🛠️ How to create a staging environment within Airtable?
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By default, SyncBase syncs your Airtable base instantly with your Shopify store. This means that any change made to your Airtable records is immediately pushed live.
While this is perfect for quick updates, it can be risky when you want to prepare large changes — like updating your entire product catalog — before making them public.
To solve this, you can create a staging environment directly inside your synced Airtable base.
In this tutorial, we'll explain the concept and walk you through a real example for managing your Products.
The idea is simple:
Create a new tab that duplicates the structure of your synced tab (e.g., Products).
This staging tab will not be synced with Shopify.
You can safely add, update, and delete records in this tab without affecting your live store.
Once your updates are ready, you manually push the changes to the live (synced) tab using an automation or a script.
This way, you can review and control when your data goes live.
In your Airtable base, find your Products tab.
Right-click on the tab name and choose Duplicate table → Duplicate structure only.
Rename this new tab to something like Products (Staging).
✅ Now you have a staging tab with the same fields, but no records.
Create or update your products safely inside the Products (Staging) tab.
You can also add a new field called "Ready to Publish" (Checkbox or Status) to mark the products that are finalized and ready to go live.
You want to manually select which products to publish. Here's a simple method:
In the Products (Staging) tab, create a Checkbox field called Ready to Publish.
Set up an Automation (or a small Script) that:****
When Ready to Publish is checked,****
Then copy the record to the Products (synced) tab.
If the product already exists in the synced tab (match by SKU or Handle, for example), update it instead of creating a new one.
Click Add trigger.
Choose When a record matches conditions.
Table: Products Staging
Condition: Field Ready to Publish is checked ✅.
Click Add action.
Choose Find records.
Table: Products
Condition: Handle (Products) is equal to Handle (from trigger record in Products Staging).
This checks if a product with the same Handle already exists.
Click + below the Find Records action.
Choose Conditional group (or "Conditional branch" depending on wording).
Set it to:
If the list of found records length > 0 → (means the product already exists)
Action: Update record.
Record ID: Take the ID of the first found record.
Table: Products.
Fields to update: Title, Status, Vendor, Tags, Price, etc. (copy fields from the trigger record).
Action: Create record.
Table: Products.
Set fields:
Title = Title (from Products Staging)
Handle = Handle (from Products Staging)
Status = Status (from Products Staging)
etc.
At the end of your automation, you can add Update Record → to automatically uncheck the Ready to Publish field after the push, keeping the staging area clean!
By default, SyncBase syncs your Airtable base instantly with your Shopify store. This means that any change made to your Airtable records is immediately pushed live.
While this is perfect for quick updates, it can be risky when you want to prepare large changes — like updating your entire product catalog — before making them public.
To solve this, you can create a staging environment directly inside your synced Airtable base.
In this tutorial, we'll explain the concept and walk you through a real example for managing your Products.
Understanding the Solution
The idea is simple:
Create a new tab that duplicates the structure of your synced tab (e.g., Products).
This staging tab will not be synced with Shopify.
You can safely add, update, and delete records in this tab without affecting your live store.
Once your updates are ready, you manually push the changes to the live (synced) tab using an automation or a script.
This way, you can review and control when your data goes live.
Example: Preparing Products in a Staging Tab
Step 1: Duplicate the Products Tab Structure
In your Airtable base, find your Products tab.
Right-click on the tab name and choose Duplicate table → Duplicate structure only.
Rename this new tab to something like Products (Staging).
✅ Now you have a staging tab with the same fields, but no records.
Step 2: Manage Your Products in the Staging Tab
Create or update your products safely inside the Products (Staging) tab.
You can also add a new field called "Ready to Publish" (Checkbox or Status) to mark the products that are finalized and ready to go live.
Step 3: Create a Push Mechanism (Manual Selection)
You want to manually select which products to publish. Here's a simple method:
In the Products (Staging) tab, create a Checkbox field called Ready to Publish.
Set up an Automation (or a small Script) that:****
When Ready to Publish is checked,****
Then copy the record to the Products (synced) tab.
If the product already exists in the synced tab (match by SKU or Handle, for example), update it instead of creating a new one.
Airtable Automation: Push Ready Products to Synced Tab
Step 1: Create the Trigger
Click Add trigger.
Choose When a record matches conditions.
Table: Products Staging
Condition: Field Ready to Publish is checked ✅.
Step 2: Find Matching Record in Products
Click Add action.
Choose Find records.
Table: Products
Condition: Handle (Products) is equal to Handle (from trigger record in Products Staging).
This checks if a product with the same Handle already exists.
Step 3: Add a Conditional Branch
Click + below the Find Records action.
Choose Conditional group (or "Conditional branch" depending on wording).
Set it to:
If the list of found records length > 0 → (means the product already exists)
Step 3.1: If the product exists → Update it
Action: Update record.
Record ID: Take the ID of the first found record.
Table: Products.
Fields to update: Title, Status, Vendor, Tags, Price, etc. (copy fields from the trigger record).
Step 3.2: Else → Create new record
Action: Create record.
Table: Products.
Set fields:
Title = Title (from Products Staging)
Handle = Handle (from Products Staging)
Status = Status (from Products Staging)
etc.
At the end of your automation, you can add Update Record → to automatically uncheck the Ready to Publish field after the push, keeping the staging area clean!
Updated on: 04/06/2025
Thank you!