Notion SDK Skill Skill | Agent Skills

Notion SDK Skill

Control Notion programmatically using the official notion-client Python SDK. See PyPI for current version.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

Creating pages or databases in Notion via API
Querying Notion databases programmatically
Adding blocks (text, code, headings) to Notion pages
Automating Notion workflows with Python
Integrating external data sources with Notion

Preflight: Token Collection

Before any Notion API operation, collect the integration token:

AskUserQuestion(questions=[{
    "question": "Please provide your Notion Integration Token (starts with ntn_ or secret_)",
    "header": "Notion Token",
    "options": [
        {"label": "I have a token ready", "description": "Token from notion.so/my-integrations"},
        {"label": "Need to create one", "description": "Go to notion.so/my-integrations → New integration"}
    ],
    "multiSelect": false
}])

After user provides token:

Validate format (must start with ntn_ or secret_)
Test with validate_token() from scripts/notion_wrapper.py
Remind user: Each page/database must be shared with the integration

Quick Start

1. Create a Page in Database

from notion_client import Client
from scripts.create_page import (
    create_database_page,
    title_property,
    status_property,
    date_property,
)

client = Client(auth="ntn_...")
page = create_database_page(
    client,
    data_source_id="abc123...",  # Database ID
    properties={
        "Name": title_property("My New Task"),
        "Status": status_property("In Progress"),
        "Due Date": date_property("2025-12-31"),
    }
)
print(f"Created: {page['url']}")

2. Add Content Blocks

from scripts.add_blocks import (
    append_blocks,
    heading,
    paragraph,
    bullet,
    code_block,
    callout,
)

blocks = [
    heading("Overview", level=2),
    paragraph("This page was created via the Notion API."),
    callout("Remember to share the page with your integration!", emoji="⚠️"),
    heading("Tasks", level=3),
    bullet("First task"),
    bullet("Second task"),
    code_block("print('Hello, Notion!')", language="python"),
]
append_blocks(client, page["id"], blocks)

3. Query Database

from scripts.query_database import (
    query_data_source,
    checkbox_filter,
    status_filter,
    and_filter,
    sort_by_property,
)

# Find incomplete high-priority items
results = query_data_source(
    client,
    data_source_id="abc123...",
    filter_obj=and_filter(
        checkbox_filter("Done", False),
        status_filter("Priority", "High")
    ),
    sorts=[sort_by_property("Due Date", "ascending")]
)
for page in results:
    title = page["properties"]["Name"]["title"][0]["plain_text"]
    print(f"- {title}")

Available Scripts

| Script | Purpose | | ------------------- | --------------------------------------------- | | notion_wrapper.py | Client setup, token validation, retry wrapper | | create_page.py | Create pages, property builders | | add_blocks.py | Append blocks, block type builders | | query_database.py | Query, filter, sort, search |

References

Property Types - All 24 property types with examples
Block Types - All block types with structures
Rich Text - Formatting, links, mentions
Pagination - Handling large result sets

Important Constraints

Rate Limits

3 requests/second average (burst tolerated briefly)
Use api_call_with_retry() for automatic rate limit handling
429 responses include Retry-After header

Authentication Model

Page-level sharing required (not workspace-wide)
User must explicitly add integration to each page/database:
- Page → ... menu → Connections → Add connection → Select integration

API Version (v2.6.0+)

Uses data_source_id instead of database_id for multi-source databases
Legacy database_id still works for simple databases
Scripts handle both patterns automatically

Operations NOT Supported

Workspace settings modification
User permissions management
Template creation/management
Billing/subscription access

API Behavior Patterns

Insights discovered through integration testing (test citations for verification).

Rate Limiting & Retry Logic

api_call_with_retry() handles transient failures automatically:

| Error Type | Behavior | Wait Strategy | | ---------------- | ----------------- | ---------------------------------------- | | 429 Rate Limited | Retries | Respects Retry-After header (default 1s) | | 500 Server Error | Retries | Exponential backoff: 1s, 2s, 4s | | Auth/Validation | Fails immediately | No retry |

Citation: test_client.py::TestRetryLogic (lines 146-193)

Read-After-Write Consistency

Newly created blocks may not be immediately queryable. Add 0.5s minimum delay:

append_blocks(client, page_id, blocks)
time.sleep(0.5)  # Eventual consistency delay
children = client.blocks.children.list(page_id)

Citation: test_integration.py::TestBlockAppend::test_retrieve_appended_blocks (line 298)

v2.6.0 API Migration

| Old Pattern | New Pattern (v2.6.0+) | | ------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- | | client.databases.query() | client.data_sources.query() | | filter: {"value": "database"} | filter: {"value": "data_source"} |

Citation: test_integration.py::TestDatabaseQuery (line 110)

Archive-Only Deletion

Pages cannot be permanently deleted via API - only archived (moved to trash):

client.pages.update(page_id, archived=True)  # Trash, not delete

Citation: test_integration.py cleanup fixture (lines 72-76)

Edge Cases & Validation

Property Builder Edge Cases

| Input | Behavior | Valid? | | ----------------- | ----------------------------- | ------ | | Empty string "" | Creates empty content | Yes | | Empty array [] | Clears multi-select/relations | Yes | | None for number | Clears property value | Yes | | Zero 0 | Valid number (not falsy) | Yes | | Negative -42 | Valid number | Yes | | Unicode/emoji | Fully preserved | Yes |

Citation: test_property_builders.py::TestPropertyBuildersEdgeCases (lines 302-341)

Input Validation Responsibility

Builders are intentionally permissive - validation happens at API level:

| Property | Builder Accepts | API Validates | | -------- | --------------- | ---------------- | | Date | Any string | ISO 8601 only | | URL | Any string | Valid URL format | | Checkbox | Truthy values | Boolean expected |

Best Practice: Validate in your application before building properties.

Citation: test_property_builders.py::TestPropertyBuildersInvalidInputs (lines 347-376)

Token Validation

Case-sensitive: Only lowercase ntn_ and secret_ valid
Format check happens before API call (saves unnecessary requests)
Empty/whitespace tokens rejected immediately

Citation: test_client.py::TestClientEdgeCases (lines 196-224)

Query & Filter Patterns

Compound Filter Composition

# Empty compound (matches all)
and_filter()  # {"and": []}

# Deep nesting supported
and_filter(
    or_filter(filter_a, filter_b),
    and_filter(filter_c, filter_d)
)

Citation: test_filter_builders.py::TestFilterEdgeCases (lines 323-360)

Filter Limitations

Filters don't exclude NULL properties - check in Python:

if row["properties"]["Rating"]["number"] is not None:
    # Process non-null values

Citation: test_integration.py::TestDatabaseQuery::test_query_database_with_filter (lines 120-135)

Pagination Invariants

| Condition | has_more | next_cursor | | ------------------ | ---------- | ------------------ | | More results exist | True | Present, non-None | | No more results | False | May be absent/None |

Always check has_more before using next_cursor.

Citation: test_integration.py::TestDatabaseQuery::test_query_database_with_pagination (lines 137-151)

Error Handling

from notion_client import APIResponseError, APIErrorCode

try:
    result = client.pages.create(...)
except APIResponseError as e:
    if e.code == APIErrorCode.ObjectNotFound:
        print("Page/database not found or not shared with integration")
    elif e.code == APIErrorCode.Unauthorized:
        print("Token invalid or expired")
    elif e.code == APIErrorCode.RateLimited:
        print(f"Rate limited. Retry after {e.additional_data.get('retry_after')}s")
    else:
        raise

Installation

uv pip install notion-client  # v2.6+ required for data_source support

Or use PEP 723 inline dependencies (scripts include them).

Troubleshooting

| Issue | Cause | Solution | | ---------------------------- | -------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | | Object not found | Page not shared with integration | Share page: ... menu → Connections → Add integration | | Unauthorized | Token invalid or expired | Generate new token at notion.so/my-integrations | | Rate limited (429) | Too many requests | Use api_call_with_retry() for automatic handling | | Empty results from query | Filter matches nothing | Verify filter syntax and property names | | Block not found after create | Eventual consistency delay | Add 0.5s delay after write before read | | Invalid property type | Wrong builder used | Check property type in database schema | | Token format rejected | Wrong prefix (case-sensitive) | Token must start with ntn_ or secret_ (lowercase) | | Data source ID not working | Old API version | Upgrade notion-client to latest version |

Agent Skills: Notion SDK Skill

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