Google Sheets to MySQL: 2 Easy Methods for Replication

While Google Sheets does provide some impressive features, the capabilities for more advanced Data Visualization and Querying make the transfer from Google Sheets to MySQL Database a useful exercise. Are you trying to move data from Google Sheets to MySQL to leverage the power of SQL for data analysis, or are you simply looking to back up data from Google Sheets? Whichever is the case, this blog can surely provide some help. 

The article will introduce you to Google Sheets and MySQL Database. Furthermore, it will provide you with 2 easy methods to move data from Google Sheets to MySQL in real-time. Read along to decide which method suits you the best!

Introduction to Google Sheets

Google Sheets is a free web-based spreadsheet program provided by Google. It allows users to create and edit spreadsheets but also, and more importantly, it allows multiple users to collaborate on a single document, seeing your collaborators ’ contributions in real-time simultaneously. It’s part of the Google suite of applications, a collection of free productivity apps owned and maintained by Google.

Despite being free, Google Sheets is a fully functional spreadsheet program, with most of the capabilities and features of more expensive spreadsheet software. Google Sheets is compatible with the most popular spreadsheet formats so that you can continue your work. With Google Sheets, like all Google Drive programs, your files are accessible via computer and/or mobile devices.

To learn more about Google Sheets, visit here.

Introduction to MySQL

Meanwhile, MySQL is an open-source relational database management system or RDMS, and it is managed using Structured Query Language or SQL, hence its name. MySQL was originally developed and owned by Swedish company MySQL AB, but Sun Microsystems acquired MySQL AB in 2008. In turn, Sun Microsystems was then bought by Oracle two years later, making them the present owners of MySQL.

MySQL is a very popular database program that is used in several equally popular systems such as the LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, Perl/PHP/Python), Drupal, and WordPress, just to name a few, and is used by many of the largest and most popular websites, including Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and Youtube. MySQL is also incredibly versatile as it works on various operating systems and system platforms, from Microsoft Windows to Apple MacOS.

At their core, both systems use cells to store, arrange, categorize, organize, analyze, and manipulate data. The only difference is that Google Sheets refers to them as spreadsheets or books (a book contains multiple spreadsheets), whereas MySQL refers to them as tables or databases (a database is a collection of tables). Migrating data from Google Sheets to MySQL database allows users to benefit from the additional power and capabilities of MySQL in gaining insights from said data. MySQL provides greater capacity in bulk editing, the volume of data, and ease in creating custom data sets that answer specific questions using SQL.

Methods to Set up Google Sheets to MySQL Integration

There are several ways that data can be migrated from Google Sheets to MySQL. Out of them, these 2 methods are the most feasible:

Method 1: Using Google Scripts to Set Up Google Sheets to MySQL Integration

This example will explain, how to set up a connection that will create a table and populate it with the data from Google spreadsheets. It is assumed that the data is product listings with 2 columns:

• Product Name
• Product Code

Note: Setting up a connection to a MySQL server requires using JDBC (Java Database Connectivity). If you’d like to take a more in-depth look, here’s the link to Google Apps Script JDBC documentation here

The following steps are required to set up the Google Sheets to MySQL Integration:

• Step 1: To set up a JDBC connection to Google you must first ensure that several IP ranges are added to your SQL server’s whitelist. For the list of IP ranges, see here. 
• Step 2: Obtain the connectivity information for your database. An example would look like this:
  Server: sql.mysite.net
  Name: sql123 Username: sqlabc
  Password: P@$w0rd
  Port Number: 3306
• Step 3: Copy the database details
• Step 4: Go to your Google Sheet and open the Script Editor.
  1. Open Google Sheet file.
  2. Click Tools -> Script Editor.
• Step 5: Name the Script Editor file (e.g. “MySQLConnection”).
• Step 6: Apply the database information
  1. A scripting template (Code. gs) will already be loaded. You may delete the content that’s there (Ctrl+A -> Del).
  2. Paste the new content (the database info) into the Code. gs. 
• Step 7: Modify each line to reflect the format below:  

var server = “sql.mysite.net”
var dbName = “sql123”  
var username: “sqlabc”  
var password: “P@$w0rd”  
var port = 3306 

• Step 8: Create a function to connect Google Sheets to your MySQL database. An example function would be:

function openConnection() {
  var url = “jdbc:mysql://” + server + “:” + port + “/” + dbName;
  var conn = Jdbc.getConnection(url, username, password);
 }

• Step 9: Create a function to write several records from your Google Sheets file to your MySQL database. For example:

function writeRecords() {
 var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet();
 var data = sheet.getDataRange().getValues();

 var stmt = conn.prepareStatement('INSERT INTO products ' +  '(productName, productCode) values (?, ?)');

 for (var i = 0; i < data.length; i++) {
  stmt.setString('Product name: ' + data[i][0]);
  stmt.setString('Product number: ' + data[i][1]);
  stmt.addBatch();
 }
}

• Step 10: Add the function to close the connection.

conn.close();

Run the script by pressing the Run Script icon
Note: The first time you run the script you will be asked to provide authorization to Google.

Limitations and Challenges of Using Google Script Method to Connect Google Sheet to MySQL

• As you can see, this is not the easiest of options. As a matter of fact, unless you are a coder or programmer, this is rather complex. Attempting to connect Google Sheets to MySQL using Google Apps Scripts has all of the issues inherent in programming a small applet: you’d need to find and hire someone who knows how to code, and then, given your particular circumstances, they would have to tweak the code to ensure that it does exactly what you want. That takes time and money as the script would have to be tested and tweaked repeatedly.
• There’s an additional issue with using Google Apps Script. Google has set time limits on script executions. What that means is that if you are attempting to transfer large troves of data, then these transfers may end up being prematurely halted. 
• Moreover, in case you are looking to clean and transform data before you export Google Sheet to MySQL, you will need to build additional code to cater to that. This adds additional engineering overhead.

Method 2: Using Hevo to Set Up Google Sheets to MySQL Integration

Hevo, a No-code Data Pipeline, helps you directly transfer data from Google Sheets and 150+ other data sources to Databases such as MySQL, Data Warehouses, BI tools, or a destination of your choice in a completely hassle-free & automated manner. Hevo is fully managed and completely automates the process of not only loading data from your desired source but also enriching the data and transforming it into an analysis-ready form without having to write a single line of code. Its fault-tolerant architecture ensures that the data is handled securely and consistently with zero data loss.

Hevo takes care of all your data preprocessing needs and lets you focus on key business activities and draw a much more powerful insight on how to generate more leads, retain customers, and take your business to new heights of profitability. It provides a consistent & reliable solution to manage data in real-time and always has analysis-ready data in your desired destination. You can also read our article about Google Sheets to Google Data Studio.

Hevo, a No-code Data Pipeline can help you overcome the shortcomings of the previous approach and move data from Google Sheets to MySQL for absolutely free of cost without writing a single line of code. With Hevo, you can load Google Sheets data to MySQL in 2 simple steps:

• Configure Data Source: To connect Google Sheets with Hevo, log into your Hevo account and configure Google Sheets as a source as shown in the below image. To learn more about configuring Google Sheets as a data source, visit here.

• Configure Destination: To connect MySQL with Hevo, log in to your Hevo account and configure MySQL as a destination as shown in the below image. To learn more details about configuring MySQL as a destination, visit here.

Once completed, Hevo will immediately begin migrating data from Google Sheets to MySQL Database, allowing you access to your data in no time.

Advantages of Using Hevo to Connect Google Sheet to MySQL Database

The relative simplicity of using Hevo as a data pipeline platform, coupled with its reliability and data consistency, takes the difficulty out of data projects.

It was great. All I had to do was do a one-time setup and the pipelines and models worked beautifully. Data was no more the bottleneck

– Abhishek Gadela, Solutions Engineer, Curefit

Conclusion

The blog discussed Google Sheets and MySQL and explained their key features. Also, it provided a detailed explanation of 2 methods to set up your Google Sheets to MySQL integration. The first method using Google Scripts, although effective, is time-consuming and requires a lot of code. You can use Hevo to import data from Google Sheet to MySQL and handle the ETL process.

Visit our Website to Explore Hevo

Hevo helps you directly transfer data from a source of your choice like Google Sheets to a Database like MySQL, Data Warehouse, Business Intelligence tools, or any other desired destination in a fully automated and secure manner without having to write any code and will provide you a hassle-free experience.

Want to take Hevo for a spin? Sign Up for a 14-day free trial and experience the feature-rich Hevo suite firsthand. You can also have a look at the unbeatable pricing that will help you choose the right plan for your business needs.

Share your experience of connecting Google Sheets to MySQL in the comments section below!