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Full CRUD on Google Sheets via REST API: a complete guide

How to read, create, update, and delete rows in a Google Sheet using a REST API - with real GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE examples in JavaScript, Python, and curl.

Jun 30, 20268 min read

#google-sheets #crud #rest-api #sheets-api #tutorial

What CRUD means for a spreadsheet

In a traditional database, you have tables, rows, and primary keys. In a Google Sheet, the equivalent is simple: the sheet tab is the table, each data row is a record, and the row number is the ID.

The first row is always the header row - those cell values become the field names in every JSON response. A sheet with columns name, email, status, created_at returns objects with exactly those keys.

That mapping makes the four CRUD operations straightforward:

Operation	HTTP method	What it does
Read	GET	Fetch one row or many rows
Create	POST	Append a new row at the end
Update	PUT	Overwrite a specific row by number
Delete	DELETE	Remove a specific row by number

GKit SheetsAPI exposes all four over a standard REST interface - no backend to write, no Apps Script to maintain.

Setup: connect your sheet and get your endpoint

Sign in at GKit with your Google account. Paste a Google Sheets URL. GKit reads the first row of each tab as field names and gives you a base URL in this pattern:

https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets/{userKey}/{sheetName}

{userKey} - the key shown in your dashboard after connecting a sheet
{sheetName} - the tab name exactly as it appears in the spreadsheet (e.g. Contacts, Orders, Products)

All examples below use a sheet called Contacts with columns: name, email, status, created_at.

Authentication

GET requests on public sheets work without auth. POST, PUT, and DELETE always require an API key.

Create a key in the dashboard under API Keys, then pass it as a Bearer token:

Authorization: Bearer sk_live_...

Every code example below includes the header. See the auth guide for key rotation and scoping.

READ - GET requests

All rows

JavaScript

const BASE = "https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets";
const KEY = process.env.GKIT_API_KEY;
 
const res = await fetch(`${BASE}/uk_abc123/Contacts`, {
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${KEY}` },
});
const { data, meta } = await res.json();
// data: [{ name: "Ada", email: "ada@example.com", status: "active", ... }, ...]
// meta: { total: 84, limit: 100, offset: 0 }

Python

import os, requests
 
BASE = "https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets"
KEY = os.environ["GKIT_API_KEY"]
 
resp = requests.get(
    f"{BASE}/uk_abc123/Contacts",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {KEY}"},
)
payload = resp.json()
rows = payload["data"]
meta = payload["meta"]

curl

curl https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets/uk_abc123/Contacts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..."

Filter with search

Use ?search=field:value for a contains match (case-insensitive):

curl "https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets/uk_abc123/Contacts?search=status:active" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..."

const url = new URL(`${BASE}/uk_abc123/Contacts`);
url.searchParams.set("search", "status:active");
const { data } = await fetch(url, {
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${KEY}` },
}).then((r) => r.json());

Exact match

?search_exact=field:value matches the full cell value only:

curl "https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets/uk_abc123/Contacts?search_exact=email:grace@example.com" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..."

Use search_exact when you need to look up a user by email or match a status code precisely.

Pagination

async function getPage(offset = 0, limit = 20) {
  const url = new URL(`${BASE}/uk_abc123/Contacts`);
  url.searchParams.set("limit", String(limit));
  url.searchParams.set("offset", String(offset));
 
  const { data, meta } = await fetch(url, {
    headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${KEY}` },
  }).then((r) => r.json());
 
  return { rows: data, total: meta.total };
}
 
// Page 1
const page1 = await getPage(0, 20);
// Page 2
const page2 = await getPage(20, 20);

params = {"limit": 20, "offset": 0}
resp = requests.get(
    f"{BASE}/uk_abc123/Contacts",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {KEY}"},
    params=params,
)

Sort

Prefix the field name with - for descending order:

# Newest first
curl "https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets/uk_abc123/Contacts?sort=-created_at" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..."
 
# A-Z by name
curl "https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets/uk_abc123/Contacts?sort=name" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..."

Return specific fields

?fields= accepts a comma-separated list. Only those columns come back in each object:

curl "https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets/uk_abc123/Contacts?fields=name,email,status" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..."

Good for bandwidth-sensitive clients - a sheet with 20 columns becomes a tight 3-field payload.

Combine parameters

All query parameters compose cleanly:

const url = new URL(`${BASE}/uk_abc123/Contacts`);
url.searchParams.set("search", "status:active");
url.searchParams.set("sort", "-created_at");
url.searchParams.set("limit", "20");
url.searchParams.set("offset", "0");
url.searchParams.set("fields", "name,email,status");
 
const { data, meta } = await fetch(url, {
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${KEY}` },
}).then((r) => r.json());

curl "https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets/uk_abc123/Contacts?search=status:active&sort=-created_at&limit=20&offset=0&fields=name,email,status" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..."

Single row by number

Row numbers are 1-based. Row 1 is the first data row - the header row is never counted.

const res = await fetch(`${BASE}/uk_abc123/Contacts/3`, {
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${KEY}` },
});
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Row not found: ${res.status}`);
const row = await res.json();
// { name: "Grace Hopper", email: "grace@example.com", status: "active", created_at: "2026-01-15" }

curl https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets/uk_abc123/Contacts/3 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..."

CREATE - POST requests

POST a JSON object whose keys match the column headers. GKit appends a new row at the bottom of the sheet.

Single row

JavaScript

const res = await fetch(`${BASE}/uk_abc123/Contacts`, {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    Authorization: `Bearer ${KEY}`,
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    name: "Margaret Hamilton",
    email: "margaret@example.com",
    status: "active",
    created_at: new Date().toISOString().slice(0, 10),
  }),
});
const created = await res.json();
// { row: 5, name: "Margaret Hamilton", email: "margaret@example.com", ... }

Keys not in your headers are ignored. Missing keys write an empty cell.

Bulk insert

POST an array to append multiple rows in a single request:

const rows = [
  { name: "Alan Turing", email: "alan@example.com", status: "active" },
  { name: "Linus Torvalds", email: "linus@example.com", status: "active" },
  { name: "Guido van Rossum", email: "guido@example.com", status: "inactive" },
];
 
const res = await fetch(`${BASE}/uk_abc123/Contacts`, {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    Authorization: `Bearer ${KEY}`,
  },
  body: JSON.stringify(rows),
});
const result = await res.json();
// { inserted: 3, rows: [...] }

Python

import json, requests, os
 
BASE = "https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets"
KEY = os.environ["GKIT_API_KEY"]
 
new_contact = {
    "name": "Barbara Liskov",
    "email": "barbara@example.com",
    "status": "active",
    "created_at": "2026-06-30",
}
 
resp = requests.post(
    f"{BASE}/uk_abc123/Contacts",
    headers={
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
        "Authorization": f"Bearer {KEY}",
    },
    json=new_contact,
)
print(resp.json())

curl

curl -X POST https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets/uk_abc123/Contacts \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..." \
  -d '{"name":"Bjarne Stroustrup","email":"bjarne@example.com","status":"active","created_at":"2026-06-30"}'

UPDATE - PUT requests

PUT targets a specific row number and overwrites it. Supply the full row object - any field you omit will be written as empty.

Overwrite a row

JavaScript

// Row 3 gets a full replacement
const res = await fetch(`${BASE}/uk_abc123/Contacts/3`, {
  method: "PUT",
  headers: {
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    Authorization: `Bearer ${KEY}`,
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    name: "Grace Hopper",
    email: "grace@example.com",
    status: "inactive",
    created_at: "2026-01-15",
  }),
});
const updated = await res.json();

Python

resp = requests.put(
    f"{BASE}/uk_abc123/Contacts/3",
    headers={
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
        "Authorization": f"Bearer {KEY}",
    },
    json={
        "name": "Grace Hopper",
        "email": "grace@example.com",
        "status": "inactive",
        "created_at": "2026-01-15",
    },
)

curl

curl -X PUT https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets/uk_abc123/Contacts/3 \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..." \
  -d '{"name":"Grace Hopper","email":"grace@example.com","status":"inactive","created_at":"2026-01-15"}'

Partial update pattern

PUT is a full overwrite. To update one field without losing others, read the row first, merge, then write:

async function patchRow(userKey, sheet, row, patch) {
  const current = await fetch(`${BASE}/${userKey}/${sheet}/${row}`, {
    headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${KEY}` },
  }).then((r) => r.json());
 
  const merged = { ...current, ...patch };
 
  return fetch(`${BASE}/${userKey}/${sheet}/${row}`, {
    method: "PUT",
    headers: {
      "Content-Type": "application/json",
      Authorization: `Bearer ${KEY}`,
    },
    body: JSON.stringify(merged),
  }).then((r) => r.json());
}
 
// Only change the status field
await patchRow("uk_abc123", "Contacts", 3, { status: "inactive" });

DELETE - remove a row

DELETE removes the row at the given number. Every row below it shifts up by one - so row 5 becomes row 4 after deleting row 4. If you're iterating and deleting, work from the bottom up or re-fetch the index each time.

JavaScript

const res = await fetch(`${BASE}/uk_abc123/Contacts/3`, {
  method: "DELETE",
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${KEY}` },
});
 
if (res.status === 204) {
  console.log("Row deleted");
} else {
  const err = await res.json();
  throw new Error(err.message);
}

curl

curl -X DELETE https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets/uk_abc123/Contacts/3 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..."

A successful delete returns 204 No Content with no body. Any 4xx response returns JSON with a message field explaining the error.

Output formats

Every GET endpoint accepts a ?format= parameter. The default is json.

Format	Parameter	Content-Type
JSON	`?format=json`	`application/json`
CSV	`?format=csv`	`text/csv`
TSV	`?format=tsv`	`text/tab-separated-values`
XML	`?format=xml`	`application/xml`
JSONP	`?format=jsonp&callback=myFn`	`application/javascript`

All filtering, sorting, and pagination parameters work alongside ?format=:

# CSV export of active contacts sorted by name
curl "https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets/uk_abc123/Contacts?search=status:active&sort=name&format=csv" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..."

// Download as CSV in the browser
const url = new URL(`${BASE}/uk_abc123/Contacts`);
url.searchParams.set("format", "csv");
url.searchParams.set("search", "status:active");
 
const csv = await fetch(url, {
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${KEY}` },
}).then((r) => r.text());

The full format breakdown is in the output formats guide.

Response shape

Every successful GET returns this envelope:

{
  "data": [
    {
      "name": "Ada Lovelace",
      "email": "ada@example.com",
      "status": "active",
      "created_at": "2026-01-01"
    },
    {
      "name": "Grace Hopper",
      "email": "grace@example.com",
      "status": "inactive",
      "created_at": "2026-01-15"
    }
  ],
  "meta": {
    "total": 84,
    "limit": 20,
    "offset": 0
  }
}

meta.total is the count of all rows matching your filters - not just the page you got back. Use it with limit and offset to build pagination controls.

Single-row GET (/Contacts/3) returns the object directly without the envelope:

{
  "name": "Grace Hopper",
  "email": "grace@example.com",
  "status": "inactive",
  "created_at": "2026-01-15"
}

POST and PUT return the written row. DELETE returns 204 No Content.

Rate limits and scaling

SheetsAPI sits in front of the Google Sheets API, which has its own read/write quotas. The current limits:

Read: 60 requests per minute per sheet
Write: 30 requests per minute per sheet

For read-heavy workloads, enable response caching in your dashboard - SheetsAPI caches GET responses for a configurable TTL and serves them without hitting Google's quota. For write-heavy pipelines (bulk imports, webhooks writing many rows), use the bulk POST endpoint rather than looping single-row inserts.

If your use case is genuinely database-scale, read Google Sheets as a database for a realistic ceiling and when to migrate.

Putting it all together

Here is a minimal CRUD client in JavaScript that covers every operation:

const BASE = "https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets";
 
export function sheetsClient(userKey, sheet, apiKey) {
  const headers = () => ({
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    Authorization: `Bearer ${apiKey}`,
  });
 
  return {
    // READ - all rows with optional params
    list(params = {}) {
      const url = new URL(`${BASE}/${userKey}/${sheet}`);
      Object.entries(params).forEach(([k, v]) => url.searchParams.set(k, v));
      return fetch(url, { headers: headers() }).then((r) => r.json());
    },
 
    // READ - single row
    get(row) {
      return fetch(`${BASE}/${userKey}/${sheet}/${row}`, {
        headers: headers(),
      }).then((r) => r.json());
    },
 
    // CREATE - single or array
    create(data) {
      return fetch(`${BASE}/${userKey}/${sheet}`, {
        method: "POST",
        headers: headers(),
        body: JSON.stringify(data),
      }).then((r) => r.json());
    },
 
    // UPDATE - full overwrite
    update(row, data) {
      return fetch(`${BASE}/${userKey}/${sheet}/${row}`, {
        method: "PUT",
        headers: headers(),
        body: JSON.stringify(data),
      }).then((r) => r.json());
    },
 
    // DELETE
    async delete(row) {
      const r = await fetch(`${BASE}/${userKey}/${sheet}/${row}`, {
        method: "DELETE",
        headers: headers(),
      });
      return r.status === 204;
    },
  };
}
 
// Usage
const contacts = sheetsClient("uk_abc123", "Contacts", process.env.GKIT_API_KEY);
 
const { data } = await contacts.list({
  search: "status:active",
  sort: "-created_at",
  limit: "20",
});
const row = await contacts.get(3);
const created = await contacts.create({
  name: "Vint Cerf",
  email: "vint@example.com",
  status: "active",
});
const updated = await contacts.update(3, { ...row, status: "inactive" });
const deleted = await contacts.delete(7);

Where to go next

SheetsAPI product page - full feature list and supported operations
Use cases - form backends, no-code dashboards, CMS, and more
Pricing - free while in beta, no row limits
Dashboard - connect your first sheet
Docs - full API reference
Drive Cleaner - find and remove duplicate files in your Google Drive
About GKit - what we're building and why
Free tools - utilities that work without an account

All posts

Blog

Full CRUD on Google Sheets via REST API: a complete guide

How to read, create, update, and delete rows in a Google Sheet using a REST API - with real GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE examples in JavaScript, Python, and curl.

Jun 30, 20268 min read

#google-sheets #crud #rest-api #sheets-api #tutorial

What CRUD means for a spreadsheet

In a traditional database, you have tables, rows, and primary keys. In a Google Sheet, the equivalent is simple: the sheet tab is the table, each data row is a record, and the row number is the ID.

That mapping makes the four CRUD operations straightforward:

Operation	HTTP method	What it does
Read	GET	Fetch one row or many rows
Create	POST	Append a new row at the end
Update	PUT	Overwrite a specific row by number
Delete	DELETE	Remove a specific row by number

GKit SheetsAPI exposes all four over a standard REST interface - no backend to write, no Apps Script to maintain.

Setup: connect your sheet and get your endpoint

Sign in at GKit with your Google account. Paste a Google Sheets URL. GKit reads the first row of each tab as field names and gives you a base URL in this pattern:

https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets/{userKey}/{sheetName}

{userKey} - the key shown in your dashboard after connecting a sheet
{sheetName} - the tab name exactly as it appears in the spreadsheet (e.g. Contacts, Orders, Products)

All examples below use a sheet called Contacts with columns: name, email, status, created_at.

Authentication

GET requests on public sheets work without auth. POST, PUT, and DELETE always require an API key.

Create a key in the dashboard under API Keys, then pass it as a Bearer token:

Authorization: Bearer sk_live_...

Every code example below includes the header. See the auth guide for key rotation and scoping.

READ - GET requests

All rows

JavaScript

const BASE = "https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets";
const KEY = process.env.GKIT_API_KEY;
 
const res = await fetch(`${BASE}/uk_abc123/Contacts`, {
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${KEY}` },
});
const { data, meta } = await res.json();
// data: [{ name: "Ada", email: "ada@example.com", status: "active", ... }, ...]
// meta: { total: 84, limit: 100, offset: 0 }

Python

import os, requests
 
BASE = "https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets"
KEY = os.environ["GKIT_API_KEY"]
 
resp = requests.get(
    f"{BASE}/uk_abc123/Contacts",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {KEY}"},
)
payload = resp.json()
rows = payload["data"]
meta = payload["meta"]

curl

curl https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets/uk_abc123/Contacts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..."

Filter with search

Use ?search=field:value for a contains match (case-insensitive):

curl "https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets/uk_abc123/Contacts?search=status:active" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..."

const url = new URL(`${BASE}/uk_abc123/Contacts`);
url.searchParams.set("search", "status:active");
const { data } = await fetch(url, {
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${KEY}` },
}).then((r) => r.json());

Exact match

?search_exact=field:value matches the full cell value only:

curl "https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets/uk_abc123/Contacts?search_exact=email:grace@example.com" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..."

Use search_exact when you need to look up a user by email or match a status code precisely.

Pagination

async function getPage(offset = 0, limit = 20) {
  const url = new URL(`${BASE}/uk_abc123/Contacts`);
  url.searchParams.set("limit", String(limit));
  url.searchParams.set("offset", String(offset));
 
  const { data, meta } = await fetch(url, {
    headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${KEY}` },
  }).then((r) => r.json());
 
  return { rows: data, total: meta.total };
}
 
// Page 1
const page1 = await getPage(0, 20);
// Page 2
const page2 = await getPage(20, 20);

params = {"limit": 20, "offset": 0}
resp = requests.get(
    f"{BASE}/uk_abc123/Contacts",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {KEY}"},
    params=params,
)

Sort

Prefix the field name with - for descending order:

# Newest first
curl "https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets/uk_abc123/Contacts?sort=-created_at" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..."
 
# A-Z by name
curl "https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets/uk_abc123/Contacts?sort=name" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..."

Return specific fields

?fields= accepts a comma-separated list. Only those columns come back in each object:

curl "https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets/uk_abc123/Contacts?fields=name,email,status" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..."

Good for bandwidth-sensitive clients - a sheet with 20 columns becomes a tight 3-field payload.

Combine parameters

All query parameters compose cleanly:

const url = new URL(`${BASE}/uk_abc123/Contacts`);
url.searchParams.set("search", "status:active");
url.searchParams.set("sort", "-created_at");
url.searchParams.set("limit", "20");
url.searchParams.set("offset", "0");
url.searchParams.set("fields", "name,email,status");
 
const { data, meta } = await fetch(url, {
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${KEY}` },
}).then((r) => r.json());

curl "https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets/uk_abc123/Contacts?search=status:active&sort=-created_at&limit=20&offset=0&fields=name,email,status" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..."

Single row by number

Row numbers are 1-based. Row 1 is the first data row - the header row is never counted.

const res = await fetch(`${BASE}/uk_abc123/Contacts/3`, {
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${KEY}` },
});
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Row not found: ${res.status}`);
const row = await res.json();
// { name: "Grace Hopper", email: "grace@example.com", status: "active", created_at: "2026-01-15" }

curl https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets/uk_abc123/Contacts/3 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..."

CREATE - POST requests

POST a JSON object whose keys match the column headers. GKit appends a new row at the bottom of the sheet.

Single row

JavaScript

const res = await fetch(`${BASE}/uk_abc123/Contacts`, {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    Authorization: `Bearer ${KEY}`,
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    name: "Margaret Hamilton",
    email: "margaret@example.com",
    status: "active",
    created_at: new Date().toISOString().slice(0, 10),
  }),
});
const created = await res.json();
// { row: 5, name: "Margaret Hamilton", email: "margaret@example.com", ... }

Keys not in your headers are ignored. Missing keys write an empty cell.

Bulk insert

POST an array to append multiple rows in a single request:

const rows = [
  { name: "Alan Turing", email: "alan@example.com", status: "active" },
  { name: "Linus Torvalds", email: "linus@example.com", status: "active" },
  { name: "Guido van Rossum", email: "guido@example.com", status: "inactive" },
];
 
const res = await fetch(`${BASE}/uk_abc123/Contacts`, {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    Authorization: `Bearer ${KEY}`,
  },
  body: JSON.stringify(rows),
});
const result = await res.json();
// { inserted: 3, rows: [...] }

Python

import json, requests, os
 
BASE = "https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets"
KEY = os.environ["GKIT_API_KEY"]
 
new_contact = {
    "name": "Barbara Liskov",
    "email": "barbara@example.com",
    "status": "active",
    "created_at": "2026-06-30",
}
 
resp = requests.post(
    f"{BASE}/uk_abc123/Contacts",
    headers={
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
        "Authorization": f"Bearer {KEY}",
    },
    json=new_contact,
)
print(resp.json())

curl

curl -X POST https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets/uk_abc123/Contacts \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..." \
  -d '{"name":"Bjarne Stroustrup","email":"bjarne@example.com","status":"active","created_at":"2026-06-30"}'

UPDATE - PUT requests

PUT targets a specific row number and overwrites it. Supply the full row object - any field you omit will be written as empty.

Overwrite a row

JavaScript

// Row 3 gets a full replacement
const res = await fetch(`${BASE}/uk_abc123/Contacts/3`, {
  method: "PUT",
  headers: {
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    Authorization: `Bearer ${KEY}`,
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    name: "Grace Hopper",
    email: "grace@example.com",
    status: "inactive",
    created_at: "2026-01-15",
  }),
});
const updated = await res.json();

Python

resp = requests.put(
    f"{BASE}/uk_abc123/Contacts/3",
    headers={
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
        "Authorization": f"Bearer {KEY}",
    },
    json={
        "name": "Grace Hopper",
        "email": "grace@example.com",
        "status": "inactive",
        "created_at": "2026-01-15",
    },
)

curl

curl -X PUT https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets/uk_abc123/Contacts/3 \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..." \
  -d '{"name":"Grace Hopper","email":"grace@example.com","status":"inactive","created_at":"2026-01-15"}'

Partial update pattern

PUT is a full overwrite. To update one field without losing others, read the row first, merge, then write:

async function patchRow(userKey, sheet, row, patch) {
  const current = await fetch(`${BASE}/${userKey}/${sheet}/${row}`, {
    headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${KEY}` },
  }).then((r) => r.json());
 
  const merged = { ...current, ...patch };
 
  return fetch(`${BASE}/${userKey}/${sheet}/${row}`, {
    method: "PUT",
    headers: {
      "Content-Type": "application/json",
      Authorization: `Bearer ${KEY}`,
    },
    body: JSON.stringify(merged),
  }).then((r) => r.json());
}
 
// Only change the status field
await patchRow("uk_abc123", "Contacts", 3, { status: "inactive" });

DELETE - remove a row

JavaScript

const res = await fetch(`${BASE}/uk_abc123/Contacts/3`, {
  method: "DELETE",
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${KEY}` },
});
 
if (res.status === 204) {
  console.log("Row deleted");
} else {
  const err = await res.json();
  throw new Error(err.message);
}

curl

curl -X DELETE https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets/uk_abc123/Contacts/3 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..."

A successful delete returns 204 No Content with no body. Any 4xx response returns JSON with a message field explaining the error.

Output formats

Every GET endpoint accepts a ?format= parameter. The default is json.

Format	Parameter	Content-Type
JSON	`?format=json`	`application/json`
CSV	`?format=csv`	`text/csv`
TSV	`?format=tsv`	`text/tab-separated-values`
XML	`?format=xml`	`application/xml`
JSONP	`?format=jsonp&callback=myFn`	`application/javascript`

All filtering, sorting, and pagination parameters work alongside ?format=:

# CSV export of active contacts sorted by name
curl "https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets/uk_abc123/Contacts?search=status:active&sort=name&format=csv" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..."

// Download as CSV in the browser
const url = new URL(`${BASE}/uk_abc123/Contacts`);
url.searchParams.set("format", "csv");
url.searchParams.set("search", "status:active");
 
const csv = await fetch(url, {
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${KEY}` },
}).then((r) => r.text());

The full format breakdown is in the output formats guide.

Response shape

Every successful GET returns this envelope:

{
  "data": [
    {
      "name": "Ada Lovelace",
      "email": "ada@example.com",
      "status": "active",
      "created_at": "2026-01-01"
    },
    {
      "name": "Grace Hopper",
      "email": "grace@example.com",
      "status": "inactive",
      "created_at": "2026-01-15"
    }
  ],
  "meta": {
    "total": 84,
    "limit": 20,
    "offset": 0
  }
}

meta.total is the count of all rows matching your filters - not just the page you got back. Use it with limit and offset to build pagination controls.

Single-row GET (/Contacts/3) returns the object directly without the envelope:

{
  "name": "Grace Hopper",
  "email": "grace@example.com",
  "status": "inactive",
  "created_at": "2026-01-15"
}

POST and PUT return the written row. DELETE returns 204 No Content.

Rate limits and scaling

SheetsAPI sits in front of the Google Sheets API, which has its own read/write quotas. The current limits:

Read: 60 requests per minute per sheet
Write: 30 requests per minute per sheet

If your use case is genuinely database-scale, read Google Sheets as a database for a realistic ceiling and when to migrate.

Putting it all together

Here is a minimal CRUD client in JavaScript that covers every operation:

const BASE = "https://sheetsapi.gkit.mreshank.com/api/spreadsheets";
 
export function sheetsClient(userKey, sheet, apiKey) {
  const headers = () => ({
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    Authorization: `Bearer ${apiKey}`,
  });
 
  return {
    // READ - all rows with optional params
    list(params = {}) {
      const url = new URL(`${BASE}/${userKey}/${sheet}`);
      Object.entries(params).forEach(([k, v]) => url.searchParams.set(k, v));
      return fetch(url, { headers: headers() }).then((r) => r.json());
    },
 
    // READ - single row
    get(row) {
      return fetch(`${BASE}/${userKey}/${sheet}/${row}`, {
        headers: headers(),
      }).then((r) => r.json());
    },
 
    // CREATE - single or array
    create(data) {
      return fetch(`${BASE}/${userKey}/${sheet}`, {
        method: "POST",
        headers: headers(),
        body: JSON.stringify(data),
      }).then((r) => r.json());
    },
 
    // UPDATE - full overwrite
    update(row, data) {
      return fetch(`${BASE}/${userKey}/${sheet}/${row}`, {
        method: "PUT",
        headers: headers(),
        body: JSON.stringify(data),
      }).then((r) => r.json());
    },
 
    // DELETE
    async delete(row) {
      const r = await fetch(`${BASE}/${userKey}/${sheet}/${row}`, {
        method: "DELETE",
        headers: headers(),
      });
      return r.status === 204;
    },
  };
}
 
// Usage
const contacts = sheetsClient("uk_abc123", "Contacts", process.env.GKIT_API_KEY);
 
const { data } = await contacts.list({
  search: "status:active",
  sort: "-created_at",
  limit: "20",
});
const row = await contacts.get(3);
const created = await contacts.create({
  name: "Vint Cerf",
  email: "vint@example.com",
  status: "active",
});
const updated = await contacts.update(3, { ...row, status: "inactive" });
const deleted = await contacts.delete(7);

Where to go next

SheetsAPI product page - full feature list and supported operations
Use cases - form backends, no-code dashboards, CMS, and more
Pricing - free while in beta, no row limits
Dashboard - connect your first sheet
Docs - full API reference
Drive Cleaner - find and remove duplicate files in your Google Drive
About GKit - what we're building and why
Free tools - utilities that work without an account