---
name: "tables_change_columns"
area: "tables"
title: "Change columns"
price: "$0.001"
method: "POST"
url: "https://api.conecto.chat/v1/tools/tables_change_columns"
mcp_server: "https://api.conecto.chat/mcp/tables"
auth: "Authorization: Bearer <conecto_sk_ key>"
docs_url: "https://conecto.chat/tools/tables/tables_change_columns"
---

# Change columns (`tables_change_columns`)

Adds, renames or removes columns; rows keep their values through a rename.

Add columns, rename them, or remove them (their values go too). Rows keep their values through renames.

Price: $0.001 a call. A call that fails costs nothing.

## Use it when

The business wants to track one more thing, or a column has the wrong name.

## Say this to your agent

> Add a column for who works on each bike, Sam or Priya, and call Work "Work to do" instead.

## Inputs

| Name | Type | Required | Description | Allowed values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| `table` | string | yes | The table's name (or its table_id). 1 to 80 characters. |  |  |
| `add` | array of objects | no | Up to 50 items. |  |  |
| `add[].name` | string | yes, in each item of `add` | 1 to 60 characters. |  |  |
| `add[].type` | string | no |  | `"text"`, `"long_text"`, `"number"`, `"checkbox"`, `"date"`, `"datetime"`, `"select"`, `"multi_select"`, `"email"`, `"url"`, `"phone"`, `"file"` | `"text"` |
| `add[].required` | boolean | no |  |  |  |
| `add[].options` | array of strings | no | Up to 100 items. |  |  |
| `add[].decimals` | integer | no | 0 to 6. |  |  |
| `add[].currency` | string | no | Matches ^[A-Za-z]{3}$. |  |  |
| `rename` | object | no | {"old name": "new name"} |  |  |
| `remove` | array of strings | no | Up to 50 items. |  |  |

## Example

Written for Halverson Cycle & Repair, a bike shop with a repair workshop in Portland, Oregon.

MCP: call `tables_change_columns` on the MCP server `https://api.conecto.chat/mcp/tables` with these arguments:

```json
{
  "table": "Workshop jobs",
  "add": [
    {
      "name": "Mechanic",
      "type": "select",
      "options": [
        "Sam Reyes",
        "Priya Nair"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "rename": {
    "Work": "Work to do"
  }
}
```

REST:

```bash
curl https://api.conecto.chat/v1/tools/tables_change_columns \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CONECTO_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"table": "Workshop jobs", "add": [{"name": "Mechanic", "type": "select", "options": ["Sam Reyes", "Priya Nair"]}], "rename": {"Work": "Work to do"}}'
```

## Response

```json
{
  "call_id": "5f0c8a2e-3b7d-4c1e-9a64-2d8e1f7b0c93",
  "tool": "tables_change_columns",
  "status": "succeeded",
  "replayed": false,
  "cost_usd": "$0.001",
  "balance_usd": "$19.75",
  "result": {
    "table": {
      "table_id": 4101,
      "name": "Workshop jobs",
      "description": "",
      "rows": 0,
      "columns": [
        {
          "id": "c1",
          "name": "Order",
          "type": "text",
          "required": true
        },
        {
          "id": "c2",
          "name": "Customer",
          "type": "text",
          "required": false
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

`result`: table: the table with its new columns.

## Errors

| Code | Status | When | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| `not_found` | 404 | No table has that name or table_id, or the table has no column of that name. | Call tables_list for the tables and their columns. |
| `invalid_input` | 400 | A column has no name or a name in use, an unknown type, a select without options, or a currency that is not a 3-letter code. | Give each column its own name, a type from the list, and options for select columns. |
| `invalid_input` | 400 | The change would leave no column, or more than 100. | Keep 1 to 100 columns. |

The refusals every tool can give (401 key, 402 balance, 429 limits) are on the errors page: https://conecto.chat/docs/errors.md

## Related

- [tables_create](https://conecto.chat/tools/tables/tables_create.md): Creates a table with typed columns: text, numbers with decimals or a currency, checkboxes, dates, choices, emails, links, phone numbers or files. $0.001 a call.
- [tables_list](https://conecto.chat/tools/tables/tables_list.md): Every table with its columns and how many rows it has. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [rows_add](https://conecto.chat/tools/tables/rows_add.md): Adds up to 500 rows, each checked against its columns; if one is wrong, none is added. $0.001 per row added.
- [rows_update](https://conecto.chat/tools/tables/rows_update.md): Changes values in up to 500 rows by row number; only the columns given change, and null clears a cell. $0.001 per row changed.
- [rows_upsert](https://conecto.chat/tools/tables/rows_upsert.md): Updates the rows whose key column matches and adds the rest, so a list from anywhere syncs without reading the table first. $0.001 per row added or updated.
- [rows_query](https://conecto.chat/tools/tables/rows_query.md): Rows matching filters, all or any of them, sorted by up to 3 columns, a page at a time. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [rows_summarize](https://conecto.chat/tools/tables/rows_summarize.md): Counts rows, and sums, averages, minimums and maximums of number columns, overall and per group, in one call. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [rows_delete](https://conecto.chat/tools/tables/rows_delete.md): Deletes rows by their numbers, for good. Free.
- [tables_export](https://conecto.chat/tools/tables/tables_export.md): A CSV of a table, or of the rows matching filters, saved in the file store with a download link. $0.001 a call.
- [tables_import](https://conecto.chat/tools/tables/tables_import.md): Adds the rows of a CSV in the file store to a table, or makes a new table from it. $0.001 per row imported.
- [tables_delete](https://conecto.chat/tools/tables/tables_delete.md): Deletes a table and all its rows, for good. Free.