How to extract a Google Sheets chart as an image using JavaScript and API?

Other Questions Google Sheets
1

I’m working on a Discord bot project that needs to pull a chart from a Google Sheet and post it in a server. The sheet I’m using only has one chart at a time. I managed to get the chartId like this:

function getChartId(spreadsheetId) {
  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
    googleSheets.spreadsheets.get({
      spreadsheetId: spreadsheetId
    }, (error, response) => {
      if (error) {
        reject('API error: ' + error);
      } else {
        resolve(response.data.sheets[0].charts[0].chartId);
      }
    });
  });
}

But I’m stuck on how to actually get the chart as an image. I’ve tried looking for a way to export it, find a direct URL, or even recreate it from the data. I’m using discord.js and the Google Sheets API v4. Any ideas on how to solve this?

2

hey jack, i’ve faced similar issues. have u considered using the Google Charts API? it’s not a direct export, but u can recreate the chart with the data from your sheet. alternatively, Puppeteer could work for taking screenshots, tho it’s a bit more complicated to set up. goodluck with ur discord bot!

3

Extracting a chart as an image from Google Sheets can be complex. In my experience the most reliable strategy was to first retrieve the chart data from the sheet. Then, instead of looking for a direct image export, I recreated the chart using the Google Charts API which provided an image URL that you could use. This method may require some adjustments to match the original chart’s style. An alternative approach is to use Puppeteer to capture a screenshot of the chart, though this adds extra setup complexity.

4

I’ve tackled this problem before in a project. While there’s no direct method to extract a chart as an image via the Sheets API, I found a workaround using the Google Charts Image API. Here’s what worked for me:

Fetch the chart data from your sheet using the Sheets API, then construct a URL for the Charts Image API with your data. Use this URL to get the chart image.

The tricky part is formatting the data correctly for the Image API. You’ll need to experiment a bit to match your original chart’s appearance. Also, be aware of URL length limits if you’re dealing with large datasets.

Another option is server-side rendering with a library like Chart.js, then saving the output as an image. This gives you more control but requires more setup.

Hope this helps with your Discord bot project!