Reading & Writing Cell Values

Spreadsheets can have multiple sheets, with each sheet having any number of rows or columns. A cell is a location at the intersection of a particular row and column, and may contain a data value. The Google Sheets API provides the spreadsheets.values collection to enable the simple reading and writing of values.

This page describes the basics of using the spreadsheets.values collection. If you need to update formatting or other properties in a sheet, you will need to use the spreadsheets collection, which is described in Updating Spreadsheets.

Methods

The spreadsheets.values collection provides the following methods for reading and writing values, each with a specific task in mind:

Range Access Reading Writing
Single range spreadsheets.values.get spreadsheets.values.update
Multiple ranges spreadsheets.values.batchGet spreadsheets.values.batchUpdate
Appending spreadsheets.values.append

In general, it is a good idea to combine multiple reads or updates with the batchGet and batchUpdate methods (respectively), as this will improve efficiency.

You can find examples of each of these methods in the Basic Reading and Basic Writing samples pages.

Reading

To read data from a sheet, you will need the spreadsheet ID and the range(s) A1 notation. For more information about spreadsheet IDs and A1 notation, see Key Concepts in the Google Sheets API. The format of the output is controlled by three optional parameters:

Format Parameter Default Value
majorDimension ROWS
valueRenderOption FORMATTED_VALUE
dateTimeRenderOption SERIAL_NUMBER

Note that dateTimeRenderOption is only used if the valueRenderOption is not FORMATTED_VALUE.

The singular and batch get methods are described below. For examples of basic read operations, see the Basic Reading recipes page.

Reading a single range

To read a single range of data out of a spreadsheet, use a spreadsheets.values.get request:

Apps Script

sheets/api/spreadsheet_snippets.gs
/**
 * Gets the values of the cells in the specified range
 * @param {string} spreadsheetId id of the spreadsheet
 * @param {string} range specifying the start and end cells of the range
 * @returns {*} Values in the range
 */
Snippets.prototype.getValues = function(spreadsheetId, range) {
  // This code uses the Sheets Advanced Service, but for most use cases
  // the built-in method SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet()
  //     .getRange(range).getValues(values) is more appropriate.
  try {
    const result = Sheets.Spreadsheets.Values.get(spreadsheetId, range);
    const numRows = result.values ? result.values.length : 0;
    return result;
  } catch (err) {
    // TODO (developer) - Handle exception
    Logger.log('Failed with error %s', err.message);
  }
};

Java

sheets/snippets/src/main/java/GetValues.java
import com.google.api.client.googleapis.json.GoogleJsonError;
import com.google.api.client.googleapis.json.GoogleJsonResponseException;
import com.google.api.client.http.HttpRequestInitializer;
import com.google.api.client.http.javanet.NetHttpTransport;
import com.google.api.client.json.gson.GsonFactory;
import com.google.api.services.sheets.v4.Sheets;
import com.google.api.services.sheets.v4.SheetsScopes;
import com.google.api.services.sheets.v4.model.ValueRange;
import com.google.auth.http.HttpCredentialsAdapter;
import com.google.auth.oauth2.GoogleCredentials;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.Collections;

/* Class to demonstrate the use of Spreadsheet Get Values API */
public class GetValues {
  /**
   * Returns a range of values from a spreadsheet.
   *
   * @param spreadsheetId - Id of the spreadsheet.
   * @param range         - Range of cells of the spreadsheet.
   * @return Values in the range
   * @throws IOException - if credentials file not found.
   */
  public static ValueRange getValues(String spreadsheetId, String range) throws IOException {
        /* Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
           TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity for
            guides on implementing OAuth2 for your application. */
    GoogleCredentials credentials = GoogleCredentials.getApplicationDefault()
        .createScoped(Collections.singleton(SheetsScopes.SPREADSHEETS));
    HttpRequestInitializer requestInitializer = new HttpCredentialsAdapter(
        credentials);

    // Create the sheets API client
    Sheets service = new Sheets.Builder(new NetHttpTransport(),
        GsonFactory.getDefaultInstance(),
        requestInitializer)
        .setApplicationName("Sheets samples")
        .build();

    ValueRange result = null;
    try {
      // Gets the values of the cells in the specified range.
      result = service.spreadsheets().values().get(spreadsheetId, range).execute();
      int numRows = result.getValues() != null ? result.getValues().size() : 0;
      System.out.printf("%d rows retrieved.", numRows);
    } catch (GoogleJsonResponseException e) {
      // TODO(developer) - handle error appropriately
      GoogleJsonError error = e.getDetails();
      if (error.getCode() == 404) {
        System.out.printf("Spreadsheet not found with id '%s'.\n", spreadsheetId);
      } else {
        throw e;
      }
    }
    return result;
  }
}

JavaScript

sheets/snippets/sheets_get_values.js
function getValues(spreadsheetId, range, callback) {
  try {
    gapi.client.sheets.spreadsheets.values.get({
      spreadsheetId: spreadsheetId,
      range: range,
    }).then((response) => {
      const result = response.result;
      const numRows = result.values ? result.values.length : 0;
      console.log(`${numRows} rows retrieved.`);
      if (callback) callback(response);
    });
  } catch (err) {
    document.getElementById('content').innerText = err.message;
    return;
  }
}

Node.js

sheets/snippets/sheets_get_values.js
/**
 * Gets cell values from a Spreadsheet.
 * @param {string} spreadsheetId The spreadsheet ID.
 * @param {string} range The sheet range.
 * @return {obj} spreadsheet information
 */
async function getValues(spreadsheetId, range) {
  const {GoogleAuth} = require('google-auth-library');
  const {google} = require('googleapis');

  const auth = new GoogleAuth(
      {scopes: 'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/spreadsheet'});

  const service = google.sheets({version: 'v4', auth});
  try {
    const result = await service.spreadsheets.values.get({
      spreadsheetId,
      range,
    });
    const numRows = result.data.values ? result.data.values.length : 0;
    console.log(`${numRows} rows retrieved.`);
    return result;
  } catch (err) {
    // TODO (developer) - Handle exception
    throw err;
  }
}

PHP

sheets/snippets/src/SpreadsheetGetValues.php
use Google\Client;
use Google\Service\Drive;
use Google\Service\Sheets\BatchUpdateSpreadsheetRequest;
/**
 * get values of a particular spreadsheet(by Id and range).
 */
function getValues($spreadsheetId, $range)
    {   
        /* Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
           TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity for
            guides on implementing OAuth2 for your application. */
        $client = new Google\Client();
        $client->useApplicationDefaultCredentials();
        $client->addScope(Google\Service\Drive::DRIVE);
        $service = new Google_Service_Sheets($client);
        $result = $service->spreadsheets_values->get($spreadsheetId, $range);
        try{
        $numRows = $result->getValues() != null ? count($result->getValues()) : 0;
        printf("%d rows retrieved.", $numRows);
        return $result;
    }
        catch(Exception $e) {
            // TODO(developer) - handle error appropriately
            echo 'Message: ' .$e->getMessage();
        }
    }

Python

sheets/snippets/sheets_get_values.py
from __future__ import print_function

import google.auth
from googleapiclient.discovery import build
from googleapiclient.errors import HttpError


def get_values(spreadsheet_id, range_name):
    """
    Creates the batch_update the user has access to.
    Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
    TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity
    for guides on implementing OAuth2 for the application.
        """
    creds, _ = google.auth.default()
    # pylint: disable=maybe-no-member
    try:
        service = build('sheets', 'v4', credentials=creds)

        result = service.spreadsheets().values().get(
            spreadsheetId=spreadsheet_id, range=range_name).execute()
        rows = result.get('values', [])
        print(f"{len(rows)} rows retrieved")
        return result
    except HttpError as error:
        print(f"An error occurred: {error}")
        return error


if __name__ == '__main__':
    # Pass: spreadsheet_id, and range_name
    get_values("1CM29gwKIzeXsAppeNwrc8lbYaVMmUclprLuLYuHog4k", "A1:C2")

Ruby

sheets/snippets/lib/spreadsheet_snippets.rb
result = service.get_spreadsheet_values(spreadsheet_id, range_name)
num_rows = result.values ? result.values.length : 0
puts "#{num_rows} rows received."

The response to this request is returned as a ValueRange object.

Reading multiple ranges

To read multiple discontinuous ranges, use a spreadsheets.values.batchGet, which lets you specify any number of ranges to retrieve:

Apps Script

sheets/api/spreadsheet_snippets.gs
/**
 * Get the values in the specified ranges
 * @param {string} spreadsheetId spreadsheet's ID
 * @param {list<string>} _ranges The span of ranges
 * @returns {*} spreadsheet information and values
 */
Snippets.prototype.batchGetValues = (spreadsheetId,
  _ranges) => {
  // This code uses the Sheets Advanced Service, but for most use cases
  // the built-in method SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet()
  //     .getRange(range).getValues(values) is more appropriate.
  let ranges = [
    //Range names ...
  ];
  try {
    const result =
      Sheets.Spreadsheets.Values.batchGet(spreadsheetId, {ranges: ranges});
    return result;
  } catch (err) {
    // TODO (developer) - Handle exception
    Logger.log('Failed with error %s', err.message);
  }
};

Java

sheets/snippets/src/main/java/BatchGetValues.java
import com.google.api.client.googleapis.json.GoogleJsonError;
import com.google.api.client.googleapis.json.GoogleJsonResponseException;
import com.google.api.client.http.HttpRequestInitializer;
import com.google.api.client.http.javanet.NetHttpTransport;
import com.google.api.client.json.gson.GsonFactory;
import com.google.api.services.sheets.v4.Sheets;
import com.google.api.services.sheets.v4.SheetsScopes;
import com.google.api.services.sheets.v4.model.BatchGetValuesResponse;
import com.google.auth.http.HttpCredentialsAdapter;
import com.google.auth.oauth2.GoogleCredentials;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.List;

/* Class to demonstrate the use of Spreadsheet Batch Get Values API */
public class BatchGetValues {
  /**
   * Returns one or more ranges of values from a spreadsheet.
   *
   * @param spreadsheetId - Id of the spreadsheet.
   * @param ranges        - Range of cells of the spreadsheet.
   * @return Values in the range
   * @throws IOException - if credentials file not found.
   */
  public static BatchGetValuesResponse batchGetValues(String spreadsheetId,
                                                      List<String> ranges)
      throws IOException {
        /* Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
           TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity for
            guides on implementing OAuth2 for your application. */
    GoogleCredentials credentials = GoogleCredentials.getApplicationDefault()
        .createScoped(Collections.singleton(SheetsScopes.SPREADSHEETS));
    HttpRequestInitializer requestInitializer = new HttpCredentialsAdapter(
        credentials);

    // Create the sheets API client
    Sheets service = new Sheets.Builder(new NetHttpTransport(),
        GsonFactory.getDefaultInstance(),
        requestInitializer)
        .setApplicationName("Sheets samples")
        .build();

    BatchGetValuesResponse result = null;
    try {
      // Gets the values of the cells in the specified range.
      result = service.spreadsheets().values().batchGet(spreadsheetId)
          .setRanges(ranges).execute();
      System.out.printf("%d ranges retrieved.", result.getValueRanges().size());
    } catch (GoogleJsonResponseException e) {
      // TODO(developer) - handle error appropriately
      GoogleJsonError error = e.getDetails();
      if (error.getCode() == 404) {
        System.out.printf("Spreadsheet not found with id '%s'.\n", spreadsheetId);
      } else {
        throw e;
      }
    }
    return result;
  }
}

JavaScript

sheets/snippets/sheets_batch_get_values.js
function batchGetValues(spreadsheetId, _ranges, callback) {
  let ranges = [
    // Range names ...
  ];
  ranges = _ranges;
  try {
    gapi.client.sheets.spreadsheets.values.batchGet({
      spreadsheetId: spreadsheetId,
      ranges: ranges,
    }).then((response) => {
      const result = response.result;
      console.log(`${result.valueRanges.length} ranges retrieved.`);
      if (callback) callback(response);
    });
  } catch (err) {
    document.getElementById('content').innerText = err.message;
    return;
  }
}

Node.js

sheets/snippets/sheets_batch_get_values.js
/**
 * Batch gets cell values from a Spreadsheet.
 * @param {string} spreadsheetId The spreadsheet ID.
 * @param {string} _ranges The mock sheet range.
 * @return {obj} spreadsheet information
 */
async function batchGetValues(spreadsheetId, _ranges) {
  const {GoogleAuth} = require('google-auth-library');
  const {google} = require('googleapis');

  const auth = new GoogleAuth(
      {scopes: 'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/spreadsheet'});

  const service = google.sheets({version: 'v4', auth});
  let ranges = [
    // Range names ...
  ];
  try {
    const result = await service.spreadsheets.values.batchGet({
      spreadsheetId,
      ranges,
    });
    console.log(`${result.data.valueRanges.length} ranges retrieved.`);
    return result;
  } catch (err) {
    // TODO (developer) - Handle exception
    throw err;
  }
}

PHP

sheets/snippets/src/SpreadsheetBatchGetValues.php
use Google\Client;
use Google\Service\Drive;
use Google\Service\Sheets;
/**
 * method to get a spreadsheet values in batch
 */

function batchGetValues($spreadsheetId)
    {
        /* Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
        TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity for
        guides on implementing OAuth2 for your application. */       
        $client = new Google\Client();
        $client->useApplicationDefaultCredentials();
        $client->addScope(Google\Service\Drive::DRIVE);
        $service = new Google_Service_Sheets($client);
        try{
            $ranges = 'Sheet1!A1:B2';
            $params = array(
                'ranges' => $ranges
            );
            //execute the request
            $result = $service->spreadsheets_values->batchGet($spreadsheetId, $params);
            printf("%d ranges retrieved.", count($result->getValueRanges()));
            return $result;
        }
        catch(Exception $e) {
            // TODO(developer) - handle error appropriately
            echo 'Message: ' .$e->getMessage();
          }
        }

Python

sheets/snippets/sheets_batch_get_values.py
from __future__ import print_function

import google.auth
from googleapiclient.discovery import build
from googleapiclient.errors import HttpError


def batch_get_values(spreadsheet_id, _range_names):
    """
    Creates the batch_update the user has access to.
    Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
    TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity
    for guides on implementing OAuth2 for the application.
        """
    creds, _ = google.auth.default()
    # pylint: disable=maybe-no-member
    try:
        service = build('sheets', 'v4', credentials=creds)
        range_names = [
            # Range names ...
        ]
        result = service.spreadsheets().values().batchGet(
            spreadsheetId=spreadsheet_id, ranges=range_names).execute()
        ranges = result.get('valueRanges', [])
        print(f"{len(ranges)} ranges retrieved")
        return result
    except HttpError as error:
        print(f"An error occurred: {error}")
        return error


if __name__ == '__main__':
    # Pass: spreadsheet_id, and range_name

    batch_get_values("1CM29gwKIzeXsAppeNwrc8lbYaVMmUclprLuLYuHog4k", "A1:C2")

Ruby

sheets/snippets/lib/spreadsheet_snippets.rb
range_names = [
  # Range names ...
]
result = service.batch_get_spreadsheet_values(spreadsheet_id,
                                              ranges: range_names)
puts "#{result.value_ranges.length} ranges retrieved."

The response to this request is a BatchGetValueResponse, object which contains the spreadsheet ID and a list of ValueRange objects.

Writing

To write to a sheet, you will need the spreadsheet ID, the range(s) in A1 notation, and the data you wish to write arranged in an appropriate request body object. For more information about spreadsheet IDs and A1 notation, see Key Concepts in the Google Sheets API.

Updates require a valid ValueInputOption parameter (for singular updates, this is a required query parameter; for batch updates, this parameter is required in the request body). The ValueInputOption controls whether input strings are parsed or not, as described in the following table:

ValueInputOption Description
RAW The input is not parsed and is simply inserted as a string, so the input "=1+2" places the string "=1+2" in the cell, not a formula. (Non-string values like booleans or numbers are always handled as RAW.)
USER_ENTERED The input is parsed exactly as if it were entered into the Google Sheets UI, so "Mar 1 2016" becomes a date, and "=1+2" becomes a formula. Formats may also be inferred, so "$100.15" becomes a number with currency formatting.

The singular and batch update methods are described below. For examples of basic write operations, see the Basic Writing recipes page.

Writing to a single range

To write data to a single range, use a spreadsheets.values.update request:

Apps Script

sheets/api/spreadsheet_snippets.gs
/**
 * Updates the values in the specified range
 * @param {string} spreadsheetId spreadsheet's ID
 * @param {string} range the range of cells in spreadsheet
 * @param {string} valueInputOption determines how the input should be interpreted
 * @see
 * https://developers.google.com/sheets/api/reference/rest/v4/ValueInputOption
 * @param {list<list<string>>} _values list of string lists to input
 * @returns {*} spreadsheet with updated values
 */
Snippets.prototype.updateValues = (spreadsheetId, range,
  valueInputOption, _values) => {
  // This code uses the Sheets Advanced Service, but for most use cases
  // the built-in method SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet()
  //     .getRange(range).setValues(values) is more appropriate.
  let values = [
    [
      // Cell values ...
    ]
    // Additional rows ...
  ];

  try {
    let valueRange = Sheets.newValueRange();
    valueRange.values = values;
    const result = Sheets.Spreadsheets.Values.update(valueRange,
      spreadsheetId, range, {valueInputOption: valueInputOption});
    return result;
  } catch (err) {
    // TODO (developer) - Handle exception
    Logger.log('Failed with error %s', err.message);
  }
};

Java

sheets/snippets/src/main/java/UpdateValues.java
import com.google.api.client.googleapis.json.GoogleJsonError;
import com.google.api.client.googleapis.json.GoogleJsonResponseException;
import com.google.api.client.http.HttpRequestInitializer;
import com.google.api.client.http.javanet.NetHttpTransport;
import com.google.api.client.json.gson.GsonFactory;
import com.google.api.services.sheets.v4.Sheets;
import com.google.api.services.sheets.v4.SheetsScopes;
import com.google.api.services.sheets.v4.model.UpdateValuesResponse;
import com.google.api.services.sheets.v4.model.ValueRange;
import com.google.auth.http.HttpCredentialsAdapter;
import com.google.auth.oauth2.GoogleCredentials;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.List;

/* Class to demonstrate the use of Spreadsheet Update Values API */
public class UpdateValues {
  /**
   * Sets values in a range of a spreadsheet.
   *
   * @param spreadsheetId    - Id of the spreadsheet.
   * @param range            - Range of cells of the spreadsheet.
   * @param valueInputOption - Determines how input data should be interpreted.
   * @param values           - List of rows of values to input.
   * @return spreadsheet with updated values
   * @throws IOException - if credentials file not found.
   */
  public static UpdateValuesResponse updateValues(String spreadsheetId,
                                                  String range,
                                                  String valueInputOption,
                                                  List<List<Object>> values)
      throws IOException {
        /* Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
           TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity for
            guides on implementing OAuth2 for your application. */
    GoogleCredentials credentials = GoogleCredentials.getApplicationDefault()
        .createScoped(Collections.singleton(SheetsScopes.SPREADSHEETS));
    HttpRequestInitializer requestInitializer = new HttpCredentialsAdapter(
        credentials);

    // Create the sheets API client
    Sheets service = new Sheets.Builder(new NetHttpTransport(),
        GsonFactory.getDefaultInstance(),
        requestInitializer)
        .setApplicationName("Sheets samples")
        .build();

    UpdateValuesResponse result = null;
    try {
      // Updates the values in the specified range.
      ValueRange body = new ValueRange()
          .setValues(values);
      result = service.spreadsheets().values().update(spreadsheetId, range, body)
          .setValueInputOption(valueInputOption)
          .execute();
      System.out.printf("%d cells updated.", result.getUpdatedCells());
    } catch (GoogleJsonResponseException e) {
      // TODO(developer) - handle error appropriately
      GoogleJsonError error = e.getDetails();
      if (error.getCode() == 404) {
        System.out.printf("Spreadsheet not found with id '%s'.\n", spreadsheetId);
      } else {
        throw e;
      }
    }
    return result;
  }
}

JavaScript

sheets/snippets/sheets_update_values.js
function updateValues(spreadsheetId, range, valueInputOption, _values, callback) {
  let values = [
    [
      // Cell values ...
    ],
    // Additional rows ...
  ];
  values = _values;
  const body = {
    values: values,
  };
  try {
    gapi.client.sheets.spreadsheets.values.update({
      spreadsheetId: spreadsheetId,
      range: range,
      valueInputOption: valueInputOption,
      resource: body,
    }).then((response) => {
      const result = response.result;
      console.log(`${result.updatedCells} cells updated.`);
      if (callback) callback(response);
    });
  } catch (err) {
    document.getElementById('content').innerText = err.message;
    return;
  }
}

Node.js

sheets/snippets/sheets_update_values.js
/**
 * Updates values in a Spreadsheet.
 * @param {string} spreadsheetId The spreadsheet ID.
 * @param {string} range The range of values to update.
 * @param {object} valueInputOption Value update options.
 * @param {(string[])[]} _values A 2d array of values to update.
 * @return {obj} spreadsheet information
 */
async function updateValues(spreadsheetId, range, valueInputOption, _values) {
  const {GoogleAuth} = require('google-auth-library');
  const {google} = require('googleapis');

  const auth = new GoogleAuth(
      {scopes: 'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/spreadsheet'});

  const service = google.sheets({version: 'v4', auth});
  let values = [
    [
      // Cell values ...
    ],
    // Additional rows ...
  ];
  const resource = {
    values,
  };
  try {
    const result = await service.spreadsheets.values.update({
      spreadsheetId,
      range,
      valueInputOption,
      resource,
    });
    console.log('%d cells updated.', result.data.updatedCells);
    return result;
  } catch (err) {
    // TODO (Developer) - Handle exception
    throw err;
  }
}

PHP

sheets/snippets/src/SpreadsheetUpdateValues.php
use Google\Client;
use Google\Service\Drive;
use Google\Service\Sheets\ValueRange;


function updateValues($spreadsheetId, $range, $valueInputOption)
    {
        /* Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
           TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity for
            guides on implementing OAuth2 for your application. */
        $client = new Google\Client();
        $client->useApplicationDefaultCredentials();
        $client->addScope(Google\Service\Drive::DRIVE);
        $service = new Google_Service_Sheets($client);
        try{
        $values = [["sample", 'values']];

        $body = new Google_Service_Sheets_ValueRange([
            'values' => $values
        ]);
        $params = [
            'valueInputOption' => $valueInputOption
        ];
        //executing the request
        $result = $service->spreadsheets_values->update($spreadsheetId, $range,
        $body, $params);
        printf("%d cells updated.", $result->getUpdatedCells());
        return $result;
    }
    catch(Exception $e) {
            // TODO(developer) - handle error appropriately
            echo 'Message: ' .$e->getMessage();
          }
    }

Python

sheets/snippets/sheets_update_values.py
from __future__ import print_function

import google.auth
from googleapiclient.discovery import build
from googleapiclient.errors import HttpError


def update_values(spreadsheet_id, range_name, value_input_option,
                  _values):
    """
    Creates the batch_update the user has access to.
    Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
    TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity
    for guides on implementing OAuth2 for the application.
        """
    creds, _ = google.auth.default()
    # pylint: disable=maybe-no-member
    try:

        service = build('sheets', 'v4', credentials=creds)
        values = [
            [
                # Cell values ...
            ],
            # Additional rows ...
        ]
        body = {
            'values': values
        }
        result = service.spreadsheets().values().update(
            spreadsheetId=spreadsheet_id, range=range_name,
            valueInputOption=value_input_option, body=body).execute()
        print(f"{result.get('updatedCells')} cells updated.")
        return result
    except HttpError as error:
        print(f"An error occurred: {error}")
        return error


if __name__ == '__main__':
    # Pass: spreadsheet_id,  range_name, value_input_option and  _values
    update_values("1CM29gwKIzeXsAppeNwrc8lbYaVMmUclprLuLYuHog4k",
                  "A1:C2", "USER_ENTERED",
                  [
                      ['A', 'B'],
                      ['C', 'D']
                  ])

Ruby

sheets/snippets/lib/spreadsheet_snippets.rb
values = [
  [
    # Cell values ...
  ]
  # Additional rows ...
]
data = [
  {
    range:  range_name,
    values: values
  },
  # Additional ranges to update ...
]
value_range_object = Google::Apis::SheetsV4::ValueRange.new(range:  range_name,
                                                            values: values)
result = service.update_spreadsheet_value(spreadsheet_id,
                                          range_name,
                                          value_range_object,
                                          value_input_option: value_input_option)
puts "#{result.updated_cells} cells updated."

The body of the update request must be a ValueRange object, though the only required field is values. If range is specified, it must match the range in the URL. In the ValueRange, you can optionally specify its majorDimension. By default, ROWS is used. If COLUMNS is specified, each inner array is written to a column instead of a row.

When updating, values with no data are skipped. To clear data, use an empty string ("").

Writing multiple ranges

If you want to write multiple discontinuous ranges, you can use a spreadsheets.values.batchUpdate request:

Apps Script

sheets/api/spreadsheet_snippets.gs
/**
 * Updates the values in the specified range
 * @param {string} spreadsheetId spreadsheet's ID
 * @param {string} range range of cells of the spreadsheet
 * @param {string} valueInputOption determines how the input should be interpreted
 * @see
 * https://developers.google.com/sheets/api/reference/rest/v4/ValueInputOption
 * @param {list<list<string>>} _values list of string values to input
 * @returns {*} spreadsheet with updated values
 */
Snippets.prototype.batchUpdateValues =
  (spreadsheetId, range, valueInputOption,
    _values) => {
    // This code uses the Sheets Advanced Service, but for most use cases
    // the built-in method SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet()
    //     .getRange(range).setValues(values) is more appropriate.
    let values = [
      [
        // Cell values ...
      ]
      // Additional rows ...
    ];

    try {
      let valueRange = Sheets.newValueRange();
      valueRange.range = range;
      valueRange.values = values;

      let batchUpdateRequest = Sheets.newBatchUpdateValuesRequest();
      batchUpdateRequest.data = valueRange;
      batchUpdateRequest.valueInputOption = valueInputOption;

      const result = Sheets.Spreadsheets.Values.batchUpdate(batchUpdateRequest,
        spreadsheetId);
      return result;
    } catch (err) {
      // TODO (developer) - Handle exception
      Logger.log('Failed with error %s', err.message);
    }
  };

Java

sheets/snippets/src/main/java/BatchUpdateValues.java
import com.google.api.client.googleapis.json.GoogleJsonError;
import com.google.api.client.googleapis.json.GoogleJsonResponseException;
import com.google.api.client.http.HttpRequestInitializer;
import com.google.api.client.http.javanet.NetHttpTransport;
import com.google.api.client.json.gson.GsonFactory;
import com.google.api.services.sheets.v4.Sheets;
import com.google.api.services.sheets.v4.SheetsScopes;
import com.google.api.services.sheets.v4.model.BatchUpdateValuesRequest;
import com.google.api.services.sheets.v4.model.BatchUpdateValuesResponse;
import com.google.api.services.sheets.v4.model.ValueRange;
import com.google.auth.http.HttpCredentialsAdapter;
import com.google.auth.oauth2.GoogleCredentials;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.List;

/* Class to demonstrate the use of Spreadsheet Batch Update Values API */
public class BatchUpdateValues {
  /**
   * Set values in one or more ranges of spreadsheet.
   *
   * @param spreadsheetId    - Id of the spreadsheet.
   * @param range            - Range of cells of the spreadsheet.
   * @param valueInputOption - Determines how input data should be interpreted.
   * @param values           - list of rows of values to input.
   * @return spreadsheet with updated values
   * @throws IOException - if credentials file not found.
   */
  public static BatchUpdateValuesResponse batchUpdateValues(String spreadsheetId,
                                                            String range,
                                                            String valueInputOption,
                                                            List<List<Object>> values)
      throws IOException {
        /* Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
           TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity for
            guides on implementing OAuth2 for your application. */
    GoogleCredentials credentials = GoogleCredentials.getApplicationDefault()
        .createScoped(Collections.singleton(SheetsScopes.SPREADSHEETS));
    HttpRequestInitializer requestInitializer = new HttpCredentialsAdapter(
        credentials);

    // Create the sheets API client
    Sheets service = new Sheets.Builder(new NetHttpTransport(),
        GsonFactory.getDefaultInstance(),
        requestInitializer)
        .setApplicationName("Sheets samples")
        .build();

    List<ValueRange> data = new ArrayList<>();
    data.add(new ValueRange()
        .setRange(range)
        .setValues(values));

    BatchUpdateValuesResponse result = null;
    try {
      // Updates the values in the specified range.
      BatchUpdateValuesRequest body = new BatchUpdateValuesRequest()
          .setValueInputOption(valueInputOption)
          .setData(data);
      result = service.spreadsheets().values().batchUpdate(spreadsheetId, body).execute();
      System.out.printf("%d cells updated.", result.getTotalUpdatedCells());
    } catch (GoogleJsonResponseException e) {
      // TODO(developer) - handle error appropriately
      GoogleJsonError error = e.getDetails();
      if (error.getCode() == 404) {
        System.out.printf("Spreadsheet not found with id '%s'.\n", spreadsheetId);
      } else {
        throw e;
      }
    }
    return result;
  }
}

JavaScript

sheets/snippets/sheets_batch_update_values.js
function batchUpdateValues(spreadsheetId, range, valueInputOption, _values, callback) {
  let values = [
    [
      // Cell values ...
    ],
    // Additional rows ...
  ];
  values = _values;
  const data = [];
  data.push({
    range: range,
    values: values,
  });
  // Additional ranges to update.

  const body = {
    data: data,
    valueInputOption: valueInputOption,
  };
  try {
    gapi.client.sheets.spreadsheets.values.batchUpdate({
      spreadsheetId: spreadsheetId,
      resource: body,
    }).then((response) => {
      const result = response.result;
      console.log(`${result.totalUpdatedCells} cells updated.`);
      if (callback) callback(response);
    });
  } catch (err) {
    document.getElementById('content').innerText = err.message;
    return;
  }
}

Node.js

sheets/snippets/sheets_batch_update_values.js
/**
 * Batch Updates values in a Spreadsheet.
 * @param {string} spreadsheetId The spreadsheet ID.
 * @param {string} range The range of values to update.
 * @param {object} valueInputOption Value update options.
 * @param {(string[])[]} _values A 2d array of values to update.
 * @return {obj} spreadsheet information
 */
async function batchUpdateValues(spreadsheetId, range, valueInputOption, _values) {
  const {GoogleAuth} = require('google-auth-library');
  const {google} = require('googleapis');

  const auth = new GoogleAuth(
      {scopes: 'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/spreadsheet'});

  const service = google.sheets({version: 'v4', auth});
  let values = [
    [
      // Cell values ...
    ],
    // Additional rows ...
  ];
  const data = [{
    range,
    values,
  }];
  // Additional ranges to update ...
  const resource = {
    data,
    valueInputOption,
  };
  try {
    const result = await service.spreadsheets.values.batchUpdate({
      spreadsheetId,
      resource,
    });
    console.log('%d cells updated.', result.data.totalUpdatedCells);
    return result;
  } catch (err) {
    // TODO (developer) - Handle exception
    throw err;
  }
}

PHP

sheets/snippets/src/SpreadsheetBatchUpdateValues.php
/**
 * to update values in batch for a particular spreadsheet
 */
use Google\Client;
use Google\Service\Drive;
use Google\Service\Sheets;

function batchUpdateValues($spreadsheetId, $range, $valueInputOption)
    {
        /* Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
           TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity for
            guides on implementing OAuth2 for your application. */
        $client = new Google\Client();
        $client->useApplicationDefaultCredentials();
        $client->addScope(Google\Service\Drive::DRIVE);
        $service = new Google_Service_Sheets($client);
        $values = [];
        try{

            $data[] = new Google_Service_Sheets_ValueRange([
                'range' => $range,
            'values' => $values
        ]);
        $body = new Google_Service_Sheets_BatchUpdateValuesRequest([
            'valueInputOption' => $valueInputOption,
            'data' => $data
        ]);
        $result = $service->spreadsheets_values->batchUpdate($spreadsheetId, $body);
        printf("%d cells updated.", $result->getTotalUpdatedCells());
        return $result;
    }

        catch(Exception $e) {
            // TODO(developer) - handle error appropriately
            echo 'Message: ' .$e->getMessage();
          }
    }

Python

sheets/snippets/sheets_batch_update_values.py
from __future__ import print_function

import google.auth
from googleapiclient.discovery import build
from googleapiclient.errors import HttpError


def batch_update_values(spreadsheet_id, range_name,
                        value_input_option, _values):
    """
        Creates the batch_update the user has access to.
        Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
        TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity
        for guides on implementing OAuth2 for the application.
            """
    creds, _ = google.auth.default()
    # pylint: disable=maybe-no-member
    try:
        service = build('sheets', 'v4', credentials=creds)

        values = [
            [
                # Cell values ...
            ],
            # Additional rows
        ]
        data = [
            {
                'range': range_name,
                'values': values
            },
            # Additional ranges to update ...
        ]
        body = {
            'valueInputOption': value_input_option,
            'data': data
        }
        result = service.spreadsheets().values().batchUpdate(
            spreadsheetId=spreadsheet_id, body=body).execute()
        print(f"{(result.get('totalUpdatedCells'))} cells updated.")
        return result
    except HttpError as error:
        print(f"An error occurred: {error}")
        return error


if __name__ == '__main__':
    # Pass: spreadsheet_id, range_name value_input_option and _values)
    batch_update_values("1CM29gwKIzeXsAppeNwrc8lbYaVMmUclprLuLYuHog4k",
                        "A1:C2", "USER_ENTERED",
                        [
                            ['F', 'B'],
                            ['C', 'D']
                        ])

Ruby

sheets/snippets/lib/spreadsheet_snippets.rb
values = [
  [
    # Cell values ...
  ]
  # Additional rows ...
]
data = [
  {
    range:  range_name,
    values: values
  },
  # Additional ranges to update ...
]
batch_update_values = Google::Apis::SheetsV4::BatchUpdateValuesRequest.new(
  data:               data,
  value_input_option: value_input_option
)
result = service.batch_update_values(spreadsheet_id, batch_update_values)
puts "#{result.total_updated_cells} cells updated."

The body of the batchUpdate request must be a BatchUpdateValuesRequest object, which contains a ValueInputOption and a list of ValueRange objects (one for each written range). Each ValueRange object specifies its own range, majorDimension, and the data to input.

Appending values

To append data after a table of data in a sheet, use a spreadsheets.values.append request:

Apps Script

sheets/api/spreadsheet_snippets.gs
/**
 * Appends values to the specified range
 * @param {string} spreadsheetId spreadsheet's ID
 * @param {string} range range of cells in the spreadsheet
 * @param valueInputOption determines how the input should be interpreted
 * @see
 * https://developers.google.com/sheets/api/reference/rest/v4/ValueInputOption
 * @param {list<string>} _values list of rows of values to input
 * @returns {*} spreadsheet with appended values
 */
Snippets.prototype.appendValues = (spreadsheetId, range,
  valueInputOption, _values) => {
  let values = [
    [
      // Cell values ...
    ]
    // Additional rows ...
  ];
  try {
    let valueRange = Sheets.newRowData();
    valueRange.values = values;

    let appendRequest = Sheets.newAppendCellsRequest();
    appendRequest.sheetId = spreadsheetId;
    appendRequest.rows = [valueRange];

    const result = Sheets.Spreadsheets.Values.append(valueRange, spreadsheetId,
      range, {valueInputOption: valueInputOption});
    return result;
  } catch (err) {
    // TODO (developer) - Handle exception
    Logger.log('Failed with error %s', err.message);
  }
};

Java

sheets/snippets/src/main/java/AppendValues.java
import com.google.api.client.googleapis.json.GoogleJsonError;
import com.google.api.client.googleapis.json.GoogleJsonResponseException;
import com.google.api.client.http.HttpRequestInitializer;
import com.google.api.client.http.javanet.NetHttpTransport;
import com.google.api.client.json.gson.GsonFactory;
import com.google.api.services.sheets.v4.Sheets;
import com.google.api.services.sheets.v4.SheetsScopes;
import com.google.api.services.sheets.v4.model.AppendValuesResponse;
import com.google.api.services.sheets.v4.model.ValueRange;
import com.google.auth.http.HttpCredentialsAdapter;
import com.google.auth.oauth2.GoogleCredentials;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.List;

/* Class to demonstrate the use of Spreadsheet Append Values API */
public class AppendValues {
  /**
   * Appends values to a spreadsheet.
   *
   * @param spreadsheetId    - Id of the spreadsheet.
   * @param range            - Range of cells of the spreadsheet.
   * @param valueInputOption - Determines how input data should be interpreted.
   * @param values           - list of rows of values to input.
   * @return spreadsheet with appended values
   * @throws IOException - if credentials file not found.
   */
  public static AppendValuesResponse appendValues(String spreadsheetId,
                                                  String range,
                                                  String valueInputOption,
                                                  List<List<Object>> values)
      throws IOException {
        /* Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
           TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity for
            guides on implementing OAuth2 for your application. */
    GoogleCredentials credentials = GoogleCredentials.getApplicationDefault()
        .createScoped(Collections.singleton(SheetsScopes.SPREADSHEETS));
    HttpRequestInitializer requestInitializer = new HttpCredentialsAdapter(
        credentials);

    // Create the sheets API client
    Sheets service = new Sheets.Builder(new NetHttpTransport(),
        GsonFactory.getDefaultInstance(),
        requestInitializer)
        .setApplicationName("Sheets samples")
        .build();

    AppendValuesResponse result = null;
    try {
      // Append values to the specified range.
      ValueRange body = new ValueRange()
          .setValues(values);
      result = service.spreadsheets().values().append(spreadsheetId, range, body)
          .setValueInputOption(valueInputOption)
          .execute();
      // Prints the spreadsheet with appended values.
      System.out.printf("%d cells appended.", result.getUpdates().getUpdatedCells());
    } catch (GoogleJsonResponseException e) {
      // TODO(developer) - handle error appropriately
      GoogleJsonError error = e.getDetails();
      if (error.getCode() == 404) {
        System.out.printf("Spreadsheet not found with id '%s'.\n", spreadsheetId);
      } else {
        throw e;
      }
    }
    return result;
  }
}

JavaScript

sheets/snippets/sheets_append_values.js
function appendValues(spreadsheetId, range, valueInputOption, _values, callback) {
  let values = [
    [
      // Cell values ...
    ],
    // Additional rows ...
  ];
  values = _values;
  const body = {
    values: values,
  };
  try {
    gapi.client.sheets.spreadsheets.values.append({
      spreadsheetId: spreadsheetId,
      range: range,
      valueInputOption: valueInputOption,
      resource: body,
    }).then((response) => {
      const result = response.result;
      console.log(`${result.updates.updatedCells} cells appended.`);
      if (callback) callback(response);
    });
  } catch (err) {
    document.getElementById('content').innerText = err.message;
    return;
  }
}

Node.js

sheets/snippets/sheets_append_values.js
/**
 * Appends values in a Spreadsheet.
 * @param {string} spreadsheetId The spreadsheet ID.
 * @param {string} range The range of values to append.
 * @param {object} valueInputOption Value input options.
 * @param {(string[])[]} _values A 2d array of values to append.
 * @return {obj} spreadsheet information
 */
async function appendValues(spreadsheetId, range, valueInputOption, _values) {
  const {GoogleAuth} = require('google-auth-library');
  const {google} = require('googleapis');

  const auth = new GoogleAuth(
      {scopes: 'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/spreadsheet'});

  const service = google.sheets({version: 'v4', auth});
  let values = [
    [
      // Cell values ...
    ],
    // Additional rows ...
  ];
  const resource = {
    values,
  };
  try {
    const result = await service.spreadsheets.values.append({
      spreadsheetId,
      range,
      valueInputOption,
      resource,
    });
    console.log(`${result.data.updates.updatedCells} cells appended.`);
    return result;
  } catch (err) {
    // TODO (developer) - Handle exception
    throw err;
  }
}

PHP

sheets/snippets/src/SpreadsheetAppendValues.php
use Google\Client;
use Google\Service\Sheets;


function appendValues($spreadsheetId, $range, $valueInputOption)
{
    /* Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
       TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity for
        guides on implementing OAuth2 for your application. */
    $client = new Google\Client();
    $client->useApplicationDefaultCredentials();
    $client->addScope('https://www.googleapis.com/auth/spreadsheets');
    $service = new Google\Service\Sheets($client);
    try {
        $values = []; //add the values to be appended
        //execute the request
        $body = new Google_Service_Sheets_ValueRange([
            'values' => $values
        ]);
        $params = [
            'valueInputOption' => $valueInputOption
        ];
        $result = $service->spreadsheets_values->append($spreadsheetId, $range, $body, $params);
        printf("%d cells appended.", $result->getUpdates()->getUpdatedCells());
        return $result;
    } catch (Exception $e) {
        // TODO(developer) - handle error appropriately
        echo 'Message: ' . $e->getMessage();
    }

Python

sheets/snippets/sheets_append_values.py
from __future__ import print_function

import google.auth
from googleapiclient.discovery import build
from googleapiclient.errors import HttpError


def append_values(spreadsheet_id, range_name, value_input_option,
                  _values):
    """
    Creates the batch_update the user has access to.
    Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
    TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity
    for guides on implementing OAuth2 for the application.
        """
    creds, _ = google.auth.default()
    # pylint: disable=maybe-no-member
    try:
        service = build('sheets', 'v4', credentials=creds)

        values = [
            [
                # Cell values ...
            ],
            # Additional rows ...
        ]
        body = {
            'values': values
        }
        result = service.spreadsheets().values().append(
            spreadsheetId=spreadsheet_id, range=range_name,
            valueInputOption=value_input_option, body=body).execute()
        print(f"{(result.get('updates').get('updatedCells'))} cells appended.")
        return result

    except HttpError as error:
        print(f"An error occurred: {error}")
        return error


if __name__ == '__main__':
    # Pass: spreadsheet_id, range_name value_input_option and _values)
    append_values("1CM29gwKIzeXsAppeNwrc8lbYaVMmUclprLuLYuHog4k",
                  "A1:C2", "USER_ENTERED",
                  [
                      ['F', 'B'],
                      ['C', 'D']
                  ])

Ruby

sheets/snippets/lib/spreadsheet_snippets.rb
values = [
  [
    # Cell values ...
  ],
  # Additional rows ...
]
value_range = Google::Apis::SheetsV4::ValueRange.new(values: values)
result = service.append_spreadsheet_value(spreadsheet_id,
                                          range_name,
                                          value_range,
                                          value_input_option: value_input_option)
puts "#{result.updates.updated_cells} cells appended."

The body of the update request must be a ValueRange object, though the only required field is values. If range is specified, it must match the range in the URL. In the ValueRange, you can optionally specify its majorDimension. By default, ROWS is used. If COLUMNS is specified, each inner array is written to a column instead of a row.

The input range is used to search for existing data and find a "table" within that range. Values are appended to the next row of the table, starting with the first column of the table. For example, consider a sheet Sheet1 that looks like:

A B C D E
1 x y z
2 x y z
3
4 x y
5 y z
6 x y z
7

There are two tables in the sheet: A1:C2, and B4:D6. Appended values would begin at B7 for all the following range inputs:

  • Sheet1, because it will examine all the data in the sheet, determine that the table at B4:D6 is the last table.
  • B4 or C5:D5, because they're both in the B4:D6 table.
  • B2:D4, because the last table in the range is the B4:D6 table (despite it also containing the A1:C2 table).
  • A3:G10, because the last table in the range is the B4:D6 table (despite starting before and ending after it).

The following range inputs would not start writing at B7:

  • A1 would start writing at A3, because that's in the A1:C2 table.
  • E4 would start writing at E4, because it's not in any table. (A4 would also start writing at A4 for the same reasons.)

Additionally, you can choose if you want to overwrite existing data after a table or insert new rows for the new data. By default, the input overwrites data after the table. To write the new data into new rows, specify insertDataOption=INSERT_ROWS.

To learn more about cell and row limits in Google Sheets, see Files you can store in Google Drive.