Hand Copilot Actions a folder and a sentence and it works the lot. Your Notion database is exactly that kind of job, but it is locked in Notion, not sitting in a folder, and a change there hits every view and linked database the instant it lands. So the cleanup you keep deferring, normalize the tags, tighten the summaries, fix the rich-text, stays deferred.
Scratch pulls the database down, one file per row. Copilot edits the properties on your laptop; Scratch holds each one as a diff; nothing writes back until you approve it. Page bodies and computed properties stay read-only, so the structure the rest of your workspace leans on never moves.
How it works
- Scratch pulls your database into files. A Notion database becomes a folder on your laptop, one file per row, every property laid out to edit.
- Copilot edits the rows. Open the Copilot app on Windows and attach your Scratch folder to Copilot Actions. Describe the cleanup in plain English and it works through the table in its own agent workspace while you watch. Normalize the tags on every row and tighten each summary to one line. Copilot works the files, never the live database.
- You review every diff and publish. Back in the Scratch app, each changed property sits beside the original, word by word. Approve what holds up, and Scratch writes only those rows through the Notion API.
What people use it for
The database tidying that stalls because Notion makes you open each row:
- Normalize tags and categories across every row.
- Bring each summary or description down to one line.
- Standardize a rich-text column after a long, messy edit cycle.
- Clean up the database behind a Notion site so the site reads clean.
- Fill empty select or status cells by reading each row.
Run it on a handful of rows to feel the loop, then let it take the database.
Why not an MCP server?
A Notion MCP server or integration wires an agent straight to your live workspace. One pass rewrites every row at once, and whatever those databases feed updates instantly.
Scratch gives Copilot the same reach against a local copy instead. The write-back is lifted out and handed to you. Copilot can change anything in the folder; only you can commit it. On a database your team works in every day, that gap is the whole point.
What Copilot edits in Notion
- Database properties: titles, rich-text, select, multi-select, and dates
- Relation, people, and files properties
- Cover and icon metadata
Page bodies stay read-only. The connector edits the database side, not the block trees, toggles, or embeds inside a page, and computed properties (formula, rollup, created and edited metadata) stay locked. The full picture lives on Scratch for Notion.
Questions people ask
Is this a Copilot plugin or an MCP server?
Neither. A plugin or an MCP would hand the agent the write button. Scratch keeps it. Copilot Actions only ever sees files in the Scratch folder, and writing back is a separate step you approve, one row at a time.
Will it touch my page content?
No. Copilot edits database properties only. Page bodies, block trees, toggles, and embeds are never exposed, and computed properties like formulas and rollups stay locked.
Can I roll a change back after it writes?
Yes. Scratch keeps the original beside the rewrite, so every written row reverts per row. You decide which version stays.
How is this different from a CSV import or a script?
A CSV import and a script both write straight to the live database with no diff and no per-row approval, and a find-and-replace does only what you spelled out. Copilot handles the rows a rule cannot, and Scratch still holds every change for review before it writes.
Can it run across a whole database from one brief?
Yes, that is the use case. Run it on a handful of rows to feel the flow, then describe the cleanup for the whole database.
Do I need to be technical?
No. Copilot Actions takes a plain-English instruction, so there is no terminal and no editor. You attach the Scratch folder, describe the change, and approve the diffs in the Scratch app. You do need the Copilot app on Windows.
See it on your own database
The fastest way to trust it is to watch it run on your data. See it run on your Notion database →, or download Scratch free and take the first pass yourself.