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

1. Environment Variable: Check if NOTION_API_TOKEN is available in the environment
2. User-Provided Key: If the user provides an API key in context, use that instead
3. 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"}