Coda Automation via Rube MCP

Prerequisites

• Rube MCP must be connected (RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS available)
• Active Coda connection via

  RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS

  with toolkit

  coda

• Always call

  RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS

  first to get current tool schemas

Setup

https://rube.app/mcp

1. Verify Rube MCP is available by confirming

   RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS

   responds
2. Call

   RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS

   with toolkit

   coda

3. If connection is not ACTIVE, follow the returned auth link to complete Coda authentication
4. Confirm connection status shows ACTIVE before running any workflows

Core Workflows

1. Search and Browse Documents

1. CODA_SEARCH_DOCS

   or

   CODA_LIST_AVAILABLE_DOCS

   - Find documents [Required]

2. CODA_RESOLVE_BROWSER_LINK

   - Resolve a Coda URL to doc/page/table IDs [Alternative]

3. CODA_LIST_PAGES

   - List pages within a document [Optional]

4. CODA_GET_A_PAGE

   - Get specific page details [Optional]

• query

  : Search term for finding documents

• isOwner

  : Filter to docs owned by the user

• docId

  : Document ID for page operations

• pageIdOrName

  : Page identifier or name

• url

  : Browser URL for resolve operations

• Document IDs are alphanumeric strings (e.g., 'AbCdEfGhIj')

• CODA_RESOLVE_BROWSER_LINK

  is the best way to convert a Coda URL to API IDs
• Page names may not be unique within a doc; prefer page IDs
• Search results include docs shared with the user, not just owned docs

2. Work with Tables and Data

1. CODA_LIST_TABLES

   - List tables in a document [Prerequisite]

2. CODA_LIST_COLUMNS

   - Get column definitions for a table [Prerequisite]

3. CODA_LIST_TABLE_ROWS

   - List all rows with optional filters [Required]

4. CODA_SEARCH_ROW

   - Search for specific rows by query [Alternative]

5. CODA_GET_A_ROW

   - Get a specific row by ID [Optional]

6. CODA_UPSERT_ROWS

   - Insert or update rows in a table [Optional]

7. CODA_GET_A_COLUMN

   - Get details of a specific column [Optional]

• docId

  : Document ID containing the table

• tableIdOrName

  : Table identifier or name

• query

  : Filter query for searching rows

• rows

  : Array of row objects for upsert operations

• keyColumns

  : Column IDs used for matching during upsert

• sortBy

  : Column to sort results by

• useColumnNames

  : Use column names instead of IDs in row data

• Table names may contain spaces; URL-encode if needed

• CODA_UPSERT_ROWS

  does insert if no match on

  keyColumns

  , update if match found

• keyColumns

  must reference columns that have unique values for reliable upserts
• Column IDs are different from column names; list columns first to map names to IDs

• useColumnNames: true

  allows using human-readable names in row data
• Row data values must match the column type (text, number, date, etc.)

3. Manage Formulas

1. CODA_LIST_FORMULAS

   - List all named formulas in a doc [Required]

2. CODA_GET_A_FORMULA

   - Get a specific formula's current value [Optional]

• docId

  : Document ID

• formulaIdOrName

  : Formula identifier or name

• Formulas are named calculations defined in the document
• Formula values are computed server-side; results reflect the current state
• Formula names are case-sensitive

4. Export Document Content

1. CODA_BEGIN_CONTENT_EXPORT

   - Start an export job [Required]

2. CODA_CONTENT_EXPORT_STATUS

   - Poll export status until complete [Required]

• docId

  : Document ID to export

• outputFormat

  : Export format ('html' or 'markdown')

• pageIdOrName

  : Specific page to export (optional, omit for full doc)

• requestId

  : Export request ID for status polling

• Export is asynchronous; poll status until

  status

  is 'complete'
• Large documents may take significant time to export
• Export URL in the completed response is temporary; download promptly
• Polling too frequently may hit rate limits; use 2-5 second intervals

5. Manage Permissions and Sharing

1. CODA_GET_SHARING_METADATA

   - View current sharing settings [Required]

2. CODA_GET_ACL_SETTINGS

   - Get access control list settings [Optional]

3. CODA_ADD_PERMISSION

   - Grant access to a user or email [Optional]

• docId

  : Document ID

• access

  : Permission level ('readonly', 'write', 'comment')

• principal

  : Object with email or user ID of the recipient

• suppressEmail

  : Whether to skip the sharing notification email

• Permission levels: 'readonly', 'write', 'comment'
• Adding permission sends an email notification by default; use

  suppressEmail

  to prevent
• Cannot remove permissions via API in all cases; check ACL settings

6. Publish and Customize Documents

1. CODA_PUBLISH_DOC

   - Publish a document publicly [Required]

2. CODA_UNPUBLISH_DOC

   - Unpublish a document [Optional]

3. CODA_ADD_CUSTOM_DOMAIN

   - Add a custom domain for published doc [Optional]

4. CODA_GET_DOC_CATEGORIES

   - Get doc categories for discovery [Optional]

• docId

  : Document ID

• slug

  : Custom URL slug for the published doc

• categoryIds

  : Category IDs for discoverability

• Publishing makes the document accessible to anyone with the link
• Custom domains require DNS configuration
• Unpublishing removes public access but retains shared access

Common Patterns

ID Resolution

1. Call CODA_RESOLVE_BROWSER_LINK with the Coda URL
2. Extract docId from the response

1. Call CODA_LIST_TABLES with docId
2. Find table by name, extract id

1. Call CODA_LIST_COLUMNS with docId and tableIdOrName
2. Find column by name, extract id

Pagination

• Coda uses cursor-based pagination with

  pageToken

• Check response for

  nextPageToken

• Pass as

  pageToken

  in next request until absent
• Default page sizes vary by endpoint

Row Upsert Pattern

1. Call CODA_LIST_COLUMNS to get column IDs
2. Build row objects with column ID keys and values
3. Set keyColumns to unique identifier column(s)
4. Call CODA_UPSERT_ROWS with rows and keyColumns

Known Pitfalls

• Document IDs: alphanumeric strings
• Table/column/row IDs: prefixed strings (e.g., 'grid-abc', 'c-xyz')
• Use RESOLVE_BROWSER_LINK to convert URLs to IDs

• Row values must match column types
• Date columns expect ISO 8601 format
• Select/multi-select columns expect exact option values
• People columns expect email addresses

• Coda API has per-token rate limits
• Implement backoff on 429 responses
• Bulk row operations via UPSERT_ROWS are more efficient than individual updates

Quick Reference