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Authorization

Follow this guide to create a new Google Sheets API credential that will allow Nexla to authenticate to and exchange data with your Google Sheets account using the Google Sheets REST API v4.
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Google Sheets API

Prerequisites​

Before creating a Google Sheets API credential in Nexla, ensure the following requirements are met.

Google Account​

An active Google account with access to the Google Sheets spreadsheets you want to connect is required. If you are accessing spreadsheets owned by a Google Workspace organization or shared with you, ensure your account has the appropriate read or write permissions on the relevant spreadsheets.

Google Sheets API Enabled​

The Google Sheets API must be enabled for the Google Cloud project associated with your OAuth 2.0 credentials. If you are using Nexla's built-in OAuth application, this is already handled for you. If you are configuring your own OAuth client credentials, complete the following steps to enable the API:

  1. Sign in to the Google Cloud Console.

  2. Select your project from the project selector at the top of the page, or click New Project to create a new project.

  3. In the left navigation menu, select APIs & Services > Library.

  4. In the API Library search box, type Google Sheets API and press Enter.

  5. Click the Google Sheets API result, then click Enable to activate it for your project.

If your use case also requires listing or accessing spreadsheet files via Google Drive (for example, searching for spreadsheets by name or accessing files in shared drives), you may also need to enable the Google Drive API in the same Google Cloud project. Navigate to APIs & Services > Library, search for Google Drive API, and click Enable.

Required OAuth 2.0 Scopes​

The Nexla Google Sheets API connector uses OAuth 2.0 to authenticate with the Google Sheets API. During the authorization process, Nexla requests the following access scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/spreadsheets — Full read and write access to all Google Sheets spreadsheets. Required for both source and destination flows that create, update, or delete spreadsheet data.

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/spreadsheets.readonly — Read-only access to all Google Sheets spreadsheets. Sufficient for source-only flows where no write operations are needed.

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.file — Access to only the specific Google Drive files opened or created by the application. A more narrowly scoped alternative for workflows where broad Drive access is not needed.

Google recommends requesting the most narrowly scoped permissions your use case requires. For read-only data ingestion workflows, the spreadsheets.readonly scope provides the minimum necessary access and reduces the permissions granted to the Nexla application. For complete details on available scopes, refer to the Google Sheets API scopes documentation.

Google Workspace Considerations​

If you are using a Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) account, your organization's administrator may need to approve third-party application access before the OAuth flow can complete successfully. If you encounter an authorization error during the OAuth flow, contact your Google Workspace administrator to verify that the Nexla application is permitted to access Google Sheets data for your organization. For additional details, refer to Google's documentation on controlling third-party app access.

Create a Google Sheets API Credential​

  • To create a new Google Sheets API credential, after selecting the data source/destination type, click the Add Credential tile to open the Add New Credential overlay.

Credential Name & Description​

  1. Enter a name for the credential in the Credential Name field and a short, meaningful description in the Credential Description field.

    Resource descriptions are recommended but are not required. They should be used to provide information about the resource purpose, data freshness, etc. that can help the owner and other users efficiently understand and utilize the resource.

Authorize with Google​

The Google Sheets API connector uses OAuth 2.0, which means you authorize Nexla to access your Google Sheets account directly through Google's secure authorization flow. Your Google account password is never shared with Nexla.

  1. Click the Authorize button to initiate the OAuth 2.0 authorization flow. A new browser window will open, directing you to the Google sign-in page.

  2. Sign in with the Google account that has access to the Google Sheets spreadsheets you want to connect. If you are already signed in to multiple Google accounts, select the appropriate account from the list.

  3. Review the permissions that Nexla is requesting on the Google consent screen, and click Allow to grant access. Google will redirect you back to Nexla once authorization is complete.

    The OAuth 2.0 authorization flow is managed entirely by Google. Nexla does not have access to your Google account password. The authorization grants Nexla a secure, scoped token that allows it to access Google Sheets data on your behalf. This access can be revoked at any time by visiting your Google Account permissions page, finding the Nexla application, and selecting Remove Access.

Save the Credential​

  1. Once all of the relevant steps in the above sections have been completed, click the Save button at the bottom of the overlay to save the configured credential.

  2. The newly added credential will now appear in a tile on the Authenticate screen during data source/destination creation and can be selected for use with a new data source or destination.