Automating Daily Entries in Notion

Software development is as much about automation as it is about problem-solving

We aim to automate repetitive tasks to enhance efficiency and productivity. In this article, we’ll delve into a simple but practical example of automation – creating a daily note in Notion using Node.js and the Notion SDK.

Why Notion?

Notion is a popular note-taking, project management, and knowledge base tool. It provides APIs for developers to interact with Notion programmatically. For our task of creating daily notes, we’ll leverage the Notion SDK in a Node.js environment.

The Script

Let’s take a look at our script:

import { Client } from "@notionhq/client";
 
const notion = new Client({ auth: <YOUR-NOTION-KEY> });
 
const databaseId = <YOUR-DATABASE-ID>;
 
async function addItem() {
  try {
    const today = new Date();
    const formattedDate = `${today.getFullYear()}/${String(today.getMonth() + 1).padStart(
      2,
      "0"
    )}/${String(today.getDate()).padStart(2, "0")}`;
    const formattedDateForData = today.toISOString().split("T")[0];
 
    const response = await notion.pages.create({
      parent: { database_id: databaseId },
      properties: {
        title: {
          title: [
            {
              text: {
                content: formattedDate,
              },
            },
          ],
        },
        Data: {
          date: {
            start: formattedDateForData,
          },
        },
      },
    });
    console.log(response);
    console.log("Success! Entry added.");
  } catch (error) {
    console.error(error.body);
  }
}
 
addItem();

Unpacking the Script

1. Importing the Notion client: We start by importing the Notion client from the @notionhq/client package. This client allows us to interact with the Notion API.

   import { Client } from "@notionhq/client";

2. Client setup: We instantiate the Notion client using the authentication token from our environment variables. This is usually an Integration Token provided by Notion.

   const notion = new Client({ auth: <YOUR-NOTION-KEY> });

3. Date manipulation: For our note title and date property, we generate a formatted date string. We’re using JavaScript’s native Date object and its methods to format the current date.

   const today = new Date();
   const formattedDate = `${today.getFullYear()}/${String(
     today.getMonth() + 1
   ).padStart(2, "0")}/${String(today.getDate()).padStart(2, "0")}`;
   const formattedDateForData = today.toISOString().split("T")[0];

4. Creating a new note: We use the notion.pages.create method to create a new page (or note) in our specified Notion database. We define the parent (our database), the title, and other properties. The parent.database_id is sourced from our environment variables, the title is our formattedDate, and we add additional properties like Data (formatted date for Notion’s date field) and Project (a relation to a specific project or page).

   const response = await notion.pages.create({
     parent: { database_id: databaseId },
     properties: {
       title: {
         title: [
           {
             text: {
               content: formattedDate,
             },
           },
         ],
       },
       Data: {
         date: {
           start: formattedDateForData,
         },
       },
     },
   });

5. Error handling: We use a try-catch block to handle any potential errors during the creation of the note. Any errors that arise will be printed to the console.

   try {
     // note creation
   } catch (error) {
     console.error(error.body);
   }

6. Executing the function: We call the function addItem() at the end to execute our script.

   addItem();

Conclusion

Our script allows us to automate the process of creating daily notes in Notion. As developers, creating tools to automate repetitive tasks is an important skill that can boost productivity and efficiency, both for ourselves and for others who may use our tools.

The simplicity and utility of this script also speak to the power of APIs and SDKs. Notion’s SDK allows developers to interact with the application programmatically, opening up possibilities for automation, integration, and expansion that go beyond the app’s basic GUI functionality.

As we continue to develop and refine our tools, let’s remember the importance of automation, and the opportunities it presents to us as developers.