---
name: notion-ai-database
description: "Design Notion databases with the right properties, views, relations, and rollups for any workflow. Plans Notion databases that don't fall apart at 1k entries: property types, relations, rollups, formula columns, views (kanban / calendar / gallery), templates, automations. Covers CRMs, project trackers, content calendars, OKRs, and personal-life-management setups."
license: MIT
---

# Notion AI Database

Notion AI Database helps you design databases that hold up under real use. Instead of dropping every field into one flat table, it plans the property types, relations, rollups, formulas, and views your workflow actually needs — then explains the tradeoffs so the structure still makes sense at 1,000+ rows. It's aimed at people building CRMs, project trackers, content calendars, OKR systems, and personal-life dashboards who keep hitting the wall where their Notion setup gets slow, duplicated, or impossible to filter.

## When to use it

- You're starting a new workspace and want the schema right before you import data.
- A single database has ballooned into 40 properties and nothing filters cleanly.
- You need a relation between two databases (Projects ↔ Tasks) and aren't sure whether to roll up a count, a sum, or a date.
- You want a calendar/kanban/gallery view layered on the same data without duplicating it.
- A formula property is returning errors or wrong types and you can't tell why.

## What it does

The skill produces a concrete schema plan: each property with its exact Notion type (Text, Select, Multi-select, Status, Date, Person, Relation, Rollup, Formula, Created/Last-edited time), the relations to draw, and the rollup calculations to attach (Count, Sum, Show original, Percent per group, etc.). For computed columns it writes formulas in Notion's current formula syntax (`prop()`, `if()`, `dateBetween()`, `formatDate()`, `lets`/variables) and notes where a formula must reference a rollup rather than crossing a relation directly. It also specifies views with their filter + sort + group rules, suggests database templates for repeated entry shapes, and flags where a Notion automation (button or "when property changes") fits better than a formula.

## Usage example

```
curl -fsSL --create-dirs -o ~/.claude/skills/notion-ai-database/SKILL.md https://claudeskil.com/skills/notion-ai-database/SKILL.md

> Design a content calendar for a 3-person team. Need draft→published
> status, owner, target channel, and a rollup of how many posts ship per week.
```

The skill returns the property list, the Posts ↔ Campaigns relation, a `dateBetween(now(), prop("Publish Date"), "days")` countdown formula, a Status-grouped board view, and a calendar view filtered to `Status != Archived`.

## Tips & gotchas

- Rollups can't be filtered on as flexibly as native properties — if you'll filter by a rolled-up value constantly, mirror it into a formula.
- Status properties group into To-do / In-progress / Complete buckets; Select doesn't. Use Status when you want board columns to behave like a workflow.
- Formulas can't reference another database directly. Route the value through a Relation → Rollup first, then read the rollup in your formula.
- A relation is two-way by default; turn off "show on the other side" only when the back-link genuinely clutters the related database.

## FAQ

**Does it use the Notion API or just describe the schema?**
It outputs a precise build plan (properties, relations, rollups, formulas, views) you apply in Notion. It's design-first, not a migration tool.

**Will my formulas still work?**
They target the current Notion formula engine, including `let` variables and date functions. Older 1.0 syntax is avoided.

**Can it fix an existing messy database?**
Yes — describe your current properties and pain points and it proposes a normalized split (e.g., pulling tasks into their own related database).