searching-documents-with-coda

Overview

Query and export content from Coda documents using the coda CLI. Supports searching documents, listing pages and tables, exporting page content as Markdown/HTML, and exporting table data as JSON/CSV.

Reference Documentation:

coda-reference.md — Full command reference with all options
digital-science-reference.md — Digital Science documentation links

Authentication: Requires CODA_API_KEY environment variable. Get your key at https://coda.io/account

Quick Start

# Verify authentication
coda auth status

# Search for documents
coda docs search "PRD"

List pages in a document

coda pages list DOC_ID

Export page as Markdown

coda pages export DOC_ID PAGE_ID --format markdown

Export table data as JSON

coda export DOC_ID TABLE_ID --format json


# Command Reference

## Document Commands

| Command | Description |
|---------|-------------|
| `coda docs list` | List all accessible documents |
| `coda docs list --query "PRD"` | Search documents by name |
| `coda docs list --mine` | Show only your documents |
| `coda docs list --limit 10` | Limit results |
| `coda docs search "roadmap"` | Search documents by query |
| `coda docs show DOC_ID` | Show document details |

## Page Commands

| Command | Description |
|---------|-------------|
| `coda pages list DOC_ID` | List all pages in document |
| `coda pages show DOC_ID PAGE_ID` | Show page details |
| `coda pages export DOC_ID PAGE_ID` | Export page as HTML (default) |
| `coda pages export DOC_ID PAGE_ID --format markdown` | Export page as Markdown |
| `coda pages export DOC_ID PAGE_ID -o page.md` | Save to file |

## Table Commands

| Command | Description |
|---------|-------------|
| `coda tables list DOC_ID` | List all tables in document |
| `coda columns list DOC_ID TABLE_ID` | Show table schema/columns |
| `coda rows list DOC_ID TABLE_ID` | List all rows in table |
| `coda rows list DOC_ID TABLE_ID --limit 10` | Limit rows returned |
| `coda rows list DOC_ID TABLE_ID --query "filter"` | Filter rows |
| `coda rows show DOC_ID TABLE_ID ROW_ID` | Show specific row details |

## Export Commands

| Command | Description |
|---------|-------------|
| `coda export DOC_ID TABLE_ID` | Export table as JSON (console) |
| `coda export DOC_ID TABLE_ID --format csv` | Export as CSV |
| `coda export DOC_ID TABLE_ID -o data.json` | Save to file |

## Authentication Commands

| Command | Description |
|---------|-------------|
| `coda auth status` | Show current configuration |
| `coda auth test` | Test API connection |

# Common Workflows

## Find and Read a Document

```bash
# 1. Search for the document
coda docs search "product roadmap"

# 2. List pages in the document
coda pages list DOC_ID

# 3. Export page content as Markdown
coda pages export DOC_ID PAGE_ID --format markdown

Extract Table Data

# 1. List tables in document
coda tables list DOC_ID

# 2. View table schema
coda columns list DOC_ID TABLE_ID

# 3. Export table data
coda export DOC_ID TABLE_ID --format json -o data.json

Browse Table Rows

# List first 20 rows
coda rows list DOC_ID TABLE_ID --limit 20

# Filter rows
coda rows list DOC_ID TABLE_ID --query "status:active"

# Show specific row details
coda rows show DOC_ID TABLE_ID ROW_ID

Common Searches

Task	Command
Find PRDs	`coda docs search "PRD"`
Find roadmaps	`coda docs search "roadmap"`
Find competitive analysis	`coda docs search "competitive"`
Find research docs	`coda docs search "research"`
Find Overleaf/Nova docs	`coda docs search "overleaf"` or `"nova"`
Find Reflect docs	`coda docs search "reflect"`

Global Options

Option	Description
`--format conversational`	Human-readable output (default)
`--format json`	Machine-readable JSON output
`--format csv`	CSV output
`--format table`	Tabular output
`--ai-snippets`	Show AI agent code snippets

Tips

Document IDs are in the URL: coda.io/d/Doc-Name_d<DOC_ID>
Page IDs start with canvas- (found via pages list)
Table IDs start with grid- or table- (found via tables list)
Row IDs are shown in rows list output
Use --format json for machine-readable output
Export pages as Markdown for easy reading

Installation

If coda command is not found, install from source:

cd ~/aves/coda-cli && uv tool install .

Or run directly without global install:

cd ~/aves/coda-cli && uv run coda <command>

Error Handling

Error	Solution
`command not found: coda`	Install: `cd ~/aves/coda-cli && uv tool install .`
`CODA_API_KEY not set`	Run `export CODA_API_KEY="your-key"`
`Invalid API key`	Get new key at https://coda.io/account
`Document not found`	Verify DOC_ID from URL or search results
`Table not found`	Run `coda tables list DOC_ID` for valid IDs
`Page not found`	Run `coda pages list DOC_ID` for valid IDs

About this skill

Extract Table Data

Browse Table Rows