Notion and iOS Shortcuts - Add Item To Database using the API

Summary

This tutorial demonstrates how to use iOS Shortcuts to add items to a Notion database. It guides through creating an API user, obtaining a database ID, and crafting a JSON request to add tasks. The process includes setting up API access, sharing the database with the integration, and using headers for authorization. The video concludes with a practical example of adding a to-do item and suggests using user input for dynamic task addition, encouraging feedback for more content.

Takeaways

• 📱 The video demonstrates how to use iOS Shortcuts to add items to a Notion database.
• 🔑 It's necessary to create an API user or integration in Notion to get a secret key for authentication.
• 🔗 The database must be shared with the API user to make it accessible for API calls.
• 🆔 Retrieving the Database ID is crucial, which can be done from the address bar or by copying the page link.
• 📝 The video explains how to make a POST request to the 'pages' endpoint in Notion's API to add a new item.
• 📈 Three headers are required for the API call: Authorization, Notion Version, and Content-Type.
• 🔑 The Authorization header uses the 'Bearer' keyword followed by the secret key.
• 📑 The content of the data being sent is formatted in JSON, specifying the properties of the new database item.
• 🔄 The video shows how to dynamically input the title for the new item using Shortcuts' input feature.
• 🔄 It also illustrates refreshing the Notion database to see the newly added items.
• 🎥 The creator encourages feedback and subscriptions for more similar tutorial videos.

Q & A

What is the purpose of the iOS Shortcuts demonstration in the video?

The purpose of the demonstration is to show how to use iOS Shortcuts to add items to a database in Notion.

What is the first step in adding items to a Notion database using iOS Shortcuts?

The first step is to create an API user or API integration in Notion by visiting the 'Notion > My integrations' page and following the prompts.

What is the name given to the API integration in the video?

The API integration is named 'fubar' in the video.

Why is a secret key important in this process?

The secret key is important as it authenticates the API calls to the Notion database, ensuring secure access.

How do you make a Notion database accessible to API calls?

You make a database accessible to API calls by sharing it with the integration user that you created earlier.

What is the method used to retrieve the database ID in the video?

The database ID is retrieved by copying the relevant part of the URL from the address bar or by copying the page link and extracting the necessary part.

What does the video demonstrate about making an API call to the Notion database?

The video demonstrates how to use the 'Get Content of URL' action in iOS Shortcuts to make a POST request to the 'pages' endpoint with the necessary headers and JSON payload.

What are the three headers required for the API call in the video?

The three headers required are Authorization (with the Bearer token and secret key), Notion Version, and Content-Type (application/json).

What is JSON and why is it used in this context?

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight data-interchange format used here to structure the data payload for the API call to add a new page to the Notion database.

How does the video suggest personalizing the Shortcut to add different items to the Notion database?

The video suggests using the 'Ask for Input' action in iOS Shortcuts to prompt the user to enter text for the to-do list, which then replaces the static text in the JSON payload.

What feedback does the video creator seek from viewers?

The video creator seeks feedback on whether viewers are interested in more simple explanations like the one provided and may consider making more videos based on the response.

Outlines

00:00

📱 Automating Notion Database Updates with iOS Shortcuts

The script demonstrates how to use iOS shortcuts to automate adding items to a Notion database. It begins by introducing a simple Notion database with a 'Name' and a 'Checkbox' for task completion. The tutorial assumes the viewer has a Notion account and proceeds to guide through creating an API user and integration for Notion, obtaining a secret key, and ensuring the database is API accessible. It then explains how to get the database ID from the URL and shows the process of making an API call to add a new page to the database using the 'Get Content of URL' action, setting headers with the authorization, Notion version, and content type. The JSON format for the data payload is also discussed.

05:03

🔧 Customizing iOS Shortcuts for Dynamic Notion Database Entries

This paragraph continues the tutorial by showing how to add a new page to the Notion database with custom properties using the iOS Shortcuts app. It details the process of setting the 'text content' for a new entry and suggests ways to avoid adding duplicate items by asking for user input. The script includes steps to prompt the user to input text for the to-do list and replace a static entry with a dynamic variable from the user's input. The tutorial concludes by encouraging viewers to provide feedback and subscribe for more content, highlighting the author's openness to creating more educational videos based on viewer interest.

Keywords

💡iOS Shortcuts

iOS Shortcuts are a feature on Apple devices that allow users to automate tasks and create custom actions. In the video's context, Shortcuts are used to interact with the Notion app, specifically to add items to a database without manually entering them. The script demonstrates how to set up a Shortcut to add tasks to a Notion database, showcasing the automation capabilities of iOS.

💡Notion

Notion is a productivity app that combines note-taking, database management, and project management features. The video script discusses using Notion to create a database with a simple checkbox for task completion. Notion's API is central to the script's demonstration, as it enables the integration with iOS Shortcuts for automated data entry.

💡API User

An API user is a specific account or integration set up for accessing an application's programming interface. In the script, the creator guides viewers on setting up an API user in Notion to facilitate the connection with iOS Shortcuts, emphasizing the need to name the integration and grant it access permissions.

💡Secret Key

A secret key is a type of credential used in API integrations to authenticate requests. The script mentions copying the secret key generated after creating the Notion API user, which is essential for securely connecting the iOS Shortcuts with the Notion database.

💡Database ID

The Database ID is a unique identifier for a specific database within Notion. The script explains how to obtain this ID from the URL, which is crucial for targeting the correct database when making API calls to add new items via iOS Shortcuts.

💡API Calls

API calls are requests made to an application's interface to perform specific actions or retrieve data. The video script details the process of making API calls to Notion's database using the iOS Shortcuts app, which involves setting up headers and data payloads to add new pages or items.

💡Headers

In the context of API calls, headers are data structures that provide metadata about the request being made. The script specifies the need for three headers: Authorization, Notion Version, and Content-Type, which are essential for the Notion API to process the incoming request from the iOS Shortcut correctly.

💡JSON

JSON, or JavaScript Object Notation, is a lightweight data interchange format often used in APIs for structuring data. The script describes creating a JSON object to specify the properties of the new page to be added to the Notion database, such as the title and checkbox status.

💡Magic Variable

In the iOS Shortcuts app, a magic variable is a dynamic element that can be used to store and insert data into the shortcut's workflow. The script uses a magic variable to input the task name provided by the user, making the shortcut more interactive and personalized.

💡Content-Type

Content-Type is an HTTP header that indicates the media type of the resource, which is important for the server to parse the request body correctly. In the script, setting the Content-Type header to 'application/json' informs the Notion API that the data being sent is in JSON format.

💡Automation

Automation refers to the process of making a system or process operate automatically. The main theme of the video is automating the task of adding items to a Notion database using iOS Shortcuts, which saves time and reduces manual data entry.

Highlights

Demonstration of using iOS Shortcuts to add items to a Notion database.

Introduction of a simple Notion database with a name and a checkbox for task completion.

Explanation of creating an API user or integration in Notion for database access.

Step-by-step guide to naming and setting permissions for the API integration.

Instruction to copy the secret key for use in the Shortcuts app.

Process of sharing the Notion database with the API integration for accessibility.

Method to obtain the database ID from the address bar or share link.

Description of making an API call to the Notion database using the 'get content of URL' action.

Details on setting up headers for the API call, including authorization with the secret key.

Requirement of specifying the Notion version and content type in the API call headers.

Formation of a JSON object to define the structure of the data being sent to the database.

Guidance on how to add a new page to the Notion database with specific properties.

Integration of user input to dynamically add tasks to the Notion database.

Demonstration of the iOS Shortcuts app prompting for input to add unique tasks.

Example of adding a task 'clean the dog' to the Notion database using the shortcut.

Invitation for feedback and suggestions for more tutorial videos.

Note on the lack of subscription and the creator's activity level on the platform.

Transcripts

the following is a really simple

demonstration

of how you can use ios shortcuts

to add stuff to your database in notion

what i have here let me just show you is

a really simple

database which just has a name and a

checkbox let's call it a checkbox just

for fun checkbox

that can toggle if a task is done or not

do the dishes or whatever

like this and what you i want to show is

how you can

add um items to this database

just straight from your ios shortcuts

app so

let's get to it i'm going to show it all

the way from

yeah i'm uh i'm not going to show you

how to make a notion

account i'm guessing you already have

that so what you need to do is

first you need to create create an ap

api user and

or api integration

you do that by going to this link here

notion my integration

and it's going to take you to this page

you just

click on your integration give it a name

let's do fubar

for instance

and give it access to everything here

submit and then we're going to get a key

secret key here

let's just copy that one and bring it

over into the

shortcuts i'm just going to temporarily

store it

api key temporarily just store it

here like that the second thing we need

to do

is get a database now let's share

the database firstly we need to make the

database as

accessible to api

calls so we do that by go and go into

the database

let's go here simple to do and then we

just

share it with we click here and

share it with the integration user that

we already just created in the foo bar

like that invites and don't

don't so now this database is callable

on callable

then the third thing we need to do is

get the

database id you can get it a couple of

ways the

simplest i think is to just go up here

to the address bar

and just grab this part it's the

thing going fro so slash all the way up

to the first

question mark and that's it basically

you can also get it by

clicking the share and share um

uh let's see copy the page link like

that and then you're gonna

have the link like so

and then you just grab this wow this

part here let's just remove all the

other stuff

database id like that

okay now we have what we need so

now we need to make a call

to the uh

to the database we do that by using the

get content of

earl action and then we we need to do

the

uh call to a specific role

and i got that one over here it's

called pages we post to the

this earl like so

and we we do this by we enter

this our pages are all so actually we're

adding a page

and not a database item even though

it is in a database we call

every item here a page so we are

sending a call to pages and we need to

add some information to identify

and ourself and so we need some headers

we need three headers we need first

authorization and then we use the

bearer oops

a bearer space and then the secret key

up here

like this with no extra spaces that's

important

and then we need uh notion version

like for identifying what

ap version we are using

just put it in like that and then we

need and it wants to know what kind of

content

we are sending so we're just going to

paste in

this like so okay

so the call is ready but we also need to

specify what kind of

data we are sending and the content of

the data

we do that by creating a json if you

don't know that json is you need to

look that up because i'm not going to

explain that here but oops

let's grab so this

is how you format the json so basically

we are tearing

the telling that the in the database

here and we point to our database id

here in this database we're going to add

a new page

with the properties name

which is uh the title uh

and the name has a bunch of stuff in it

but

we're going to set the text content to

this lauren ips

now we can also blah blah blah

whatever like this and then we're joined

going to jam this jason into the request

like so and we choose file choose magic

variable

get this text into it so now

if we just hit play on this

it should work allow it to access the

internet

like so and we should get a response

yeah

this means that it worked so

i'm just i can just bring up the

notion hairs

let's see simple

to do

[Music]

let's just refresh it because

blah blah blah come through and can run

it again to add another

like so blah blah blah and again

but it's not really helpful to add the

same item over over and over

so what we do to allow let's

get rid of we're just going to ask for

input

like so what do you

want to add to your to-do list

like so and then it's going to prompt

you from

just enter some text and then we just

replace this part here

with the magic variable

from the provided input like so so if we

run this again

clean that dog like so

clean the dog it's in there so that's

the simplest way to do it

there if you're interested in

me making more short simple explanations

like this

then feel free to comment and

subscribe and all of that good stuff

not bother with subscription and i'm not

that

active but give me a feedback if you

want more videos like this

so okay