Google Sheets to JSON for websites, apps and configs

Google Sheets is the content management system for a lot of small projects: a product list for a landing page, translations for an app, a schedule for an event site. Developers then need that content as JSON, and copying it by hand every time someone edits a cell does not scale.

Paste the link and get JSON keyed by the header row. For repeated use from code there is the Excel to JSON API, and for flat files try Google Sheets to CSV.

How to convert Google Sheets to JSON in three steps

1. 1Set the spreadsheet to anyone with the link can view.
2. 2Paste the link, choose the tab, header row and JSON shape.
3. 3Convert and download the JSON file.

Getting stable keys and correct types from a Google Sheet

JSON keys come from the header row, so whatever editors type there becomes part of your data contract. A header like Price (USD) with a trailing space is a different key than Price (USD) without it. Enable trim to remove invisible spaces, and agree on short, consistent header names in the sheet so a cosmetic edit does not break the code that reads the file.

Types are where a CSV round trip loses information. Numbers are written as JSON numbers, checkboxes as true or false, empty cells as null and dates as ISO strings when the ISO date format is selected. Values that only look like numbers, such as phone numbers or ZIP codes with a leading zero, stay as strings, which avoids the most common data bug in sheet driven sites.

Merged header cells and multi row headers do not map to flat JSON keys. If your sheet has a grouped header such as Q1 spanning three columns, set the header row to the lower row with the individual names. For files exported from Excel instead of a link, use Excel to JSON, and for XML feeds there is XML to JSON.