What is google-spreadsheet?
The google-spreadsheet npm package allows you to interact with Google Sheets through the Google Sheets API. It provides a simple and intuitive way to read, write, and manage Google Sheets data programmatically.
What are google-spreadsheet's main functionalities?
Authentication
This feature allows you to authenticate with the Google Sheets API using either service account credentials or OAuth2 tokens.
const { GoogleSpreadsheet } = require('google-spreadsheet');
const doc = new GoogleSpreadsheet('<spreadsheet-id>');
// Using service account credentials
await doc.useServiceAccountAuth(require('./path/to/credentials.json'));
// OR using OAuth2 tokens
await doc.useOAuth2Client(oAuth2Client);
Loading a Spreadsheet
This feature allows you to load the spreadsheet's metadata and worksheets, making it possible to interact with the spreadsheet's structure and data.
await doc.loadInfo(); // loads document properties and worksheets
console.log(doc.title);
Reading Rows
This feature allows you to read rows from a specific sheet within the spreadsheet. You can access individual cell values and iterate through the rows.
const sheet = doc.sheetsByIndex[0]; // or use doc.sheetsById[id]
const rows = await sheet.getRows(); // can pass in { limit, offset }
console.log(rows[0].name);
Adding Rows
This feature allows you to add new rows to a sheet within the spreadsheet. You can specify the values for each column in the new row.
await sheet.addRow({ name: 'John Doe', email: 'john.doe@example.com' });
Updating Cells
This feature allows you to update the values of specific cells in a row and save the changes back to the spreadsheet.
const row = rows[0];
row.name = 'Jane Doe';
await row.save();
Other packages similar to google-spreadsheet
googleapis
The googleapis package is a comprehensive library for interacting with various Google APIs, including the Google Sheets API. It provides more extensive functionality beyond just Google Sheets, but it requires more setup and configuration compared to google-spreadsheet.
gsheets
The gsheets package is a lightweight library for accessing Google Sheets data. It offers basic functionalities for reading and writing data but lacks some of the advanced features and ease of use provided by google-spreadsheet.
g-sheets-api
The g-sheets-api package is designed for simple and quick access to Google Sheets data. It is less feature-rich compared to google-spreadsheet but can be a good choice for straightforward use cases where minimal setup is desired.