Why Are Linked Record Fields Synced as Record IDs Instead of Actual Values in the Destination?

Question

Why does Fivetran sync Linked Record fields as record IDs instead of the actual values to the destination?

Environment

Connector: Airtable

Answer

When we retrieve data from a table that includes a Linked Record Field type, the Airtable API response returns an array of record IDs (STRING) instead of the actual values. As a result, you observe record IDs in the destination rather than the corresponding values. For more information, see the Supported field types in Airtable overview documentation.