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burnash/gspread

★ 7,467PythonAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5Setup · moderate

TLDR

A Python library that lets you read and write Google Sheets from code, open a spreadsheet, update cells, and automate data entry without ever touching a browser.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((gspread))
    What it does
      Read Google Sheets
      Write to Sheets
      Automate data entry
    Tech stack
      Python
      Google Sheets API
    Use cases
      Data automation
      Dashboard updates
      Spreadsheet scripting
    Audience
      Developers
      Data analysts
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Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Automate data entry into a Google Sheet from a Python script instead of copy-pasting manually.

USE CASE 2

Pull spreadsheet data into a Python program for analysis, reporting, or further processing.

USE CASE 3

Update a shared Google Sheet with calculation results or API data from your code.

USE CASE 4

Batch multiple cell writes in a single API call to efficiently update a dashboard or tracker sheet.

Tech stack

PythonGoogle Sheets API

Getting it running

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires creating and downloading Google API credentials from the Google API Console before the library can authenticate.

In plain English

gspread is a Python library that lets you read and write Google Sheets from code. Instead of opening a spreadsheet in a browser and editing it by hand, you write a Python script that connects to Google Sheets, opens a specific file, and reads or updates cells programmatically. This is useful for automating data entry, pulling spreadsheet data into a script, or updating a sheet based on calculations your code performs. The library works with Google's Sheets API and requires setting up credentials in Google's API Console first. Once credentials are configured, you authenticate once and then open spreadsheets by title, key, or URL. From there you can read individual cells, entire rows or columns, or ranges of cells. You can also write data back, format cells, create or delete worksheets, share spreadsheets with other users, and batch multiple updates together in one API call. Installation is a single pip command, and the library requires Python 3.8 or later. The README provides many short code examples covering common tasks: finding cells by value, getting all data from a sheet as a list, updating ranges, and more. There is also a migration guide for users moving from version 5 to version 6, which changed the argument order of the main update method and how colors are specified. The project is currently without active maintainers. The README notes that the team is looking for people to take over the project and points to a GitHub issue for anyone interested. The library is still installable and functional, but future updates depend on finding new maintainers.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Using gspread, write a Python script that opens a Google Sheet by URL, reads all rows from the first worksheet, and prints them as a list of dictionaries.
Prompt 2
Help me set up gspread credentials in the Google API Console and write a Python script that authenticates and writes data to a spreadsheet.
Prompt 3
Write a Python function using gspread that finds a row by searching the first column, updates the value in the second column, and returns the updated row.
Prompt 4
Show me how to use gspread to batch-update 100 cells in one API call instead of writing one cell at a time.
Prompt 5
Help me migrate a gspread v5 script to v6, explain exactly what changed in the update method signature and how colors are now specified.
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