See the Channel Catalog to see which Plans have access to this channel.
The built-in Bucket channel will create a temporary storage table, or object, in the pipeline and then access that data which will be available for all your future logics. You can use this channel to generate CSV from any other channels that do not have native CSV generation capabilities. The generated CSV can be uploaded to something like Dropbox, or imported to Snowflake directly.
You can also use the copy records step in the Quickbase. channel for simple copy tasks.
See How to Use the Bucket Channel to Schedule an Archive to Box for a use case.
Steps
The steps you can use with Buckets fall into five categories: Objects, Pipeline Objects, Pipeline Rows, Rows, and Tables.
Note: You cannot use jinja expressions in trigger conditions unless explicitly specified as possible.
Type | Name | Description |
---|---|---|
Objects | ||
Trigger | Object Created | Triggers when a new object is created in Pipelines. |
Trigger | Object Updated | Triggers when a new object is updated. |
Action | Add or Update Object | Adds or updates a stored object. |
Action | Delete Object | Deletes an existing object. |
Action | Get Object by ID | Retrieves an object using an ID. |
Query | Search Bucket Object | Searches a specific object based on search criteria entered. |
Pipeline Objects | ||
Action | Save Pipeline Object | Saves object to a specific pipeline. Object is not available to other pipelines you have created. |
Action | Get Pipeline Object by ID | Retrieves the ID of a pipeline specific object. |
Query | Search Pipeline Objects | Searches objects saved to this pipeline. |
Pipeline Rows |
||
Action | Add a Row | Adds a row to a table stored in Pipelines. |
Action | Define Table | Defines a table with header row details. |
Action | Download CSV | Downloads stored information in CSV format. |
Query | Search Pipeline Rows | Searches rows based on search criteria entered. |
Rows | ||
Trigger | Row Created | Triggers when a row is created. |
Trigger | Row Updated | Triggers when a row is updated. |
Action | Create Row | Creates a new row. |
Action | Update Row | Updates an existing row. |
Action | Delete Row | Deletes an existing row. |
Action | Create/Update Row | Creates and/or updates an existing row. |
Query | Search Rows | Searches rows and returns a list. |
Action | Fetch a Linked Row | Fetches a linked row. |
Action | Look Up Row | Looks for a row and returns a single result. |
Tables | ||
Action | Create a Table | Creates a new table. |
Action | Delete Table | Deletes a table. |
Action | Update Table | Updates an existing table. |
Query | Search Tables | Searches a table and returns a list. |
Action | Look Up Table | Looks up a table and returns a single result. |
Limits
We store the file as chunks in Google Cloud Storage Buckets. Every chunk can be accessed for 24 hours, which means that your download link is active for 24 hours.
There is no hard limit on the file size that can be generated. The focus
is on downloading or uploading the file to another platform. If downloaded with the generated link the file can be a maximum of 32 mb - the download time should not be more than a minute. There are different limits for different channels (for example, if the file is uploaded to Google Drive)
Note: The download URL is randomly generated and everyone with the URL can download the file. There is no way to make the download URL more secure.
Alternatives to the Bucket channel for CSVs
Alternatives to using the temporary file-storage in Bucket for CSVs are to:
- Store the CSV in the File Attachment field in a Qucikbase app
- Use a file storage-specific system like Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, or SharePoint
How to Use the Bucket Channel to Schedule an Archive to Box
You may be wondering what the Bucket Channel is now that you've started to utilize our newest feature, Pipelines. The Bucket channel is a built in channel that allows you to create temporary storage tables, or objects, in the pipeline and then access that data which will be available for all your future logics. In this tutorial we will utilize this method to create a temporary CSV table to archive data from Quickbase to Box on a monthly schedule.
Before we start the tutorial you will first want to access pipelines and connect to the Box Channel. For step by step information on connecting to Box,click here.
Now that you have connected to the Box Channel we can start creating our Pipeline!
Step A: Define Your Table Using the Bucket Channel
- Locate the Bucket Channel > Pipelines Rows > Define Table. Drag this Action to the first step of your Pipeline.
- Determine your table Header Separator. In this example, I'm using Comma.
- Define your header rows.NOTE: These will correspond to fields in Quickbase in later steps.
For my example, I'm archiving Time Cards. I want a Date, Employee, Hours, and Related Time Card as my headers. Which should look as follows... Date,Employee,Hours,Related Time Card - Determine the Date and DateTime Formats.
- Define the type of field needed for each column. In this example it is fine to leave all columns as "String".
Step B: Search Your Quickbase table
- Go to the Quickbase Channel > Records > Search Record. Drag this Step below Step A.
- Select the Table you want to search your records for.
- Select all the fields from the table that will be needed in upcoming steps. e.g. Date, Employee, Hours, Related Time Card.
I also created a formula check box for "Previous Month" to use as a query. - (optional) Create a query for your records so we're only archiving the data you need. In my example, I'm saying when the "Previous Month" is "Yes"(true/checked).

Step C: Add a Row for each record returned from Step B.
- Locate the Bucket Channel > Pipelines Rows > Add a Row, drag this step under where it says "For each Record Do" for Step B.
- Select Step A where it says "Pipeline Row". This will then populate your fields defined for each column in your spreadsheet. e.g. Date, Employee, Hours, Related Time Card.
- Drag the appropriate fields from Step B to their Corresponding columns.
Step D: Download CSV
- Locate the Bucket Channel > Pipeline Rows > Download CSV. Drag this step below Step B.
- Select Step A, in the area for "Pipeline Row".
Step E: Upload File in Box
- Locate the Box channel > Files > Upload File In. Drag this step below Step D.
- Determine the Folder Path needed. In this example I will be uploading to a folder I titled "QB". Your folder path should look as follows...All Files/QB
- Name your file. In this example I want the File name to be the date the upload was made. To do this I'm using a date/time conversion to return todays date and append with .csv. e.g. {{time.now|date_mdy}}.csv
For more information on working with date and time in pipelines,click here. - Drag the download URL object from Step D to the URL in Step E.
Final Step: Schedule your Pipeline!
In the upper right corner of your screen locate where it says "Schedule pipeline" (just to the right of "Run Pipeline"). From here you can set the pipeline to run on the 1st of every Month.
NOTE: the timezone is in UTC.
Our pipeline is now complete! Below is what the final product should look like.

When you're ready feel free to test the pipeline by clicking, "Run Pipeline". Go to Box and you will see your file uploaded!
