Load Google Sheets Data to a Database Using Embulk

Embulk is an open source bulk data loader. When paired with the CData JDBC Driver for Google Spreadsheets, Embulk easily loads data from Google Sheets to any supported destination. In this article, we explain how to use the CData JDBC Driver for Google Spreadsheets in Embulk to load Google Sheets data to a MySQL dtabase.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Google Sheets data. When you issue complex SQL queries to Google Sheets, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Google Sheets and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations).

Configure a JDBC Connection to Google Sheets Data

Before creating a bulk load job in Embulk, note the installation location for the JAR file for the JDBC Driver (typically C:\Program Files\CData\CData JDBC Driver for Google Spreadsheets\lib).

Embulk supports JDBC connectivity, so you can easily connect to Google Sheets and execute SQL queries. Before creating a bulk load job, create a JDBC URL for authenticating with Google Sheets.

You can connect to a spreadsheet by providing authentication to Google and then setting the Spreadsheet connection property to the name or feed link of the spreadsheet. If you want to view a list of information about the spreadsheets in your Google Drive, execute a query to the Spreadsheets view after you authenticate.

ClientLogin (username/password authentication) has been officially deprecated since April 20, 2012 and is now no longer available. Instead, use the OAuth 2.0 authentication standard. To access Google APIs on behalf on individual users, you can use the embedded credentials or you can register your own OAuth app.

OAuth also enables you to use a service account to connect on behalf of users in a Google Apps domain. To authenticate with a service account, register an application to obtain the OAuth JWT values.

See the Getting Started chapter in the help documentation to connect to Google Sheets from different types of accounts: Google accounts, Google Apps accounts, and accounts using two-step verification.

Built-in Connection String Designer

For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Google Sheets JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

java -jar cdata.jdbc.googlesheets.jar

Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

Below is a typical JDBC connection string for Google Sheets:

jdbc:googlesheets:Spreadsheet=MySheet;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;

Load Google Sheets Data in Embulk

After installing the CData JDBC Driver and creating a JDBC connection string, install the required Embulk plugins.

Install Embulk Input & Output Plugins

1. Install the JDBC Input Plugin in Embulk.
   https://github.com/embulk/embulk-input-jdbc/tree/master/embulk-input-jdbc

embulk gem install embulk-input-jdbc

2. In this article, we use MySQL as the destination database. You can also choose SQL Server, PostgreSQL, or Google BigQuery as the destination using the output Plugins.
   https://github.com/embulk/embulk-output-jdbc/tree/master/embulk-output-mysql

   embulk gem install embulk-output-mysql
   

With the input and output plugins installed, we are ready to load Google Sheets data into MySQL using Embulk.

Create a Job to Load Google Sheets Data

Start by creating a config file in Embulk, using a name like googlesheets-mysql.yml.

1. For the input plugin options, use the CData JDBC Driver for Google Spreadsheets, including the path to the driver JAR file, the driver class (e.g. cdata.jdbc.googlesheets.GoogleSheetsDriver), and the JDBC URL from above
2. For the output plugin options, use the values and credentials for the MySQL database

Sample Config File (googlesheets-mysql.yml)

in:
	type: jdbc
	driver_path: C:\Program Files\CData[product_name] 20xx\lib\cdata.jdbc.googlesheets.jar
	driver_class: cdata.jdbc.googlesheets.GoogleSheetsDriver
	url: jdbc:googlesheets:Spreadsheet=MySheet;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;
	table: "Orders"
out: 
	type: mysql
	host: localhost
	database: DatabaseName
	user: UserId
	password: UserPassword
	table: "Orders"
	mode: insert

After creating the file, run the Embulk job.

embulk run googlesheets-mysql.yml

After running the the Embulk job, find the Salesforce data in the MySQL table.

Load Filtered Google Sheets Data

In addition to loading data directly from a table, you can use a custom SQL query to have more granular control of the data loaded. You can also perform increment loads by setting a last updated column in a SQL WHERE clause in the query field.

in:
	type: jdbc
	driver_path: C:\Program Files\CData[product_name] 20xx\lib\cdata.jdbc.googlesheets.jar
	driver_class: cdata.jdbc.googlesheets.GoogleSheetsDriver
	url: jdbc:googlesheets:Spreadsheet=MySheet;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;
	query: "SELECT Shipcountry, OrderPrice FROM Orders WHERE [RecordId] = 1"
out: 
	type: mysql
	host: localhost
	database: DatabaseName
	user: UserId
	password: UserPassword
	table: "Orders"
	mode: insert

More Information & Free Trial

By using CData JDBC Driver for Google Spreadsheets as a connector, Embulk can integrate Google Sheets data into your data load jobs. And with drivers for more than 200+ other enterprise sources, you can integrate any enterprise SaaS, big data, or NoSQL source as well. Download a 30-day free trial and get started today.