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Python Data Loading from Google Sheets to MotherDuck with dlt

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This page provides technical documentation on how to load data from Google Sheets to MotherDuck using an open-source Python library called dlt. Google Sheets is a cloud-based platform that allows you to create and edit spreadsheets online, offering real-time, secure sharing from any device. On the other hand, MotherDuck is an in-process analytical database known as DuckDB, which offers a feature-rich SQL dialect and deep integrations into client APIs. The dlt library serves as a bridge, facilitating the data transfer from Google Sheets to MotherDuck. For more details about Google Sheets, you can visit here.

dlt Key Features​

  • Fetching data from the GitHub API: This tutorial guides you through the process of loading data from the GitHub API into DuckDB using the dlt library.
  • Managing Data Loading Behaviors: Learn how to manage and understand data loading behaviors such as appending or replacing data in this section of the tutorial.
  • Incremental Loading and Deduplication: This guide shows you how to incrementally load new data and deduplicate existing data, optimizing your data pipeline.
  • Dynamic Data Fetching and Code Redundancy Reduction: Learn how to make your data fetch more dynamic and reduce code redundancy in this section of the tutorial.
  • Securely Handling Secrets: This guide provides best practices for securely handling secrets in your data pipeline.

Getting started with your pipeline locally​

0. Prerequisites​

dlt requires Python 3.8 or higher. Additionally, you need to have the pip package manager installed, and we recommend using a virtual environment to manage your dependencies. You can learn more about preparing your computer for dlt in our installation reference.

1. Install dlt​

First you need to install the dlt library with the correct extras for MotherDuck:

pip install "dlt[motherduck]"

The dlt cli has a useful command to get you started with any combination of source and destination. For this example, we want to load data from Google Sheets to MotherDuck. You can run the following commands to create a starting point for loading data from Google Sheets to MotherDuck:

# create a new directory
mkdir my-google_sheets-pipeline
cd my-google_sheets-pipeline
# initialize a new pipeline with your source and destination
dlt init google_sheets motherduck
# install the required dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

The last command will install the required dependencies for your pipeline. The dependencies are listed in the requirements.txt:

google-api-python-client
dlt[motherduck]>=0.3.25

You now have the following folder structure in your project:

my-google_sheets-pipeline/
├── .dlt/
│   ├── config.toml          # configs for your pipeline
│   └── secrets.toml         # secrets for your pipeline
├── google_sheets/                   # folder with source specific files
│   └── ...
├── google_sheets_pipeline.py        # your main pipeline script
├── requirements.txt         # dependencies for your pipeline
└── .gitignore               # ignore files for git (not required)

2. Configuring your source and destination credentials​

The dlt cli will have created a .dlt directory in your project folder. This directory contains a config.toml file and a secrets.toml file that you can use to configure your pipeline:

config.toml​

# put your configuration values here

[runtime]
log_level="WARNING"  # the system log level of dlt
# use the dlthub_telemetry setting to enable/disable anonymous usage data reporting, see https://dlthub.com/docs/telemetry
dlthub_telemetry = true

[sources.google_sheets]
spreadsheet_url_or_id = "spreadsheet_url_or_id" # please set me up!
range_names = 
["a", "b", "c"] # please set me up!

secrets.toml​

# put your secret values and credentials here. do not share this file and do not push it to github

[sources.google_sheets.credentials]
client_id = "client_id" # please set me up!
client_secret = "client_secret" # please set me up!
refresh_token = "refresh_token" # please set me up!
project_id = "project_id" # please set me up!

[destination.motherduck.credentials]
database = "database" # please set me up!
password = "password" # please set me up!
Further help setting up your source and destinations

Please consult the detailed setup instructions for the MotherDuck destination in the dlt destinations documentation.

Likewise you can find the setup instructions for Google Sheets source in the dlt verifed sources documentation.

3. Running your pipeline for the first time​

The dlt cli has also created a main pipeline script for you at google_sheets_pipeline.py, as well as a folder google_sheets that contains additional python files for your source. These files are your local copies which you can modify to fit your needs. In some cases you may find that you only need to do small changes to your pipelines or add some configurations, in other cases these files can serve as a working starting point for your code, but will need to be adjusted to do what you need them to do.

The main pipeline script will look something like this:

from typing import Sequence

import dlt

from google_sheets import google_spreadsheet


def load_pipeline_with_ranges(
    spreadsheet_url_or_id: str, range_names: Sequence[str]
) -> None:
    """
    Loads explicitly passed ranges
    """
    pipeline = dlt.pipeline(
        pipeline_name="google_sheets_pipeline",
        destination='motherduck',
        full_refresh=True,
        dataset_name="test",
    )
    data = google_spreadsheet(
        spreadsheet_url_or_id=spreadsheet_url_or_id,
        range_names=range_names,
        get_sheets=False,
        get_named_ranges=False,
    )
    info = pipeline.run(data)
    print(info)


def load_pipeline_with_sheets(spreadsheet_url_or_id: str) -> None:
    """
    Will load all the sheets in the spreadsheet, but it will not load any of the named ranges in the spreadsheet.
    """
    pipeline = dlt.pipeline(
        pipeline_name="google_sheets_pipeline",
        destination='motherduck',
        full_refresh=True,
        dataset_name="sample_google_sheet_data",
    )
    data = google_spreadsheet(
        spreadsheet_url_or_id=spreadsheet_url_or_id,
        get_sheets=True,
        get_named_ranges=False,
    )
    info = pipeline.run(data)
    print(info)


def load_pipeline_with_named_ranges(spreadsheet_url_or_id: str) -> None:
    """
    Will not load the sheets in the spreadsheet, but it will load all the named ranges in the spreadsheet.
    """
    pipeline = dlt.pipeline(
        pipeline_name="google_sheets_pipeline",
        destination='motherduck',
        full_refresh=True,
        dataset_name="sample_google_sheet_data",
    )
    data = google_spreadsheet(
        spreadsheet_url_or_id=spreadsheet_url_or_id,
        get_sheets=False,
        get_named_ranges=True,
    )
    info = pipeline.run(data)
    print(info)


def load_pipeline_with_sheets_and_ranges(spreadsheet_url_or_id: str) -> None:
    """
    Will load all the sheets in the spreadsheet and all the named ranges in the spreadsheet.
    """
    pipeline = dlt.pipeline(
        pipeline_name="google_sheets_pipeline",
        destination='motherduck',
        full_refresh=True,
        dataset_name="sample_google_sheet_data",
    )
    data = google_spreadsheet(
        spreadsheet_url_or_id=spreadsheet_url_or_id,
        get_sheets=True,
        get_named_ranges=True,
    )
    info = pipeline.run(data)
    print(info)


def load_with_table_rename_and_multiple_spreadsheets(
    spreadsheet_url_or_id: str, range_names: Sequence[str]
) -> None:
    """Demonstrates how to load two spreadsheets in one pipeline and how to rename tables"""

    pipeline = dlt.pipeline(
        pipeline_name="google_sheets_pipeline",
        destination='motherduck',
        full_refresh=True,
        dataset_name="sample_google_sheet_data",
    )

    # take data from spreadsheet 1
    data = google_spreadsheet(
        spreadsheet_url_or_id=spreadsheet_url_or_id,
        range_names=[range_names[0]],
        get_named_ranges=False,
    )

    # take data from spreadsheet 2
    data_2 = google_spreadsheet(
        spreadsheet_url_or_id=spreadsheet_url_or_id,
        range_names=[range_names[1]],
        get_named_ranges=False,
    )
    # apply the table name to the existing resource: the resource name is the name of the range
    data.resources[range_names[0]].apply_hints(table_name="first_sheet_data")
    data_2.resources[range_names[1]].apply_hints(table_name="second_sheet_data")

    # load two spreadsheets
    info = pipeline.run([data, data_2])
    print(info)
    # yes the tables are there
    user_tables = pipeline.default_schema.data_tables()
    # check if table is there
    assert {t["name"] for t in user_tables} == {
        "first_sheet_data",
        "second_sheet_data",
        "spreadsheet_info",
    }


if __name__ == "__main__":
    url_or_id = "1HhWHjqouQnnCIZAFa2rL6vT91YRN8aIhts22SUUR580"
    range_names = ["hidden_columns_merged_cells", "Blank Columns"]

    load_pipeline_with_ranges(url_or_id, range_names)
    load_pipeline_with_sheets(url_or_id)
    load_pipeline_with_named_ranges(url_or_id)
    load_pipeline_with_sheets_and_ranges(url_or_id)
    load_with_table_rename_and_multiple_spreadsheets(url_or_id, range_names)

Provided you have set up your credentials, you can run your pipeline like a regular python script with the following command:

python google_sheets_pipeline.py

4. Inspecting your load result​

You can now inspect the state of your pipeline with the dlt cli:

dlt pipeline google_sheets_pipeline info

You can also use streamlit to inspect the contents of your MotherDuck destination for this:

# install streamlit
pip install streamlit
# run the streamlit app for your pipeline with the dlt cli:
dlt pipeline google_sheets_pipeline show

5. Next steps to get your pipeline running in production​

One of the beauties of dlt is, that we are just a plain Python library, so you can run your pipeline in any environment that supports Python >= 3.8. We have a couple of helpers and guides in our docs to get you there:

The Deploy section will show you how to deploy your pipeline to​

  • Deploy with Github Actions: dlt can be deployed using Github Actions. This CI/CD runner allows you to automate your pipeline deployment process.
  • Deploy with Airflow: You can also deploy dlt with Airflow. This tool allows you to programmatically author, schedule, and monitor workflows.
  • Deploy with Google Cloud Functions: dlt supports deployment with Google Cloud Functions. This serverless execution environment allows you to build and connect cloud services with code.
  • Other Deployment Options: There are other ways to deploy dlt as well. Check out the documentation for more information.

The running in production section will teach you about:​

  • Monitoring your Pipeline: dlt allows you to monitor your pipeline in real-time, providing insights into the pipeline's performance and data flow. You can monitor the overall health of your pipeline, track data processing, and identify any potential issues. Learn more about how to monitor your pipeline here.
  • Setting up Alerts: With dlt, you can set up alerts to notify you of any issues or changes in your pipeline. This proactive approach allows you to address any problems as soon as they arise, ensuring the smooth operation of your data pipeline. Learn more about how to set up alerts here.
  • Setting up Tracing: Tracing in dlt provides detailed information about the execution of your pipeline. It helps you understand the flow of data through your pipeline and identify any bottlenecks or points of failure. Learn more about how to set up tracing here.

Additional pipeline guides​

This demo works on codespaces. Codespaces is a development environment available for free to anyone with a Github account. You'll be asked to fork the demo repository and from there the README guides you with further steps.
The demo uses the Continue VSCode extension.

Off to codespaces!

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