Getting Started with Filla: Your First Form in 5 Minutes
You have an Airtable base. It has linked records, single selects, maybe some formulas. You need a form that actually understands all of that and writes submissions directly back to your table.
That's the whole point of Filla. This guide gets you from signup to live form in under 5 minutes.
Ready to build? Filla creates forms that write directly to Airtable with no field mapping, native linked record support, and conditional logic. Start free →
What Filla does (the short version)
Filla is a form builder built exclusively for Airtable. When someone submits your form, the data goes directly into your Airtable base in real time. No Zapier in the middle. No sync delays. No manual field mapping to maintain.
Your Airtable fields become your form fields. Change a single select option in Airtable? It shows up in your form automatically. Add a new field to your table? It's available in the form builder immediately.
This is the part that trips people up when they come from Typeform or Jotform. With those tools, you map form fields to Airtable fields. With Filla, your Airtable fields are the form fields. There's no layer in between.
Step 1: Create your account
Go to app.filla.io/signup. No credit card required. The free plan gives you 5 forms with unlimited submissions.
You'll be prompted to connect your Airtable account via OAuth. This is the same secure flow you use for other official Airtable integrations. Filla never sees your Airtable password.
Grant access when prompted. You'll land in the Filla dashboard.
Step 2: Connect your base and pick a table
Click New Form. Filla will show you all the Airtable bases your account has access to.
Pick the base you want to build a form for. Then pick the table that should receive submissions.
Your fields will load immediately. All of them. Single selects with their options, linked record fields, dates, attachments, the works. You don't configure any of this. Filla reads it directly from your base.
One thing to know: Each form connects to one table. If you need to create records in multiple tables from a single submission, that's what child forms are for (more on that in the customization section).
Step 3: Build your form
You'll see all your table's fields listed in the builder. By default, most are hidden. Add the ones you want by clicking the toggle next to each field.
For each field you add, you can:
- Label: Change the field name that respondents see (your internal Airtable field name stays unchanged)
- Description: Add helper text under the field
- Required: Make the field mandatory before submission
- Placeholder: Set placeholder text for text fields
The form preview updates on the right as you make changes. What you see there is what respondents will see.
Field types just work
Filla maps Airtable field types to form inputs automatically:
- Single select shows as a dropdown or radio buttons
- Multiple select shows as checkboxes
- Date gets a date picker
- Attachment turns into a file upload with drag-and-drop
- Linked record gives you a search picker connected to your linked table
- Checkbox renders as a toggle
- Long text becomes a textarea with optional rich text
You don't configure any of this. It comes from your Airtable field types.
Step 4: Customize the form
Branding
Under Settings, you can:
- Add a cover image or logo
- Set your brand colors for buttons and accents
- Write a custom form title and description
- Add a thank-you message or redirect URL after submission
On the free plan, Filla's branding appears at the bottom of the form. The Starter plan ($12/month) removes it entirely.
Conditional logic
This is where Filla earns its keep. Under Logic, you can set rules to show or hide fields based on previous answers.
Example: You have a "Service Type" single select with options "Consulting" and "Training." You only want to show the "Number of Attendees" field when someone picks Training. Set a rule: show "Number of Attendees" when "Service Type" equals "Training."
Rules can be based on any of these.
- Single select values: Show Field B when Field A equals X
- Checkbox state: Show a section when a checkbox is checked
- Text content: Show a field when another contains specific text
- Linked record selection: Show fields based on which linked record was selected
Conditional logic runs on the respondent's side. They never see fields that don't apply to them.
Multi-page forms
Long forms work better when they're broken into pages. Under Pages, add new pages and drag fields between them.
Each page gets a forward/back button automatically. You can add page titles and descriptions to orient respondents.
Step 5: Set up child forms (optional)
If your Airtable base has linked tables and you need to create records in more than one table per submission, child forms handle this.
Example: You have an Orders table linked to a Line Items table. You want one form submission to create an order record and multiple line item records.
Under Child Forms, you attach a linked table and configure which fields to collect. Respondents can add multiple rows, each of which becomes a separate record in the linked table.
This is one of the things Filla does that no generic form builder can replicate, because it requires understanding Airtable's relational structure.
Step 6: Share your form
When you're ready, go to Share. You'll get:
- A direct link:
filla.io/f/your-form-id(share this anywhere) - Embed code: An
<iframe>snippet to embed the form on your website - Prefill links: URLs with parameters that pre-populate fields (useful for update forms where you already know who's filling it out)
Copy the link. Test it in a browser tab. Submit a test response. Check your Airtable table and you'll see the record appear within a second or two.
That's it. Your form is live.
What happens after a submission
Submissions write directly to your Airtable table in real time. A few things worth knowing.
- New records by default: Each submission creates a new record in your selected table
- Update existing records: If you share a prefill link tied to an existing record, the form updates that record instead of creating a new one
- Linked records: Linked record fields create the actual Airtable link, not just a text reference
- Attachments: Files uploaded through the form are stored in Airtable's attachment field
- Automations still run: Any Airtable automations triggered by new records will fire normally, because Filla writes like any other Airtable source
Common first-form mistakes to avoid
Including too many fields. Your form should collect what you need, not everything your table stores. Formula fields, autonumber fields, and lookup fields are read-only anyway. Focus on the fields respondents actually need to fill.
Skipping the test submission. Always submit a test before sharing. Check that linked record pickers work, file uploads land correctly, and required field validation fires where you expect it.
Not setting a thank-you message. The default "Thank you for your response" is generic. Customize it. Tell respondents what happens next.
Forgetting mobile. The form preview in the builder shows the desktop version. Check it on your phone before sharing. Filla forms are responsive, but field widths and layout can look different on smaller screens.
FAQ
Does Filla work with any Airtable base?
Yes. Connect as many bases as you need. Each form links to one specific base and one table within it.
Can I accept form submissions on the free plan?
Yes. The free plan allows 5 forms with unlimited submissions. There's no response cap. The only restriction is that Filla's branding appears on your forms.
What's the difference between the free plan and Starter?
The Starter plan ($12/month billed yearly) removes Filla branding, allows unlimited forms, and includes everything in the free plan. All core features, including conditional logic, child forms, and prefill, are available on both plans.
Can respondents update their previous submissions?
Yes. When you create a prefill link tied to an existing Airtable record, the form loads with that record's current values. Submitting updates the record rather than creating a new one. This is useful for profile updates, application edits, and annual reviews.
What field types does Filla support?
Filla supports all standard Airtable field types: single line text, long text, email, phone, URL, number, currency, percent, duration, date, date and time, single select, multiple select, checkbox, rating, attachments, linked records, lookup display, formula display, and more. If it's a field in Airtable, Filla can work with it.
Does the form break if I change my Airtable fields?
No. Field syncs are automatic. If you rename a field or add options to a single select in Airtable, the form picks up the changes without any action on your part. The one exception: if you delete a field from Airtable that's in use in your form, Filla will flag it so you can update the form.
Next steps
Once your first form is running, a few things worth exploring:
- Add conditional logic to hide irrelevant fields
- Try a prefill link to see how record updates work
- Set up a child form if you need submissions to create records in multiple tables
- Connect a custom domain if you're on Starter and want branded URLs
You don't need to learn all of this at once. Build a simple form first, see how it behaves, and add complexity from there.