Notion Workspace Operations

Use the Notion API for page, block, and data-source work.

Setup

If NOTION_API_KEY is not already configured:

1. Create an internal integration in Notion.
2. Save the token outside the repo, usually as NOTION_API_KEY.
3. Share the target pages or databases with that integration.

Do not assume the integration can see a page until the user confirms sharing.

API Basics

Before API calls, write a private temp curl config and register cleanup so the Notion token stays off the shell command line and the auth file is removed on exit:

AUTH_CURL="$(mktemp)"
chmod 600 "$AUTH_CURL"
trap 'rm -f "$AUTH_CURL"' EXIT INT TERM
cat >"$AUTH_CURL" <<EOF
header = "Authorization: Bearer $NOTION_API_KEY"
header = "Notion-Version: 2025-09-03"
EOF

All requests need:

curl -s "https://api.notion.com/v1/..." -K "$AUTH_CURL"

Common Operations

Search:

curl -s -X POST "https://api.notion.com/v1/search" \
  -K "$AUTH_CURL" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query":"release notes"}'

Get page metadata:

curl -s "https://api.notion.com/v1/pages/PAGE_ID" -K "$AUTH_CURL"

Get page blocks:

curl -s "https://api.notion.com/v1/blocks/PAGE_ID/children" -K "$AUTH_CURL"

Query a data source:

curl -s -X POST "https://api.notion.com/v1/data_sources/DATA_SOURCE_ID/query" \
  -K "$AUTH_CURL" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"page_size":20}'

Create a page in a database:

curl -s -X POST "https://api.notion.com/v1/pages" \
  -K "$AUTH_CURL" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"parent":{"database_id":"DATABASE_ID"},"properties":{"Name":{"title":[{"text":{"content":"New item"}}]}}}'

Append blocks:

curl -s -X PATCH "https://api.notion.com/v1/blocks/PAGE_ID/children" \
  -K "$AUTH_CURL" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"children":[{"object":"block","type":"paragraph","paragraph":{"rich_text":[{"text":{"content":"Hello"}}]}}]}'

Important Notes

• Notion now distinguishes database_id from data_source_id.
• Use database_id when creating pages.
• Use data_source_id when querying data.
• Read first, write second.
• If you are done before the shell exits, run rm -f "$AUTH_CURL" and trap - EXIT INT TERM.

Rules

• Confirm the exact parent page or database before creating content.
• Show the proposed page title, properties, and key block content before writing.
• Prefer databases for structured tasks, trackers, and meeting logs instead of ad hoc bullet pages.
• Respect rate limits and avoid large write bursts.