Featured image with Logos for Airtable and Trello, representing Unito's guide to syncing Airtable and Trello work items with a 2-way integration.

How to Sync Trello Cards and Airtable Records with Automated 2-Way Updates

Published in Apps on , last updated .

In this guide, you’ll learn how to sync Trello cards with Airtable records through Unito’s two-way no-code integration. You can connect these two powerful tools to achieve all kinds of use cases from reporting on team progress, to building a database of active tasks from which you can delegate new assignments.

Integrating Airtable and Trello with Unito eliminates the need to copy/paste details from one place to the other, drastically reduces the risk of human error, and can help your team work smarter.

If you’re looking for some inspiration, you can start with our Automated Resource Management Report template for Airtable users, which this flow will show you how to implement.

Skip ahead to the guide

This Airtable Trello integration has two goals:

  1. Create new records in Airtable based on Trello cards with specific labels assigned to them.
  2. Keep those cards and records in a two-way real-time sync so that changes in either tool will appear in the other.

Here’s what our synced Airtable records and Trello cards look like after connecting them through Unito:

Airtable records synced to Trello cards through Unito 2-way sync
Every category or column in our tools becomes a field that Unito can map to any other. Since every column in Airtable is a custom field, we can choose names that intuitively match those in Trello: task name to card title, assignee to member, due date to due date, etc.

Why sync Airtable and Trello with Unito?

Airtable and Trello are both versatile, intuitive tools that serve very different purposes. The former is fantastic for record-keeping and building comprehensive databases. Although it does offer task management functionality, that’s not its primary purpose.

Get the best of both worlds with simple automation

With Trello, the opposite is true: it’s incredibly easy and intuitive when you want to build out boards with detailed cards full of task information. But reviewing everything in a single view requires some skill and effort. Unito gives you the best of both worlds with the help of two-way automation and a simple set of rules.

That’s because Unito is the only solution that can sync data between Airtable and Trello in both directions. So Trello cards can turn into Airtable records and Airtable records can turn into Trello cards, while details in both can update in the other in real-time.

Also, just FYI: the steps included in this guide easily apply to other project management integrations with Airtable, including Asana, Wrike, monday.com, ClickUp and more.

Before you connect Airtable and Trello to Unito

Add Unito to your Trello Board (optional)

This step is for users who wish to add Unito as a Power-Up to an existing Trello board. You can skip this process if you’ve already installed Unito or you’ve logged in directly to our app. Otherwise, click here if you need help adding Unito as a Trello Power-Up.

Unito Power-Up Airtable Trello
Pick the Unito Power-Up that best matches your app needs

Add a Last Modified Time field as your last column in Airtable

Last Modified Time field in Airtable
From your Airtable base, click + to add a column, scroll down the list and look for Last Modified Time. Not to be confused with Last Modified By.

Step 1: Connect Trello and Airtable to Unito

  1. Log in to the Unito App and click +Create Flow.
  2. Then, click Start Here to connect your tools.
  3. Select +Add a tool to this flow in either column, and connect Airtable. Now, +Choose account to specify the Airtable account you want to use.
  4. Pick the Airtable base you want to connect to Unito.
  5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 to connect Trello with Unito.
  6. Click Confirm.
Connecting Airtable and Trello to Unito

If this is your first time connecting Airtable to Unito, you’ll have to go through a quick authorization process:

Step 2: Set a flow direction for new Trello cards or Airtable records

Flow direction determines how new work items are created by Unito.

That means we’re deciding how new Trello cards or Airtable records are created through Unito’s automation rules (configured in the next step).

All you have to do now is decide if you want Airtable activity to create cards in Trello, vice versa, or both simultaneously.

Airtable to Trello flow direction with Unito two-way sync
For the purposes of our demo, we’ll show you what a two-way sync looks like, but if you’re only interested in reporting on Trello activity from Airtable then you could opt for a one-way flow from Trello to Airtable.

Select Confirm when you’ve chosen a flow direction.

Step 3: Set rules to filter data between Trello and Airtable

This is where you can set up triggers to determine which actions taken in one tool will create new work items in the other. With a two-way flow, we’ll set up rules for each direction.

Select Add a new trigger to begin setting up your rules. There can be some variability here, depending on your particular setup in each tool.

The easiest way to set a trigger from Airtable is to use a single select field. To keep things simple, we added a column to our table called “Sync with Unito” with two options: yes / no.

In this example, our trigger to create new Trello cards automatically is a single-select field in Airtable called Sync with Unito that only includes two options: yes/no.
Setting rules in Unito to keep Airtable records in sync with Trello cards

You can learn more about setting up rules here.

Step 4: Pick fields to sync from Trello to Airtable

Unito turns every detail of your Trello cards and Airtable records into mappable fields that can be synced between tools. In Airtable, these fields are based on the names of each column, while in Trello they can be any card detail: member, card title, board name, description, comments, attachments, etc.

First, you’ll be asked whether you want to set up your field mappings from scratch or let Unito do this automatically. Since your fields in Airtable are all custom fields based on your own labeling structure, you’ll have to start from scratch.

Your fields will be automatically mapped for two-way updates, but you can modify each individually if you prefer one-way updates in some cases. With two-way updates, changes made in either tool will automatically update the other. A one-way update restricts changes to a single direction.

Select +Add Mapping, then Select a field in both tools to pair the fields together.

Any field with a gear/cog icon can be further modified with precise mappings for each value. Usually this relates to a field with multiple options, such as a drop-down list.

Click confirm when you’re satisfied with your field mappings.

Step 5: Save, close, and launch your new Trello Airtable integration!

And that’s it! You’ve just build a flow between Airtable and Trello. Congratulations!

If you followed the steps above, your flow will now:

  • Automatically create new Airtable records and Trello cards based on specific activity in the other.
  • Keep fields up to date in both tools.
  • If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out and let us know.

What’s next after setting up a two-way integration between Trello and Airtable?

Try out these Airtable templates and sync them with Unito to match your use case:

If you want to know what else you can do with Unito, here’s some inspiration to help you power up your workflows.