I have an automation workflow in n8n that should add new rows to my Google Sheets document whenever a webhook gets triggered. My target worksheet is called 'DataSheet' and I’m using the Google Sheets node configured with the Append operation mode.
The problem I’m facing is really frustrating. Even though the workflow executes without errors and connects to Google Sheets successfully, the behavior is completely wrong. Instead of adding my data to the next available row while preserving existing content, it overwrites everything starting from row 1. This means my header row gets replaced too, which breaks the entire sheet structure.
I also experimented with the Append or Update setting but got the same unwanted result. The data gets written but not in the way I expected. Has anyone encountered this issue before? What could be causing this overwrite behavior when I specifically chose the append option?
Check your data mapping in the Google Sheets node. I hit this exact same issue when my n8n column headers didn’t match the Google Sheet headers perfectly. The node thought my append was an update and started overwriting from row 1. Make sure your webhook field names match your sheet’s column headers exactly - case matters and watch for extra spaces. Also, I got burned by empty rows between my header and data. Google Sheets gets confused about where the “next available row” is when there are gaps.
Sounds like a permissions issue - I hit the same wall when I started with n8n and Google Sheets. First, check your Google Cloud Console project has the right API scopes. The Google Sheets API needs write permissions, not just read. I wasted hours debugging this exact thing before realizing my service account only had read access. Also make sure the Google account you’re using can actually edit that spreadsheet. One more thing - check for formulas or protected ranges in your sheet. Sometimes Google Sheets gets confused and treats append requests like updates when there’s formatting conflicts or data validation rules.
had this exact issue last month! i was targetting the wrong range in my Google Sheets node. set your range to just the sheet name like DataSheet - don’t specify cells like DataSheet!A1:Z. also check that your worksheet ID is right in n8n.