How can I create a Google Sheet with a header row for data appending?

Below is an example of how you can create a header row once you've created your spreadsheet. Remember, Google Sheets doesn’t have a dedicated “column header” structure—the header is simply a row (often the first row) that you populate with text. After you create the spreadsheet, you can use the Sheets API’s update or append method to insert the header row. For example, using Node.js and the Google Sheets API, you can update the first row like this:

JSCopied
const {google} = require('googleapis');
const {GoogleAuth} = require('google-auth-library');

async function updateHeaderRow(spreadsheetId, headerValues) {
  const auth = new GoogleAuth({
    scopes: 'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/spreadsheets'
  });

  const service = google.sheets({version: 'v4', auth});
  
  // Define the range where you want to insert headers — typically the first row.
  const range = 'Sheet1!A1';

  // Update the header row (ensure your headerValues is a nested array)
  const resource = {
    values: [headerValues]  // e.g., ['Name', 'Email', 'Age']
  };

  try {
    const res = await service.spreadsheets.values.update({
      spreadsheetId,
      range,
      valueInputOption: 'RAW', // or 'USER_ENTERED' if you need evaluation
      resource,
    });
    console.log('Header row updated:', res.data);
  } catch (err) {
    console.error('Error updating header row:', err);
  }
}

Steps Summary

1. Create the Spreadsheet:
   Use the spreadsheets.create method to create a new spreadsheet. You already have this in place.

2. Define Your Column Headers:
   Decide what keys or headers (e.g., ['Name', 'Email', 'Age']) you want.

3. Insert the Headers:
   Call an API method to update (or append) the header row. The example above uses spreadsheets.values.update with the range targeting the first row (e.g., Sheet1!A1).

4. Append Data:
   Once your header row is in place, you can append your data using the spreadsheets.values.append method and specify insertDataOption as needed.

This approach gives you complete control over your layout since the Google Sheets API treats cell values as generic content—you just need to choose which cells serve as your headers.