Google Sheets Import & Export — Apify datasets to Google Sheets and back

Export the results of any Actor (or any JSON) to a Google Sheet, or import a Google Sheet into a dataset — without OAuth and without a Google Cloud project. Built for scheduled pipelines: it does not fail on Google's write quota, it never wipes your sheet by accident, and it keeps your data exactly as scraped.

• Import a sheet in 10 seconds, free: paste the link of a sheet shared as "Anyone with the link" and get one dataset item per row (first row = field names). Private sheets work too, with the same Apps Script or service account used for export. Feed a list of URLs, keywords or products from a sheet into any other Actor.
• 3 export modes: append all rows · append only new rows (skips items whose key is already in the sheet) · replace the tab
• Never fails on quota: batched writes, automatic retries with back-off on Google's "too many requests" and temporary errors
• Exact text: 00123 keeps its zeros, dates stay as written, =HYPERLINK(...) in scraped data is never executed (formula-injection safe)
• Columns that follow your data: nested JSON flattened to price.value, new fields added as new columns at the right, existing column order kept
• Safe replace: the tab is cleared only after the first data has been read — an empty or failed source never leaves you with an empty sheet
• Large exports: streamed in pages, no size limit on the input dataset; stops cleanly with a clear message before Google's 10 million cells per spreadsheet
• Free preview: run it without a Google connection to see exactly how your rows will look

Quick start (Apps Script, about 2 minutes, once per spreadsheet)

1. Open your Google Sheet → Extensions → Apps Script. Delete what's there and paste the script below.
2. Change SECRET to a long password of your choice. Save (💾).
3. Deploy → New deployment → gear icon → Web app. Execute as: Me. Who has access: Anyone. Deploy and authorize with your Google account.
4. Copy the Web app URL (https://script.google.com/macros/s/…/exec).
5. In this Actor: pick the dataset, paste the URL and the same secret, Start.

The script only works on the spreadsheet it is attached to and only answers requests carrying your secret. "Anyone" is required so the Actor can call it without logging in as you; the secret is what protects it. To stop access at any time: Deploy → Manage deployments → Archive.

Import a Google Sheet into a dataset

Public sheet (no setup): in Google Sheets, Share → General access → Anyone with the link (Viewer). Open the tab you want, copy the URL from the browser, then run:

{
  "operation": "import",
  "authMethod": "public",
  "spreadsheet": "https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/…/edit#gid=0"
}

Private sheet: use the same Apps Script bridge (version 2 of the script below; if you installed version 1, paste the new one and Deploy → Manage deployments → Edit → New version) or a service account with Viewer access, and set "operation": "import" plus "sheetName" if it is not the first tab.

Each non-empty row becomes an item, keyed by the header row (empty names become column3, repeated ones name_2). Cells come as text exactly as shown in the sheet (00123 keeps its zeros); turn on Convert numbers and TRUE/FALSE to get numbers and booleans. Optional: a range (A1:F500), only some columns, skip/limit rows.

Typical use: keep your input list (start URLs, search terms, product IDs, companies to watch) in a sheet your team edits, import it at the start of a scheduled workflow and pass the dataset to the next Actor.

Alternative: service account (teams, automation)

1. In Google Cloud Console create a project, enable the Google Sheets API, create a service account and download a JSON key.
2. Share your spreadsheet with the service account's client_email as Editor.
3. In this Actor choose Service account key, paste the whole JSON key (stored encrypted) and the spreadsheet URL. (For import only, Viewer access is enough.)

Send every run of another Actor to Sheets automatically

On the Actor whose results you want in Sheets: Integrations → Connect Actor or task → Google Sheets Import & Export, and set the input to:

{
  "datasetId": "{{resource.defaultDatasetId}}",
  "authMethod": "appsScript",
  "appsScriptUrl": "https://script.google.com/macros/s/…/exec",
  "appsScriptSecret": "your-secret",
  "mode": "append-new",
  "dedupeKey": "url"
}

Each time that Actor finishes, only the new items land in your sheet. Pair it with a schedule for a self-updating spreadsheet (price trackers, job lists, lead lists, monitoring).

Use it from the API

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/mikirag3~google-sheets-export/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"rawData":[{"name":"Ada","score":10}],"appsScriptUrl":"https://script.google.com/macros/s/…/exec","appsScriptSecret":"your-secret"}'

Input

Field	What it does
Operation	export (default) or import.
Dataset to export	Any dataset you can access (e.g. another run's results). Or paste raw JSON instead.
How to connect	Apps Script web app (recommended) · service-account key · public link (import only).
Tab name	Export: created if missing. Import: tab to read. Empty = first tab.
Mode	append · append-new (with Dedupe key, e.g. url, nested product.sku) · replace.
Columns	Optional: only these fields, in this order.
Arrays	join (a, b, c in one cell) · json · columns (tags.0, tags.1…).
Let Google convert text	Off by default (exact text). On = like typing in the cell: numbers, dates and formulas are interpreted.
Range · First row is the header · Convert numbers	Import options (see above).
Skip first / Maximum items	Export or import a slice.

Output

Import: the dataset holds one item per row; the summary (rowsImported, emptyRowsSkipped, columns, sheet and spreadsheet) is in the key-value store as OUTPUT.

Export: the run summary (also in the key-value store as OUTPUT):

{
  "status": "ok",
  "rowsWritten": 1250,
  "skippedDuplicates": 318,
  "mode": "append-new",
  "sheet": "Leads",
  "spreadsheetName": "My leads",
  "spreadsheetUrl": "https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/…",
  "columns": ["name", "url", "price.value"]
}

Pricing

Export: $0.20 per 1,000 rows written — no start fee, preview runs free, duplicates skipped in append-new mode are free. Import: free, up to 5,000 rows per run (use Skip first items to read the next 5,000 in another run). Set a maximum cost per run in the run options: the Actor stops cleanly at that limit and never writes rows it cannot charge.

Limits (Google's, not ours)

• 10 million cells per spreadsheet (all tabs together) — the Actor stops before exceeding it and tells you where.
• 50,000 characters per cell — longer texts are truncated with …[truncated].
• Apps Script: up to 6 minutes per call; the Actor sends batches of up to 5,000 rows, so any size of export works.

FAQ

Why an Apps Script instead of "Connect Google account"? The bridge runs inside your own spreadsheet: no Google Cloud project, no OAuth token that expires or gets revoked, and you can switch it off any time from Manage deployments.

Can I read a sheet without sharing it publicly? Yes: use the Apps Script bridge (it reads only the spreadsheet it is attached to) or a service account with Viewer access.

Is my data stored anywhere? No. Exported rows go from the dataset straight to your spreadsheet; imported rows go only to your run's dataset. Secrets and keys are stored encrypted by Apify.

A run failed — what now? The status message says exactly what to fix (wrong secret, deployment not set to "Anyone", sheet not shared with the service account…). Quota and temporary Google errors are retried automatically, and with the Apps Script method a retried batch is not written twice.

Found a bug or need a feature? Open an issue on the Actor page.