Using Notion

Practical guide for working with Notion pages, databases, and blocks through Fp Switchboard.

Quick Tips

• Everything is a block: pages, databases, paragraphs, headings
• Property names in filters are case-sensitive — must match exactly
• Page IDs can be used as block IDs when appending children
• Formula properties are read-only — cannot be set via API
• Timestamp filters omit property name in the filter object

Common Gotchas

Everything is a Block Critical

Pages, databases, paragraphs, and headings are all blocks. Parent types: workspace, page_id, database_id, block_id.

	Example
Wrong	Treating pages and blocks as separate concepts
Correct	PATCH /blocks/{page_id}/children works because page_id IS a block_id

Case-Sensitive Property Names Critical

Database property names must match exactly including case.

	Example
Wrong	filter: { property: "status", ... }
Correct	filter: { property: "Status", ... }

Error: Property "status" does not exist

Filter Type Must Match Property Type Important

Checkbox filters need boolean, not strings. Select filters need exact option names.

	Example
Wrong	{ "checkbox": { "equals": "true" } }
Correct	{ "checkbox": { "equals": true } }

Formula Properties are Read-Only Important

You cannot set formula property values — they are computed from other properties. Update the source properties that the formula references instead.

Multi-Step Patterns

Create Page in Database

1. Query database to understand its property schema
2. Create page with parent: { database_id: "xxx" }
3. Include properties matching the database schema

Add Content to Page

1. Get the page ID
2. PATCH /blocks/{page_id}/children with block array
3. Page ID works as block ID for appending

ID Format Reference

ID Type	Format	Example
Page/Database/Block ID	32-char UUID	a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890

Tip

Notion IDs work with or without hyphens. Both a1b2c3d4e5f67890abcdef1234567890 and a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890 are valid.

Example Prompts

• “List my Notion databases”
• “Create a new page in the Tasks database”
• “Search Notion for meeting notes from last week”
• “Add a checklist to the project planning page”
• “Query the CRM database for deals closing this month”

Rate Limits

Limit	Value
Requests per second	3 average
Burst	Up to 10/second
Page size limit	100 blocks per request