What is Google Sheets API and How to Use It?

Google Sheets is more than just a spreadsheet tool. When powered by the Google Sheets API, it becomes a powerful backend for your apps, dashboards, or internal tools. Whether you're building a low-code app in UI Bakery or automating data flows, the Google Sheets API makes it possible to interact with spreadsheet data programmatically.

In this article, we'll explore what the Google Sheets API is, how it works, and how you can use it effectively in your projects.

What is Google Sheets API?

The Google Sheets API is a RESTful interface that allows developers to read, write, and format data in Google Sheets. It’s part of the broader Google APIs ecosystem and enables you to perform almost any operation you could do manually in the Google Sheets UI.

You can use the API to:

• Read and write spreadsheet data
• Append new rows to a sheet
• Format cells and ranges
• Create, delete, and manage worksheets
• Perform batch updates
• Authenticate access securely
  

This flexibility makes it ideal for automating reporting tools, data synchronization, and even building internal apps that store and manipulate data in real time.

How to use Google Sheets API

To use the API, follow these steps:

1. Enable the Google Sheets API

Go to the Google Cloud Console, create a new project, and enable the Google Sheets API.

2. Set up authentication

You can authenticate using either OAuth 2.0 or an API key. For read-only public data, an API key is sufficient. For anything else, you'll need OAuth 2.0 credentials.

Tip: For server-to-server applications, use a service account.

3. Install client library

Google provides client libraries in multiple languages. For example, in Python:

pip install --upgrade google-api-python-client google-auth-httplib2 google-auth-oauthlib

4. Make API calls

Here’s a basic Google Sheets API Python example:

from googleapiclient.discovery import build

from google.oauth2.service_account import Credentials

SCOPES = ['https://www.googleapis.com/auth/spreadsheets']

SERVICE_ACCOUNT_FILE = 'credentials.json'

creds = Credentials.from_service_account_file(

    SERVICE_ACCOUNT_FILE, scopes=SCOPES)

service = build('sheets', 'v4', credentials=creds)

sheet = service.spreadsheets()

# Reading data

result = sheet.values().get(spreadsheetId='your-sheet-id', range='Sheet1!A1:D5').execute()

values = result.get('values', [])

5. Handle rate limits and quotas

The Google Sheets API rate limit is typically 500 requests per 100 seconds per user, and 100 requests per 100 seconds per project. Exceeding this will cause your app to return errors.

Common use cases

• Connect API to Google Sheets: Pull or push data between your app and Google Sheets.
• Import data from API to Google Sheets: Use Apps Script or a backend to regularly update Sheets.
• Google Sheets API batch update: Make multiple changes in one API call.
• Build dashboards with UI Bakery: Use Google Sheets as a data source to power interactive UI Bakery dashboards.

Pricing and quotas

The Google Sheets API cost is currently free under Google Cloud's generous quota limits. However, if you exceed the default quota or use it alongside other paid APIs, additional charges may apply.

To monitor your usage:

• Go to the Google Cloud Console
• Navigate to Monitoring > Quotas

Google Sheets API without OAuth

In some limited cases (like accessing a public spreadsheet), you can use an API key instead of OAuth. Just append ?key=YOUR_API_KEY to your API calls.

However, you’ll need to make the spreadsheet accessible to “Anyone with the link.”

Google Sheets API example: Creating a custom dashboard in UI Bakery

UI Bakery is an excellent platform for building dashboards that integrate with Google Sheets via the API. Here's a quick example of how to create a dashboard:

1. Connect API to Google Sheets: Start by setting up the Google Sheets API credentials as described earlier. UI Bakery's API connector feature makes this simple.
2. Make API Calls: Use the API connector in UI Bakery to pull data from Google Sheets into your custom dashboard.
3. Visualize data: Create charts, tables, or graphs to display the data dynamically from the Google Sheet.
4. Update data in real-time: Use the Google Sheets API batch update feature to update cells or rows when users interact with the UI.

By integrating Google Sheets via the API with UI Bakery, you can build robust internal tools without needing to write complex code.

Helpful resources

• Google Sheets API Documentation
• Google Sheets API Reference
• Google Sheets API Setup Guide

To sum up

The Google Sheets API unlocks powerful automation and integration capabilities for developers and non-developers alike. Whether you're using it for a simple data sync or building full dashboards with UI Bakery, it offers scalability, flexibility, and ease of use.

From Google Sheets API Python examples to UI integrations, this guide should help you get started. Explore the full Google Sheets API docs and start building smarter tools today.