Query Google Sheets Data as a SQL Server Database in Node.js

You can use CData Connect Cloud to query Google Sheets data through a SQL Server interface. Follow the procedure below to create a virtual database for Google Sheets in Connect Cloud and start querying using Node.js.

CData Connect Cloud provides a pure MySQL, cloud-to-cloud interface for Google Sheets, allowing you to easily query live Google Sheets data in Node.js — without replicating the data to a natively supported database. As you query data in Node.js, CData Connect Cloud pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Google Sheets, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Google Sheets data.

Configure Google Sheets Connectivity for NodeJS

Connectivity to Google Sheets from NodeJS is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with Google Sheets data from NodeJS, we start by creating and configuring a Google Sheets connection.

1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

2. Select "Google Sheets" from the Add Connection panel

3. Google Sheets uses OAuth to authenticate. Click "Sign in" to authenticate with Google Sheets.
4. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Google Sheets Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect Cloud through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect Cloud. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect Cloud app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to Google Sheets data from Node.js.

Query Google Sheets from Node.js

The following example shows how to define a connection and execute queries to Google Sheets with the SQL Server module. You will need the following information:

• server: tds.cdata.com
• port: 14333
• user: a Connect Cloud user (e.g. [email protected])
• password: the PAT for the above user
• database: The connection you configured for Google Sheets (GoogleSheets1)

Connect to Google Sheets data and start executing queries with the code below:

var sql = require('mssql')
var config = {
	server: 'tds.cdata.com',
	port: 14333, 
	user: '[email protected]', //update me
	password: 'CONNECT_USER_PAT', //update me	
	options: {
		encrypt: true,
		database: 'GoogleSheets1'
	}
}

sql.connect(config, err => { 
    if(err){
        throw err ;
    }
    new sql.Request().query('SELECT * FROM Orders', (err, result) => {
        console.dir(result)
    })
        
});

sql.on('error', err => {
    console.log("SQL Error: " ,err);
})