notion

Notion API for creating and managing pages, databases, and blocks.

411 stars

Best use case

notion is best used when you need a repeatable AI agent workflow instead of a one-off prompt.

Notion API for creating and managing pages, databases, and blocks.

Teams using notion should expect a more consistent output, faster repeated execution, less prompt rewriting.

When to use this skill

  • You want a reusable workflow that can be run more than once with consistent structure.

When not to use this skill

  • You only need a quick one-off answer and do not need a reusable workflow.
  • You cannot install or maintain the underlying files, dependencies, or repository context.

Installation

Claude Code / Cursor / Codex

$curl -o ~/.claude/skills/notion/SKILL.md --create-dirs "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/understudy-ai/understudy/main/skills/notion/SKILL.md"

Manual Installation

  1. Download SKILL.md from GitHub
  2. Place it in .claude/skills/notion/SKILL.md inside your project
  3. Restart your AI agent — it will auto-discover the skill

How notion Compares

Feature / AgentnotionStandard Approach
Platform SupportNot specifiedLimited / Varies
Context Awareness High Baseline
Installation ComplexityUnknownN/A

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this skill do?

Notion API for creating and managing pages, databases, and blocks.

Where can I find the source code?

You can find the source code on GitHub using the link provided at the top of the page.

SKILL.md Source

# notion

Use the Notion API to create/read/update pages, data sources (databases), and blocks.

## Setup

1. Create an integration at https://notion.so/my-integrations
2. Copy the API key (starts with `ntn_` or `secret_`)
3. Store it:

```bash
mkdir -p ~/.config/notion
echo "ntn_your_key_here" > ~/.config/notion/api_key
```

4. Share target pages/databases with your integration (click "..." → "Connect to" → your integration name)

## API Basics

All requests need:

```bash
NOTION_KEY=$(cat ~/.config/notion/api_key)
curl -X GET "https://api.notion.com/v1/..." \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_KEY" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json"
```

> **Note:** The `Notion-Version` header is required. This skill uses `2025-09-03` (latest). In this version, databases are called "data sources" in the API.

## Common Operations

**Search for pages and data sources:**

```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.notion.com/v1/search" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_KEY" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "page title"}'
```

**Get page:**

```bash
curl "https://api.notion.com/v1/pages/{page_id}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_KEY" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03"
```

**Get page content (blocks):**

```bash
curl "https://api.notion.com/v1/blocks/{page_id}/children" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_KEY" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03"
```

**Create page in a data source:**

```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.notion.com/v1/pages" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_KEY" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "parent": {"database_id": "xxx"},
    "properties": {
      "Name": {"title": [{"text": {"content": "New Item"}}]},
      "Status": {"select": {"name": "Todo"}}
    }
  }'
```

**Query a data source (database):**

```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.notion.com/v1/data_sources/{data_source_id}/query" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_KEY" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "filter": {"property": "Status", "select": {"equals": "Active"}},
    "sorts": [{"property": "Date", "direction": "descending"}]
  }'
```

**Create a data source (database):**

```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.notion.com/v1/data_sources" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_KEY" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "parent": {"page_id": "xxx"},
    "title": [{"text": {"content": "My Database"}}],
    "properties": {
      "Name": {"title": {}},
      "Status": {"select": {"options": [{"name": "Todo"}, {"name": "Done"}]}},
      "Date": {"date": {}}
    }
  }'
```

**Update page properties:**

```bash
curl -X PATCH "https://api.notion.com/v1/pages/{page_id}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_KEY" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"properties": {"Status": {"select": {"name": "Done"}}}}'
```

**Add blocks to page:**

```bash
curl -X PATCH "https://api.notion.com/v1/blocks/{page_id}/children" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_KEY" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "children": [
      {"object": "block", "type": "paragraph", "paragraph": {"rich_text": [{"text": {"content": "Hello"}}]}}
    ]
  }'
```

## Property Types

Common property formats for database items:

- **Title:** `{"title": [{"text": {"content": "..."}}]}`
- **Rich text:** `{"rich_text": [{"text": {"content": "..."}}]}`
- **Select:** `{"select": {"name": "Option"}}`
- **Multi-select:** `{"multi_select": [{"name": "A"}, {"name": "B"}]}`
- **Date:** `{"date": {"start": "2024-01-15", "end": "2024-01-16"}}`
- **Checkbox:** `{"checkbox": true}`
- **Number:** `{"number": 42}`
- **URL:** `{"url": "https://..."}`
- **Email:** `{"email": "a@b.com"}`
- **Relation:** `{"relation": [{"id": "page_id"}]}`

## Key Differences in 2025-09-03

- **Databases → Data Sources:** Use `/data_sources/` endpoints for queries and retrieval
- **Two IDs:** Each database now has both a `database_id` and a `data_source_id`
  - Use `database_id` when creating pages (`parent: {"database_id": "..."}`)
  - Use `data_source_id` when querying (`POST /v1/data_sources/{id}/query`)
- **Search results:** Databases return as `"object": "data_source"` with their `data_source_id`
- **Parent in responses:** Pages show `parent.data_source_id` alongside `parent.database_id`
- **Finding the data_source_id:** Search for the database, or call `GET /v1/data_sources/{data_source_id}`

## Notes

- Page/database IDs are UUIDs (with or without dashes)
- The API cannot set database view filters — that's UI-only
- Rate limit: ~3 requests/second average, with `429 rate_limited` responses using `Retry-After`
- Append block children: up to 100 children per request, up to two levels of nesting in a single append request
- Payload size limits: up to 1000 block elements and 500KB overall
- Use `is_inline: true` when creating data sources to embed them in pages

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