Converting Google Sheets data to JSON format

Other Questions Google docs
1

I’m trying to turn my Google Sheets data into JSON but I’m running into some issues. Most of the guides I’ve found seem outdated. They talk about a ‘key’ parameter in the URL, but I can’t find that in my sheet’s link.

I’ve set up my spreadsheet and made it public. Now I’m trying to fetch the data using JavaScript. Here’s what I’ve got so far:

function fetchSheetData() {
  const sheetId = 'abc123xyz789';
  const url = `https://sheets.googleapis.com/v4/spreadsheets/${sheetId}/values/Sheet1`;

  fetch(url)
    .then(response => response.json())
    .then(data => {
      console.log('Got the data:', data);
    })
    .catch(error => {
      console.error('Oops, something went wrong:', error);
    });
}

But it’s not working. Am I missing something? Do I need to set up API credentials? Any help would be awesome. I just want to get my sheet data as JSON so I can use it in my web app. Thanks!

2

hey Emma, u might need to set up API credentials. google sheets API requires authentication now. try getting an API key from google cloud console and add it to ur request URL like this: ?key=YOUR_API_KEY. also, make sure ur sheet is actually public. hope this helps!

3

I’ve been through this process recently, and it can be a bit tricky. You’re on the right track, but there are a few more steps. First, you definitely need to set up API credentials. Go to the Google Cloud Console, create a new project, enable the Google Sheets API, and generate an API key.

Once you have the key, modify your URL to include it:

const url = `https://sheets.googleapis.com/v4/spreadsheets/${sheetId}/values/Sheet1?key=YOUR_API_KEY`;

Also, make sure you’re using the correct sheet name in the URL. If your sheet is named something other than ‘Sheet1’, update that part.

One more thing: if you’re planning to use this in a web app, consider using a server-side approach to keep your API key secure. Exposing it in client-side JavaScript isn’t recommended for production use.

Good luck with your project!

4

I encountered a similar issue when working on a project last month. One thing to keep in mind is that the Google Sheets API v4 requires OAuth 2.0 authentication, not just an API key. You’ll need to set up OAuth credentials in the Google Cloud Console and use a library like google-auth-library to handle the authentication flow.

Here’s a simplified example of how I got it working:

const { GoogleAuth } = require('google-auth-library');
const sheets = require('@googleapis/sheets');

async function getSheetData() {
  const auth = new GoogleAuth({
    scopes: ['https://www.googleapis.com/auth/spreadsheets.readonly'],
  });
  const client = await auth.getClient();
  const googleSheets = sheets.sheets({ version: 'v4', auth: client });

  const spreadsheetId = 'your-sheet-id';
  const range = 'Sheet1!A1:Z1000';

  const response = await googleSheets.spreadsheets.values.get({
    spreadsheetId,
    range,
  });

  return response.data.values;
}

This approach is more secure and reliable for accessing Google Sheets data programmatically.