Managing Google Sheets

sheets-cli

CLI for Google Sheets primitives. Read tables, append rows, update cells by key or index, batch operations.

Installation: sheets-cli is already installed and available in the user's PATH. Run commands directly—no installation needed.

Quick Reference

# Find spreadsheet by name
sheets-cli sheets find --name "Projects"

# List sheets/tabs
sheets-cli sheets list --spreadsheet <id-or-url>

# Read table data
sheets-cli read table --spreadsheet <id> --sheet "Sheet1" --limit 100

# Update by key column (preferred - rows can shift)
sheets-cli update key --spreadsheet <id> --sheet "Projects" \
  --key-col "Name" --key "Acme" --set '{"Status":"Done"}'

# Append row
sheets-cli append --spreadsheet <id> --sheet "Projects" \
  --values '{"Name":"NewCo","Status":"Active"}'

Workflow Pattern

Always follow read → decide → dry-run → apply:

# 1. Understand current state
sheets-cli read table --sheet "Tasks" --limit 100

# 2. Dry-run first
sheets-cli update key --sheet "Tasks" --key-col "ID" --key "TASK-42" \
  --set '{"Status":"Complete"}' --dry-run

# 3. Apply if dry-run looks correct
sheets-cli update key --sheet "Tasks" --key-col "ID" --key "TASK-42" \
  --set '{"Status":"Complete"}'

Commands

Auth (Setup)

sheets-cli auth login --credentials <oauth-client.json>
sheets-cli auth status
sheets-cli auth logout

Find Spreadsheet by Name

sheets-cli sheets find --name "<query>" [--limit 10]

Searches Google Drive for spreadsheets matching the name. Returns ID, name, URL.

Requires Google Drive API enabled in the project.

List Sheets/Tabs

sheets-cli sheets list --spreadsheet <id>

Sheet Info

sheets-cli sheet info --spreadsheet <id> --sheet "<name>"
sheets-cli sheet info --spreadsheet <id> --gid <gid>

Get sheet metadata by name or GID.

Get Header Row

sheets-cli header --spreadsheet <id> --sheet "<name>" [--header-row N]

Returns column headers. Auto-detects header row if not specified.

Read Table Data

sheets-cli read table --spreadsheet <id> --sheet "<name>" [--limit N] [--raw]

Returns { headers: ["_row", ...], rows: [{_row: N, ...}, ...], headerRow: N }.

Each row includes _row - the absolute sheet row number for use with update row.

Read Raw Range

sheets-cli read range --spreadsheet <id> --range "Sheet1!A1:B10"

Append Row

sheets-cli append --spreadsheet <id> --sheet "<name>" \
  --values '<json>' [--dry-run]

JSON object with column names as keys. Column matching is case-insensitive with normalized whitespace.

Update by Key (Preferred)

sheets-cli update key --spreadsheet <id> --sheet "<name>" \
  --key-col "<column>" --key "<value>" --set '<json>' \
  [--allow-multi] [--dry-run]

Finds rows where key-col equals key, updates columns from --set. Throws if multiple matches unless --allow-multi.

Update by Row Index

sheets-cli update row --spreadsheet <id> --sheet "<name>" \
  --row <n> --set '<json>' [--dry-run]

Updates specific row by 1-indexed row number. Use _row from read table output directly.

Row Numbering

• read table returns headerRow and rows with _row field
• _row is the absolute sheet row number - use directly with update row --row
• Example: headerRow: 2 means headers on row 2, first data row is _row: 3
• Never calculate row numbers manually - always use _row from read output

Set Range

sheets-cli set range --spreadsheet <id> --range "Sheet1!A1:B2" \
  --values '<2d-json-array>' [--dry-run]

Batch Operations

sheets-cli batch --spreadsheet <id> --ops '<json-array>' [--dry-run]

Operations: append, updateRow, updateKey, setRange.

Global Options

Output Format

All commands return JSON:

{
  "ok": true,
  "cmd": "update key",
  "spreadsheetId": "...",
  "sheet": "Projects",
  "result": { "matchedRows": 1, "updatedCells": 2 }
}

Errors:

{
  "ok": false,
  "cmd": "update key",
  "error": { "code": "VALIDATION_ERROR", "message": "..." }
}

Best Practices

1. Use sheets find to get spreadsheet ID from name
2. --spreadsheet accepts URLs - paste full Google Sheets URL directly
3. Prefer key-based updates over row indices - rows shift on insert/delete
4. Always dry-run before writes
5. Check ok field in response before proceeding
6. Batch related operations for atomicity
7. Column names match case-insensitively with normalized whitespace
8. Header row auto-detects - skips empty rows to find first data row
9. Headerless sheets: read table returns columns as A, B, ...; use column letters for --set / --key-col
10. Empty sheets: append can bootstrap by writing a header row from JSON keys
11. read table --range accepts A1:Z (auto-prefixed with the sheet)

Exit Codes