Use a Google Sheet as a read backend for Bubble

A sheet Bubble can read without a plugin

Plenty of Bubble apps only need to read some reference data — a catalog, a price list, a set of locations someone maintains in a spreadsheet. Modeling that in Bubble's database means an import step and a sync job to keep it current, and the Google Sheets plugins want OAuth and a Cloud project to boot.

PasteSheet skips all of it. It publishes your sheet as a plain JSON endpoint, and Bubble's built-in API Connector reads it like any other API — no plugin to install, no Google account to authorize. This is a read data layer, not a two-way sync, so the sheet stays the source of truth.

Wire it into the API Connector

Set it up once in the Bubble editor, then reuse the call anywhere:

1. 1 Add the API Connector plugin, then create a new API named PasteSheet.
2. 2 Add a GET call to https://pastesheet.com/your-endpoint/Products and hit Initialize call so Bubble learns each column and its type.
3. 3 Expose sort, per_page, or a filter like status as query parameters so you can filter at runtime.
4. 4 Bind the call's data list to a repeating group — each row's columns are ready to drop into cells. For a private endpoint, add an Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY header.

The response the API Connector reads

The endpoint the connector calls returns typed rows under a data key — point the repeating group at that list:

curl "https://pastesheet.com/your-endpoint/Products?status=live&sort=name&per_page=25"

{
  "data": [
    {
      "sku": "TS-001",
      "name": "Field Notebook",
      "price": 12.5,
      "status": "live"
    }
  ]
}

Read-only, nothing to authorize

Because the endpoint is read-only by design, it is safe to expose publicly or hand to a teammate: consumers can read and query the data but can never change the sheet. And there is no Google Cloud project, OAuth screen, or service account to set up — you paste a share URL and get a live API.

What it costs

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Authorize requests — Google Sheets API — Google
• Service accounts overview — Google Cloud

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