cloudthinker-ai NocoDB Management Skill
Manage and monitor NocoDB bases, tables, views, webhooks, and shared access.
MANDATORY: Discovery-First Pattern
Always list bases and tables before querying specific records or configurations.
Phase 1: Discovery
#!/bin/bash
NOCODB_API="${NOCODB_URL}/api/v1"
nocodb_api() {
curl -s -H "xc-auth: $NOCODB_API_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
"${NOCODB_API}/${1}"
}
echo "=== Bases ==="
nocodb_api "db/meta/projects" | jq -r '
.list[] |
"\(.id)\t\(.title)\t\(.type // "database")\t\(.sources | length) sources"
' | column -t
echo ""
echo "=== Tables (first base) ==="
BASE_ID=$(nocodb_api "db/meta/projects" | jq -r '.list[0].id')
nocodb_api "db/meta/projects/${BASE_ID}/tables" | jq -r '
.list[] |
"\(.id)\t\(.title)\t\(.columns | length) cols\t\(.meta.rowCount // "?")"
' | column -t | head -20
echo ""
echo "=== Shared Views ==="
nocodb_api "db/meta/projects/${BASE_ID}/tables" | jq -r '.list[].id' | while read tid; do
nocodb_api "db/meta/tables/${tid}/shared-views" 2>/dev/null | jq -r --arg tid "$tid" '
.list[]? |
"\($tid)\t\(.id)\t\(.type)\t\(.password != null)"
'
done | column -t | head -15
Phase 2: Analysis
#!/bin/bash
BASE_ID=$(nocodb_api "db/meta/projects" | jq -r '.list[0].id')
echo "=== Table Schema Summary ==="
nocodb_api "db/meta/projects/${BASE_ID}/tables" | jq -r '
.list[] |
"\(.title)\t\(.columns | length) cols\tLinks: \([.columns[] | select(.uidt == "LinkToAnotherRecord")] | length)"
' | column -t | head -20
echo ""
echo "=== Webhooks ==="
nocodb_api "db/meta/projects/${BASE_ID}/tables" | jq -r '.list[].id' | while read tid; do
nocodb_api "db/meta/tables/${tid}/hooks" 2>/dev/null | jq -r --arg tid "$tid" '
.list[]? |
"\($tid)\t\(.title)\t\(.event)\t\(.active)"
'
done | column -t | head -15
echo ""
echo "=== External Sources ==="
nocodb_api "db/meta/projects/${BASE_ID}" | jq -r '
.sources[]? |
"\(.id)\t\(.type)\t\(.config.host // "embedded")\t\(.enabled)"
' | column -t
echo ""
echo "=== API Tokens ==="
nocodb_api "db/meta/projects/${BASE_ID}/api-tokens" 2>/dev/null | jq -r '
.list[]? |
"\(.id)\t\(.description)\t\(.created_at[:10])"
' | column -t
Output Rules
- TOKEN EFFICIENCY: Target <=50 lines per output
- Filter tables by base
- Never dump full record data -- extract schema and metadata only
Output Format
Present results as a structured report:
Managing Nocodb Report
══════════════════════
Resources discovered: [count]
Resource Status Key Metric Issues
──────────────────────────────────────────────
[name] [ok/warn] [value] [findings]
Summary: [total] resources | [ok] healthy | [warn] warnings | [crit] critical
Action Items: [list of prioritized findings]
Target ≤50 lines of output. Use tables for multi-resource comparisons.
Anti-Hallucination Rules
- NEVER assume resource names — always discover via CLI/API in Phase 1 before referencing in Phase 2.
- NEVER fabricate metric names or dimensions — verify against the service documentation or
--helpoutput. - NEVER mix CLI commands between service versions — confirm which version/API you are targeting.
- ALWAYS use the discovery → verify → analyze chain — every resource referenced must have been discovered first.
- ALWAYS handle empty results gracefully — an empty response is valid data, not an error to retry.
Counter-Rationalizations
| Shortcut | Counter | Why |
|---|---|---|
| "I'll skip discovery and check known resources" | Always run Phase 1 discovery first | Resource names change, new resources appear — assumed names cause errors |
| "The user only asked for a quick check" | Follow the full discovery → analysis flow | Quick checks miss critical issues; structured analysis catches silent failures |
| "Default configuration is probably fine" | Audit configuration explicitly | Defaults often leave logging, security, and optimization features disabled |
| "Metrics aren't needed for this" | Always check relevant metrics when available | API/CLI responses show current state; metrics reveal trends and intermittent issues |
| "I don't have access to that" | Try the command and report the actual error | Assumed permission failures prevent useful investigation; actual errors are informative |
Common Pitfalls
- Shared views: Shared view links grant public access -- audit and revoke unused links
- External DB sync: External database sources may drift from NocoDB schema cache
- Webhook failures: Failed webhook deliveries are not retried by default
- Link columns: LinkToAnotherRecord columns create implicit junction tables
- Row limits: Free tier or self-hosted may have practical row limits based on resources
- API token scope: API tokens have full access -- use per-base tokens where possible