I have a Python script that processes database information and creates a CSV file as output. Right now I manually upload this CSV to Google Sheets through the web interface, but I want to automate this process.
I already set up the Google Sheets API V4 following the Python quickstart guide. I can create new spreadsheets using the API, but I can’t figure out how to upload my CSV file directly.
Is there a way to automatically import CSV data into Google Sheets using the API? I looked through the documentation but couldn’t find a direct import method. Any code examples would be helpful.
Google Sheets API doesn’t do direct CSV uploads, but there’s a workaround. Read your CSV with Python’s csv module, convert each row to a list, then build a 2D array with all your data. Use spreadsheets.values.update to push it through. I’ve been running this in production for months - works great with large datasets. Just set your range (like ‘Sheet1!A1’) and pick valueInputOption: ‘RAW’ for plain data or ‘USER_ENTERED’ if you want formulas to work. Since you’ve got auth figured out already, this should drop right into your current setup.
u can’t upload CSV files directly to Google Sheets. instead, try using pandas: read your CSV with df = pd.read_csv('file.csv'), then convert it using values = df.values.tolist(), and finally push the data with values.update(). it works great!
Here’s a cleaner approach that works better with encoding issues and special characters: read your CSV line by line with csv.reader and batch the updates instead of converting to lists first. Use batchUpdate instead of individual updates - way faster and fewer API calls. Set up your request body with range and values, then hit spreadsheets.values.batchUpdate. Couple things to watch: there’s a cell limit per request, so chunk huge CSVs. And clear existing data with spreadsheets.values.clear before importing or you’ll get overlapping mess.