How to Safely Delete Unused Fields in Airtable Without Breaking Anything

You have an Airtable base that has been evolving for a while.

Fields were added quickly to test ideas. Formulas were created through trial and error. Helper fields existed to debug calculations. Over time, some of these fields stopped being useful, but they are still sitting in the table.

Now the base feels cluttered.

Before deleting anything, there is always the same concern. Is this field actually unused, or will removing it silently break something important?

Automations, interfaces, synced tables, formulas, or views could still depend on it in ways that are not immediately obvious.

Fortunately, Airtable gives you a reliable way to answer this question.

Use Manage Fields to see real dependencies

The safest way to check whether a field is truly being used is through the Manage Fields panel.

Open your table and look at the top right corner. Click on Tools, then choose Manage fields.

This opens a full list of every field in the table. You will see the field name, type, description, permissions, and most importantly, a column called Dependencies.

The Dependencies column tells you exactly where a field is being used.

When you click into it, Airtable shows whether the field is referenced in formulas, automations, interfaces, views, synced tables etc.

If a field has active dependencies, you immediately know it is not safe to delete yet.

If a field shows no dependencies, it is a strong signal that the field is no longer connected to anything critical.

This view makes cleanup much safer because you are not relying on memory or guesswork.

Check dependencies for a single field

If you do not want to review all fields at once, you can inspect them one by one.

Right click on a field header in the grid view.

Select Show dependencies.

Airtable will display the same dependency information, but focused only on that specific field.

This is useful when you are already suspicious about one particular formula or helper field and want a quick answer before deleting it.

Note The Manage Fields panel and the Show dependencies option are only available on paid Airtable plans. If you are using a free plan, these options will not be visible.

Use field activity as an extra signal

Another helpful technique is to look at field usage over time.

You can add Last modified time fields that reference specific fields.

If a field has not changed in weeks or months, and it also has no dependencies listed in Manage Fields, that is a strong indication it may no longer be needed.

This method is not a replacement for dependency checks, but it is a good secondary signal when cleaning up older bases.

Instead of being afraid to touch old fields, you now have a clear and systematic way to clean up your base without breaking automations, interfaces, or formulas.