its Record ID# and a link. A value that Quickbase rejects, for example text in a date field, comes back as an error for that line only, and the other lines still go in.

  5. 05

    Report what the app set

    The answer includes fields the app filled itself, such as Status Open, so you see the saved record and not only your input.

What you get back

Example data

Lines in your list: 6
Created 4:
- 2318 Replace pump seal, Plant North, Priority High
- 2319 Inspect boiler 3, Plant South
- 2320 Test fire alarm, Depot, Priority High
- 2321 Order filters, Plant South
Skipped 1: Repaint bay door already exists (record 1063)
Not created 1: "Check fire exits" has no Site, which the form requires

Other ways to ask

  • Every morning, read the new lines in this shared list and add the ones that are not in the table yet.
  • Add these 12 contacts to the Sites table and list the ones whose email address Quickbase rejects.
  • Create one record per attendee of this meeting note, assigned to the person named next to each action.

What Quickbase allows, and what to know first

  • The record button in Quickbase uses the table's record name, so a table of Work orders shows New Work order.
  • Quickbase marks required fields with an asterisk and rejects characters in the wrong format when the form is saved.
  • Grid Edit keeps four blank rows at the bottom for new records and adds columns for required fields the report leaves out.
  • The Quickbase Import with CSV step is a single step but handles at most 10,000 records.
  • A new record can start a Pipelines pipeline or a notification in the app, because record triggers run on creation.

create_record changes only your own Quickbase data and reach no one else, so it runs without asking first.

Sources: Quickbase Help: Add, edit, and view records · Quickbase Help: Grid edit · Quickbase Help: Use the Quickbase channel · Quickbase Help: Using the table home page

Call create_record from a script

curl

curl -X POST https://cotlet.dev/api/v1/quickbase/records \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $COTLET_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"app":"Field Ops","table":"Work orders","fields":{"Title":"Replace pump seal","Site":"Plant North","Priority":"High"}}'

Example response

{
  "record_id": 2318,
  "table": "Work orders",
  "fields": {
    "Title": "Replace pump seal",
    "Site": "Plant North",
    "Priority": "High",
    "Status": "Open"
  },
  "url": "https://yourcompany.quickbase.com/db/bq4k2xzab?a=dr&rid=2318"
}

MCP: add https://cotlet.dev/mcp/v1 with the same key; the call is quickbase_write → create_record. Example data.

Schedule it in n8n, Make, Zapier or cron

Quickbase tools this automation uses

Cotlet Quickbase tools used to add Quickbase records from a list or an email
Tool Parameters
list_fields app, table
search_records app, table, query, report, limit, cursor
create_record app, table, fields
All 14 Quickbase tools with descriptions

Frequently asked questions

Is it safe to connect Quickbase to Cotlet?

Yes. You sign in to Quickbase yourself, in your own Cloud Browser in the EU, and we never save your password. Your agents only get Quickbase once you enable it, every background request is listed, and the browser profile is stored encrypted with AES-256-GCM, the cipher 1Password uses for its vaults. The AI model never sees a login, posts and messages wait for your OK, and Disable for agents cuts access in one click. Independent scanners grade cotlet.dev A+ on Qualys SSL Labs, securityheaders.com and Mozilla Observatory; live results are on https://cotlet.dev/security.

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