- PPF Points
- 2,100
Alright, so you wanna hook up Google Sheets to a Telegram bot without selling your soul to Zapier or any other overpriced wizard? Totally doable—and honestly, you’ll get way more flexibility messing with the code yourself. Python and Google’s APIs are your new BFFs here. Once you slap this together, your bot can read and write to sheets, log stuff, pull info, and all sorts of geeky automations—all without relying on sketchy middlemen.
What you’ll need:
Walkthrough time—here’s how this goes, minus the BS:
1. Make your Telegram bot.
- Hit up @BotFather.
- Type /newbot, slam through the prompts, boom—you got yourself a bot and an API token.
2. Fire up Google Sheets API.
- Pop over to Google Cloud Console, make a project.
- In the API Library, search “Google Sheets API” and turn it on like you mean it.
Now, the credentials…
- Find “APIs & Services” > “Credentials.” Smack that “Create Credentials” button, pick “Service Account.”
- After you’re done filling details, make a key (JSON file) in the "Keys" tab. Download it. Hug it. Don’t lose it.
Oh! Almost forgot, you gotta share your Google Sheet with the “service account” email in that JSON file. Make the bot an Editor or it gets a sad face.
3. Install your Python packages:
4. Let’s write some Python. Here’s a dead-simple starter:
What does it do? When some brave soul DMs your bot and smashes /start, boom—their first name and user ID get stuffed into your Google Sheet. Dead simple. Dumber things have gone viral.
Level up ideas:
Security talk (yeah, you gotta):
Who’s using this? Oh, tons of folks: collecting feedback, handling event signups, running budget party RSVPs, organizing chores with roomies… Skies the limit. Basically, if you’ve got data to wrangle and a crowd that lives on Telegram, this trick’s gold.
And that’s it, pretty much—the crash course. If you’re ready to tinker, get your hands dirty. Mess around. Worst case, you break a spreadsheet. Happens to the best of us.
What you’ll need:
- Python 3.x (yep, just plain ol’ Python)
- Telegram Bot API token (get it from @BotFather on Telegram… the dude with the crown)
- A Google Cloud Project (with Sheets API switched ON)
- Service Account credentials: You’ll get a JSON key. Guard that thing with your life—or at least don’t drop it in GitHub.
- Python libraries: python-telegram-bot, gspread, and oauth2client (they’re all on pip)
Walkthrough time—here’s how this goes, minus the BS:
1. Make your Telegram bot.
- Hit up @BotFather.
- Type /newbot, slam through the prompts, boom—you got yourself a bot and an API token.
2. Fire up Google Sheets API.
- Pop over to Google Cloud Console, make a project.
- In the API Library, search “Google Sheets API” and turn it on like you mean it.
Now, the credentials…
- Find “APIs & Services” > “Credentials.” Smack that “Create Credentials” button, pick “Service Account.”
- After you’re done filling details, make a key (JSON file) in the "Keys" tab. Download it. Hug it. Don’t lose it.
Oh! Almost forgot, you gotta share your Google Sheet with the “service account” email in that JSON file. Make the bot an Editor or it gets a sad face.
3. Install your Python packages:
Code:
bash
pip install python-telegram-bot gspread oauth2client
4. Let’s write some Python. Here’s a dead-simple starter:
Code:
python
import logging
from telegram import Update
from telegram.ext import ApplicationBuilder, CommandHandler, ContextTypes
import gspread
from oauth2client.service_account import ServiceAccountCredentials
# Log stuff so you can see what's up
logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO)
scope = ["https://spreadsheets.google.com/feeds", "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive"]
creds = ServiceAccountCredentials.from_json_keyfile_name("path_to_your_json_key.json", scope)
client = gspread.authorize(creds)
sheet = client.open("Your Google Sheet Name").sheet1
BOT_TOKEN = "YOUR_TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN"
async def start(update: Update, context: ContextTypes.DEFAULT_TYPE):
user = update.effective_user
sheet.append_row([user.first_name, user.id])
await update.message.reply_text(f"Hey {user.first_name}, I just logged your data. Nice.")
app = ApplicationBuilder().token(BOT_TOKEN).build()
app.add_handler(CommandHandler("start", start))
app.run_polling()
What does it do? When some brave soul DMs your bot and smashes /start, boom—their first name and user ID get stuffed into your Google Sheet. Dead simple. Dumber things have gone viral.
Level up ideas:
- Make your bot read stuff from Sheets, like checking on user-specific data or showing a task status.
- Build a whole goofy form thing: “What’s your name? Favorite cheese? Zodiac sign?” Save it all, row by row.
- Bussin’ notifications: Set up Google Apps Script to ping the bot when someone tweaks the sheet. Instant alerts. Can’t say no.
Security talk (yeah, you gotta):
- Don’t leave your JSON key sitting around where randos can paw at it.
- Maybe, just maybe—check that the stuff users throw at your bot isn’t going to make your sheet explode (sanitize inputs).
- And, keep an eye on those logs—a bored teenager could do some weird stuff.
Who’s using this? Oh, tons of folks: collecting feedback, handling event signups, running budget party RSVPs, organizing chores with roomies… Skies the limit. Basically, if you’ve got data to wrangle and a crowd that lives on Telegram, this trick’s gold.
And that’s it, pretty much—the crash course. If you’re ready to tinker, get your hands dirty. Mess around. Worst case, you break a spreadsheet. Happens to the best of us.

