Issues with Google Sheets Connector: Limitations and Troubleshooting

Hey Support, I am having trouble getting a solid output from the Google Sheets connector when I use 'Lookup, Add or Update'. At times it seems to stop without notice, consistently run and in this most resent time I have forced run it. It says it has 'added' to the sheet but there is nothing posted to the G-Sheet I am pointing to. I am only looking to send ~500 rows x 9 cols so id hope it wouldn't run out of steam with such a small data set. Are there known limitations of this feature?

11 comments

Channeled
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Yes, there are limitations with Google Sheets integrations. Google imposes a rate limit of 300 read requests per minute per project, which can cause issues when working with larger datasets. When the integration exceeds this limit, Google temporarily blocks further requests until the quota resets (typically after a minute), which might explain why your data isn't appearing in the sheet despite Clay indicating it was added. For your dataset of ~500 rows, this limit could be causing the inconsistent behavior you're experiencing.
Source: Lookup, Add, or Update Row with Google Sheets
Tom M.
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It provides context. How do I resolve this workflow issue? Am I therefore unable send this data set to G-sheets with clay?
Channeled
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Yes, you can send your 500-row dataset to Google Sheets despite rate limits. Try these approaches: 1. Break your data into smaller batches by using conditional runs in Clay to process fewer rows at a time. 2. Add a delay between operations using Google Apps Script with the Utilities.sleep() function if you're comfortable with scripting. 3. Consider using the "Add Row" action instead of "Lookup, Add, or Update" if you're just adding new data. If these solutions don't work, request human assistance for more specific troubleshooting.
Sources: Google Sheets [Clay 101] - Clay University Google Sheets [Clay 101] - Clay University Send Data from Google Sheets to Clay Using a Webhook
Tom M.
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I would like to have a person to confirm that the above suggested is best practice, even with a data set of this size? I have removed the col from my sheet because it was not providing the output I needed.
Tom M.
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Now when I delete the col and swap out 'Lookup, Add or Update' for the 'Add Row' it says 'Row Added' in some cells but nothing is in the target sheet at all.
Bo (.
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Hey! If you’re seeing “Row Added” but nothing shows up in the target Google Sheet, it’s usually because the columns in your Clay table aren’t properly mapped. Here’s what to check: 1. Make sure each column you’re sending has a value—use /column_name references for each mapped field. 2. If you’re using Lookup, Add or Update, turn on the “Add Rows” toggle. 3. Each column header in the G-Sheet needs a matching value in Clay—if not, it may add blank rows or nothing at all. Even with 500 rows × 9 columns, this should work fine—there aren’t hard limitations at that size. Let me know if you’d like help reviewing your setup!
Tom M.
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Hey I don't believe this was the issue - I have come back to the G-sheet this morning and some rows have been written up to three times (Duplicates) in the sheet. And the Add row still has columns 'queued'. I am infering from this that it only runs when I am connected to the web? here is the sheet for reference: https://app.clay.com/workspaces/545513/workbooks/wb_0svzoq0PpURtr8YsGBe/tables/t_0svzotenpxhd6KyWNJg/views/gv_0svzoteP2xNGhemXi5h
LuisArturo
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Hey there Tom thanks for reaching out, sorry for the long delay here, to confirm table does not necessarily need you to be online in order to run. As long as there is a connection when the column is triggered it will finish on it's own. It seems that the column may have had a connection issue here, which is why it sent it out 3 times for some rows.
Tom M.
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I am finding it unusable today too. single cell enrichments are timing out.
Bo (.
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Hey — timeouts usually aren’t platform-wide. Can you point me to the specific rows where you’re seeing this happen? I’ll take a look.
Tom M.
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Hi Bo (. , I was able to run these single cells since I am following the performance latency issue in another thread so feel free to close this.