I’m seeking guidance on how to efficiently read from and write to Google Sheets with Python. I want to extract data from various columns, similar to performing SQL queries, and then process this data before storing it in another sheet or document on Google Docs.
I’ve checked out the Google Sheets API documentation, but I’m unsure if I’m on the right track. If anyone has practical examples or can recommend suitable libraries for this purpose, I would greatly appreciate your help!
Samples demonstrating both reading and writing functions would be awesome. Thank you!
I’ve been using Google Sheets API with google-api-python-client for two years now. It’s solid once you nail the setup. The main things: get your service account credentials right and use batch operations so you don’t hit rate limits. For reading, I use spreadsheets().values().get() and specify ranges like ‘Sheet1!A1:D100’. For writing, spreadsheets().values().update() works for single operations, but if you’re handling big datasets, use batchUpdate() to cut down API calls. Authentication tripped me up at first - enable the Google Sheets API in Google Cloud Console and grab the JSON credentials file. Also, share your spreadsheet with the service account email or you’ll get confusing permission errors.
i agree, gspread is super helpful! authentcation might seem tricky at first, but once you nail it, it’s srsly simple to get data in and out. the documentation really gets ya through, for sure!
I’ve been automating Google Sheets for about 18 months and pygsheets is a lifesaver compared to wrestling with the raw API. The syntax just clicks if you know pandas - worksheet.get_as_df() pulls data into a dataframe, worksheet.set_dataframe() pushes it back. Dead simple.
OAuth2 beats service accounts when you need user-specific access. Pro tip: cache your worksheet objects instead of fetching them over and over, especially for multiple operations. For writing data back, use worksheet.update_cells() with cell objects if you need formatting control. It’s slower but way more flexible than basic value updates.