How do I install the Google Sheets skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add modbender/google-sheets in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Google Sheets safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Independent scanners report: SkillSpector: CAUTION, Skill Scanner: PASS. Capability flags: executes scripts, makes network calls. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Google Sheets?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Google Sheets free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Google Sheets?

modbender (@modbender) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Google Sheets by modbender — Agent Skill

Name: Google Sheets
Rating: 4.666666666666667 (3 reviews)
Author: modbender

Google Sheets

Read, write, append, and manage Google Sheets via the Google Sheets API (Node.js SDK). Use when you need to interact with spreadsheets — reading data, writing/updating cells, appending rows, clearing ranges, formatting cells, managing sheets. Requires a Google Cloud service account with Sheets API enabled.

modbender Updated Sep 9, 2026 12 repo stars

File contents

Google Sheets Skill

Interact with Google Sheets using a service account.

Setup (One-time)

Google Cloud Console:
- Create/select a project
- Enable "Google Sheets API"
- Create a Service Account (IAM → Service Accounts → Create)
- Download JSON key
Configure credentials (one of these):
- Set env: GOOGLE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_KEY=/path/to/key.json
- Place service-account.json or credentials.json in the skill directory
- Place in ~/.config/google-sheets/credentials.json
Share sheets with the service account email (found in JSON key as client_email)
Install dependencies:
```
cd skills/google-sheets && npm install
```

Usage

node scripts/sheets.js <command> [args]

Commands

Data Operations

Command	Args	Description
`read`	`<id> <range>`	Read cells
`write`	`<id> <range> <json>`	Write data
`append`	`<id> <range> <json>`	Append rows
`clear`	`<id> <range>`	Clear range

Formatting

Command	Args	Description
`format`	`<id> <range> <formatJson>`	Format cells
`getFormat`	`<id> <range>`	Get cell formats
`borders`	`<id> <range> [styleJson]`	Add borders
`copyFormat`	`<id> <source> <dest>`	Copy format between ranges
`merge`	`<id> <range>`	Merge cells
`unmerge`	`<id> <range>`	Unmerge cells

Layout

Command	Args	Description
`resize`	`<id> <sheet> <cols\|rows> <start> <end> <px>`	Resize columns/rows
`autoResize`	`<id> <sheet> <startCol> <endCol>`	Auto-fit columns
`freeze`	`<id> <sheet> [rows] [cols]`	Freeze rows/columns

Sheet Management

Command	Args	Description
`create`	`<title>`	Create spreadsheet
`info`	`<id>`	Get metadata
`addSheet`	`<id> <title>`	Add sheet tab
`deleteSheet`	`<id> <sheetName>`	Delete sheet tab
`renameSheet`	`<id> <oldName> <newName>`	Rename sheet tab

Examples

# Read data
node scripts/sheets.js read "SPREADSHEET_ID" "Sheet1!A1:C10"

# Write data
node scripts/sheets.js write "SPREADSHEET_ID" "Sheet1!A1:B2" '[["Name","Score"],["Alice",95]]'

# Format cells (yellow bg, bold)
node scripts/sheets.js format "SPREADSHEET_ID" "Sheet1!A1:B2" '{"backgroundColor":{"red":255,"green":255,"blue":0},"textFormat":{"bold":true}}'

# Copy format from one range to another
node scripts/sheets.js copyFormat "SPREADSHEET_ID" "Sheet1!A1:C3" "Sheet1!D1:F3"

# Add borders
node scripts/sheets.js borders "SPREADSHEET_ID" "Sheet1!A1:C3"

# Resize columns to 150px
node scripts/sheets.js resize "SPREADSHEET_ID" "Sheet1" cols A C 150

# Auto-fit column widths
node scripts/sheets.js autoResize "SPREADSHEET_ID" "Sheet1" A Z

# Freeze first row and column
node scripts/sheets.js freeze "SPREADSHEET_ID" "Sheet1" 1 1

# Add new sheet tab
node scripts/sheets.js addSheet "SPREADSHEET_ID" "NewSheet"

Format Options

{
  "backgroundColor": {"red": 255, "green": 255, "blue": 0},
  "textFormat": {
    "bold": true,
    "italic": false,
    "fontSize": 12,
    "foregroundColor": {"red": 0, "green": 0, "blue": 0}
  },
  "horizontalAlignment": "CENTER",
  "verticalAlignment": "MIDDLE",
  "wrapStrategy": "WRAP"
}

Border Style

{
  "style": "SOLID",
  "color": {"red": 0, "green": 0, "blue": 0}
}

Border styles: DOTTED, DASHED, SOLID, SOLID_MEDIUM, SOLID_THICK, DOUBLE

Finding Spreadsheet ID

From URL: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/SPREADSHEET_ID/edit

Troubleshooting

403 Forbidden: Sheet not shared with service account email
404 Not Found: Wrong spreadsheet ID or sheet name

---name: google-sheetsdescription: Read, write, append, and manage Google Sheets via the Google Sheets API (Node.js SDK). Use when you need to interact with spreadsheets — reading data, writing/updating cells, appending rows, clearing ranges, formatting cells, managing sheets. Requires a Google Cloud service account with Sheets API enabled.--- # Google Sheets Skill Interact with Google Sheets using a service account. ## Setup (One-time) 1. **Google Cloud Console:** - Create/select a project - Enable "Google Sheets API" - Create a Service Account (IAM → Service Accounts → Create) - Download JSON key 2. **Configure credentials** (one of these): - Set env: `GOOGLE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_KEY=/path/to/key.json` - Place `service-account.json` or `credentials.json` in the skill directory - Place in `~/.config/google-sheets/credentials.json` 3. **Share sheets** with the service account email (found in JSON key as `client_email`) 4. **Install dependencies:** ```bash cd skills/google-sheets && npm install ``` ## Usage ```bash node scripts/sheets.js <command> [args] ``` ## Commands ### Data Operations | Command | Args | Description | |---------|------|-------------| | `read` | `<id> <range>` | Read cells | | `write` | `<id> <range> <json>` | Write data | | `append` | `<id> <range> <json>` | Append rows | | `clear` | `<id> <range>` | Clear range | ### Formatting | Command | Args | Description | |---------|------|-------------| | `format` | `<id> <range> <formatJson>` | Format cells | | `getFormat` | `<id> <range>` | Get cell formats | | `borders` | `<id> <range> [styleJson]` | Add borders | | `copyFormat` | `<id> <source> <dest>` | Copy format between ranges | | `merge` | `<id> <range>` | Merge cells | | `unmerge` | `<id> <range>` | Unmerge cells | ### Layout | Command | Args | Description | |---------|------|-------------| | `resize` | `<id> <sheet> <cols\|rows> <start> <end> <px>` | Resize columns/rows | | `autoResize` | `<id> <sheet> <startCol> <endCol>` | Auto-fit columns | | `freeze` | `<id> <sheet> [rows] [cols]` | Freeze rows/columns | ### Sheet Management | Command | Args | Description | |---------|------|-------------| | `create` | `<title>` | Create spreadsheet | | `info` | `<id>` | Get metadata | | `addSheet` | `<id> <title>` | Add sheet tab | | `deleteSheet` | `<id> <sheetName>` | Delete sheet tab | | `renameSheet` | `<id> <oldName> <newName>` | Rename sheet tab | ## Examples ```bash # Read data node scripts/sheets.js read "SPREADSHEET_ID" "Sheet1!A1:C10" # Write data node scripts/sheets.js write "SPREADSHEET_ID" "Sheet1!A1:B2" '[["Name","Score"],["Alice",95]]' # Format cells (yellow bg, bold) node scripts/sheets.js format "SPREADSHEET_ID" "Sheet1!A1:B2" '{"backgroundColor":{"red":255,"green":255,"blue":0},"textFormat":{"bold":true}}' # Copy format from one range to another node scripts/sheets.js copyFormat "SPREADSHEET_ID" "Sheet1!A1:C3" "Sheet1!D1:F3" # Add borders node scripts/sheets.js borders "SPREADSHEET_ID" "Sheet1!A1:C3" # Resize columns to 150px node scripts/sheets.js resize "SPREADSHEET_ID" "Sheet1" cols A C 150 # Auto-fit column widths node scripts/sheets.js autoResize "SPREADSHEET_ID" "Sheet1" A Z # Freeze first row and column node scripts/sheets.js freeze "SPREADSHEET_ID" "Sheet1" 1 1 # Add new sheet tab node scripts/sheets.js addSheet "SPREADSHEET_ID" "NewSheet" ``` ## Format Options ```json { "backgroundColor": {"red": 255, "green": 255, "blue": 0}, "textFormat": { "bold": true, "italic": false, "fontSize": 12, "foregroundColor": {"red": 0, "green": 0, "blue": 0} }, "horizontalAlignment": "CENTER", "verticalAlignment": "MIDDLE", "wrapStrategy": "WRAP" } ``` ## Border Style ```json { "style": "SOLID", "color": {"red": 0, "green": 0, "blue": 0} } ``` Border styles: DOTTED, DASHED, SOLID, SOLID_MEDIUM, SOLID_THICK, DOUBLE ## Finding Spreadsheet ID From URL: `https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/SPREADSHEET_ID/edit` ## Troubleshooting - **403 Forbidden**: Sheet not shared with service account email - **404 Not Found**: Wrong spreadsheet ID or sheet name

Frequently asked questions