How can I auto-add headers to a new Google Sheet in n8n?

When using the Google Sheets node in n8n, the node expects a header row in the sheet so that it can match incoming data fields with the corresponding columns. Since a newly created sheet won’t have any headers by default, you need to add the header row by yourself. Here are a couple of ways you can resolve this issue:

1. Append a Header Row Immediately After Creating the Sheet
After using the Create Sheet (or Create Spreadsheet) node, add an Append Row node (or even use a Code or Set node followed by an Append Row node) to write a header row to the sheet. This header row should list all the column names you want to use later for mapping your incoming data.

For example, if your leads have fields like name, email, and phone, you could configure your Append Row node to insert this row:

JSONCopied
{
  "name": "name",
  "email": "email",
  "phone": "phone"
}

Once the header row is in place, subsequent use of the Append Row node configured with “Map Automatically” will match the incoming lead data against these headers.

2. Use a Code Node to Insert Headers
If you prefer more control or need to do some dynamic header generation, you can also utilize a Code node to format a header array and then append it to the newly created sheet using the Google Sheets API.

Additional Notes:

• The Google Sheets node treats the first row of a sheet as the header row and does not include it when reading rows.
• There currently isn’t an option in the create sheet node to automatically generate and add headers during sheet creation, so this manual step is necessary.

By adding the header row right after creating your sheet, your workflow can then continue to append lead data correctly and match the corresponding columns automatically.

If you need further clarification specific to the Google Sheets node configuration, feel free to ask!