Notion API Skill

This skill enables interaction with Notion workspaces through the Notion REST API. Use curl and jq for direct REST calls, or write ad-hoc scripts as appropriate for the task.

Authentication

API Key Handling

Environment Variable: Check if NOTION_API_TOKEN is available in the environment
User-Provided Key: If the user provides an API key in context, use that instead
No Key Available: If neither is available, use AskUserQuestion (or equivalent) to request the API key from the user

IMPORTANT: Never display, log, or send NOTION_API_TOKEN anywhere except in the Authorization header. Confirm its existence, ask if missing, use it in requests—but never echo or expose it.

Request Headers

All requests require these headers:

-H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_API_TOKEN" \
-H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json"

Verifying Authentication

Test the API key by retrieving the bot user:

curl -s "https://api.notion.com/v1/users/me" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" | jq

Base URL and Conventions

Base URL: https://api.notion.com
API Version: 2025-09-03 (required header)
Data Format: JSON for all request/response bodies
IDs: UUIDv4 format (dashes optional in requests)
Timestamps: ISO 8601 format (2020-08-12T02:12:33.231Z)
Property Names: snake_case
Empty Values: Use null instead of empty strings

Rate Limits

Average: 3 requests per second per integration
Bursts: Brief bursts above this limit are allowed
Rate Limited Response: HTTP 429 with Retry-After header
Strategy: Implement exponential backoff when receiving 429 responses

Request Size Limits

Type	Limit
Maximum block elements per payload	1000
Maximum payload size	500KB
Rich text content	2000 characters
URLs	2000 characters
Equations	1000 characters
Email addresses	200 characters
Phone numbers	200 characters
Multi-select options	100 items
Relations	100 related pages
People mentions	100 users
Block arrays per request	100 elements

Confirmation for Destructive Operations

IMPORTANT: Before executing any operation that modifies or deletes data, ask the user for confirmation. This includes:

Updating pages or blocks
Deleting/archiving pages or blocks
Modifying database schemas
Creating pages (if multiple or in batch)
Any bulk operations

For a logical group of related operations, a single confirmation is sufficient.

Core API Endpoints

Search

Search across all accessible pages and databases:

curl -s -X POST "https://api.notion.com/v1/search" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "query": "search term",
    "filter": {"property": "object", "value": "page"},
    "sort": {"direction": "descending", "timestamp": "last_edited_time"},
    "page_size": 100
  }' | jq

Filter values: "page" or "data_source" (or omit for both)

Pages

Retrieve a Page

curl -s "https://api.notion.com/v1/pages/{page_id}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" | jq

Note: This returns page properties, not content. For content, use "Retrieve block children" with the page ID.

Create a Page

curl -s -X POST "https://api.notion.com/v1/pages" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "parent": {"page_id": "parent-page-id"},
    "properties": {
      "title": {
        "title": [{"text": {"content": "Page Title"}}]
      }
    },
    "children": [
      {
        "object": "block",
        "type": "paragraph",
        "paragraph": {
          "rich_text": [{"type": "text", "text": {"content": "Paragraph content"}}]
        }
      }
    ]
  }' | jq

Parent options:

{"page_id": "..."} - Create under a page
{"database_id": "..."} - Create in a database (legacy)
{"data_source_id": "..."} - Create in a data source (API v2025-09-03+)

Update a Page

curl -s -X PATCH "https://api.notion.com/v1/pages/{page_id}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "properties": {
      "title": {"title": [{"text": {"content": "Updated Title"}}]}
    },
    "icon": {"type": "emoji", "emoji": "📝"},
    "archived": false
  }' | jq

Additional update options: cover, is_locked, in_trash

Archive (Delete) a Page

curl -s -X PATCH "https://api.notion.com/v1/pages/{page_id}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"archived": true}' | jq

Retrieve a Page Property Item

For properties with more than 25 references:

curl -s "https://api.notion.com/v1/pages/{page_id}/properties/{property_id}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" | jq

Blocks (Page Content)

Retrieve Block Children

curl -s "https://api.notion.com/v1/blocks/{block_id}/children?page_size=100" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" | jq

Use the page ID as block_id to get page content. Check has_children on each block for nested content.

Append Block Children

curl -s -X PATCH "https://api.notion.com/v1/blocks/{block_id}/children" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "children": [
      {
        "object": "block",
        "type": "heading_2",
        "heading_2": {
          "rich_text": [{"type": "text", "text": {"content": "New Section"}}]
        }
      },
      {
        "object": "block",
        "type": "paragraph",
        "paragraph": {
          "rich_text": [{"type": "text", "text": {"content": "Content here"}}]
        }
      }
    ]
  }' | jq

Maximum 100 blocks per request, up to 2 levels of nesting.

Position options in request body:

Default: appends to end
"position": {"type": "start"} - Insert at beginning
"position": {"type": "after_block", "after_block": {"id": "block-id"}} - Insert after specific block

Retrieve a Block

curl -s "https://api.notion.com/v1/blocks/{block_id}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" | jq

Update a Block

curl -s -X PATCH "https://api.notion.com/v1/blocks/{block_id}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "paragraph": {
      "rich_text": [{"type": "text", "text": {"content": "Updated content"}}]
    }
  }' | jq

The update replaces the entire value for the specified field.

Delete a Block

curl -s -X DELETE "https://api.notion.com/v1/blocks/{block_id}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" | jq

Moves block to trash (can be restored).

Databases

Retrieve a Database

curl -s "https://api.notion.com/v1/databases/{database_id}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" | jq

Returns database structure including data sources and properties.

Query a Database

curl -s -X POST "https://api.notion.com/v1/databases/{database_id}/query" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "filter": {
      "property": "Status",
      "select": {"equals": "Done"}
    },
    "sorts": [
      {"property": "Created", "direction": "descending"}
    ],
    "page_size": 100
  }' | jq

See references/filters-and-sorts.md for comprehensive filter and sort documentation.

Create a Database

curl -s -X POST "https://api.notion.com/v1/databases" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "parent": {"page_id": "parent-page-id"},
    "title": [{"type": "text", "text": {"content": "My Database"}}],
    "is_inline": true,
    "initial_data_source": {
      "properties": {
        "Name": {"title": {}},
        "Status": {
          "select": {
            "options": [
              {"name": "To Do", "color": "red"},
              {"name": "In Progress", "color": "yellow"},
              {"name": "Done", "color": "green"}
            ]
          }
        },
        "Due Date": {"date": {}}
      }
    }
  }' | jq

Update a Database

curl -s -X PATCH "https://api.notion.com/v1/databases/{database_id}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "title": [{"text": {"content": "Updated Title"}}],
    "description": [{"text": {"content": "Database description"}}]
  }' | jq

Data Sources (API v2025-09-03+)

Data sources are individual tables within a database. As of API version 2025-09-03, databases can contain multiple data sources.

Create a Data Source

curl -s -X POST "https://api.notion.com/v1/data_sources" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "parent": {"type": "database_id", "database_id": "database-id"},
    "title": [{"type": "text", "text": {"content": "New Data Source"}}],
    "properties": {
      "Name": {"title": {}},
      "Description": {"rich_text": {}}
    }
  }' | jq

Users

List All Users

curl -s "https://api.notion.com/v1/users?page_size=100" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" | jq

Retrieve a User

curl -s "https://api.notion.com/v1/users/{user_id}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" | jq

Retrieve Bot User (Self)

curl -s "https://api.notion.com/v1/users/me" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" | jq

Comments

Retrieve Comments

curl -s "https://api.notion.com/v1/comments?block_id={block_id}&page_size=100" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" | jq

Use a page ID as block_id for page-level comments.

Create a Comment

On a page:

curl -s -X POST "https://api.notion.com/v1/comments" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "parent": {"page_id": "page-id"},
    "rich_text": [{"type": "text", "text": {"content": "Comment content"}}]
  }' | jq

Reply to a discussion:

curl -s -X POST "https://api.notion.com/v1/comments" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "discussion_id": "discussion-id",
    "rich_text": [{"type": "text", "text": {"content": "Reply content"}}]
  }' | jq

Note: The API cannot start new inline discussion threads or edit/delete existing comments.

Pagination

Paginated endpoints return:

has_more: Boolean indicating more results exist
next_cursor: Cursor for the next page
results: Array of items

To iterate through all results:

Make the initial request (omit start_cursor)
Check has_more in the response
If true, extract next_cursor and include it as start_cursor in the next request
Repeat until has_more is false

Example request with cursor:

{
  "page_size": 100,
  "start_cursor": "v1%7C..."
}

Error Handling

HTTP Status	Code	Description
400	`invalid_json`	Request body is not valid JSON
400	`invalid_request_url`	URL is malformed
400	`invalid_request`	Request is not supported
400	`validation_error`	Request body doesn't match expected schema
400	`missing_version`	Missing Notion-Version header
401	`unauthorized`	Invalid bearer token
403	`restricted_resource`	Token lacks permission
404	`object_not_found`	Resource doesn't exist or not shared with integration
409	`conflict_error`	Data collision during transaction
429	`rate_limited`	Rate limit exceeded (check Retry-After header)
500	`internal_server_error`	Unexpected server error
503	`service_unavailable`	Notion unavailable or 60s timeout exceeded
503	`database_connection_unavailable`	Database unresponsive
504	`gateway_timeout`	Request timeout

Best Practices

Store IDs: When creating pages/databases, store the returned IDs for future updates
Use Property IDs: Reference properties by ID rather than name for stability
Batch Operations: Aggregate multiple small operations into fewer requests
Respect Rate Limits: Implement exponential backoff for 429 responses
Check has_more: Always handle pagination for list endpoints
Validate Before Updates: Retrieve current state before making updates
Use Environment Variables: Never hardcode API keys
Handle Errors Gracefully: Check response status codes and error messages
Schema Size: Keep database schemas under 50KB for optimal performance
Properties Limit: Properties with >25 page references require separate retrieval

References

For detailed documentation on specific topics, see:

references/block-types.md - All supported block types and their structures
references/property-types.md - Database property types and value formats
references/filters-and-sorts.md - Database query filter and sort syntax
references/rich-text.md - Rich text object structure and annotations

notion-api