Claude Prompt Library

Google Sheets Workflows Claude Reasons Through

20 copy-paste prompts

20 Claude prompts for QUERY functions, Apps Script automations, data cleaning pipelines, and the multi-step Google Sheets problems where Claude's structured thinking helps.

Formulas & QUERY

5 prompts

QUERY Function Builder

1/20

<task>Write Google Sheets QUERY for [need]</task> <data_location>[range]</data_location> <columns>[describe]</columns> <output> 1. QUERY with SELECT/WHERE/GROUP BY/ORDER BY/LIMIT 2. Explain each clause 3. Dynamic inputs via concat 4. Non-QUERY alternative with FILTER/SORT 5. When QUERY beats pivot </output>

Builds SQL-like QUERY formulas with clauses explained and dynamic inputs.

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Pro tip: QUERY is Sheets' secret weapon — essentially SQL inside a cell. Learn SELECT/WHERE/GROUP BY and you replace 80% of complex formulas.

ARRAYFORMULA Rewriter

2/20

<task>Convert dragged formula to ARRAYFORMULA</task> <formula>[paste]</formula> <range>[describe]</range> <output> 1. Single ARRAYFORMULA 2. How spill works 3. Functions that don't vectorize 4. Performance vs dragged </output>

Rewrites dragged formulas into single ARRAYFORMULA cells with spill explanation.

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Pro tip: ARRAYFORMULA replaces 1,000 dragged cells with 1 cell. Maintainability skyrockets, performance improves, doesn't break when new rows add.

Complex Formula Builder

3/20

<task>Build Google Sheets formula for [calculation]</task> <data>[describe]</data> <edge_cases>[blanks, errors]</edge_cases> <output> 1. Formula in Sheets syntax 2. Each part explained 3. IFERROR wrapping 4. ARRAYFORMULA version if helpful </output>

Builds complex Sheets formulas with error handling and ARRAYFORMULA options.

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Pro tip: Sheets formulas differ subtly from Excel — comma vs semicolon by locale, different array behavior. Specify locale if you hit syntax errors.

Advanced Lookup

4/20

<task>Build advanced lookup for [scenario]</task> <output> 1. XLOOKUP / FILTER / INDEX-MATCH as appropriate 2. Fallback for missing matches 3. Case sensitivity handling 4. Performance notes for large data </output>

Builds multi-criteria lookups with fallback logic and performance notes.

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Pro tip: VLOOKUP in Sheets is obsolete. XLOOKUP handles errors better, works any direction. Switching is the biggest readability upgrade you can make.

IMPORTRANGE Setup

5/20

<task>Set up IMPORTRANGE between [source] and [target]</task> <output> 1. Formula 2. Authorization flow 3. Error handling 4. Rate limits 5. Apps Script alternative for reliability </output>

Sets up IMPORTRANGE with authorization, errors, and Apps Script alternatives.

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Pro tip: IMPORTRANGE breaks silently on renames/permissions. For critical sheets, use Apps Script copy instead. One-click convenience isn't worth silent breakage.

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Apps Script

5 prompts

Apps Script Generator

6/20

<task>Write Apps Script for [purpose]</task> <sheet_structure>[describe]</sheet_structure> <trigger>[manual / onEdit / time-driven]</trigger> <output> 1. Complete script with comments 2. Authorization scopes 3. Trigger setup 4. Error handling + logging 5. Dry-run test </output>

Generates Apps Script with scopes, triggers, error handling, and test modes.

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Pro tip: Apps Script is Sheets' VBA, but cloud-native. Claude writes defensive scripts with try/catch + logging — far safer than most tutorial examples.

Custom Menu / Sidebar

7/20

<task>Build custom menu for my sheet</task> <menu_items>[list]</menu_items> <output> 1. onOpen() function 2. Each action as function 3. Sidebar HTML if needed 4. Installation instructions </output>

Builds custom menus turning Sheets into apps for non-technical users.

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Pro tip: Custom menus make Sheets feel like apps. 20 minutes saves 100 "how do I run this?" questions from teammates.

Email Automation

8/20

<task>Automate emails from sheet</task> <use_case>[describe]</use_case> <output> 1. MailApp/GmailApp script 2. Template with variable substitution 3. Quota management 4. Dry-run via logs 5. Kill-switch </output>

Automates sheet-driven emails with templates, quotas, and dry-run mode.

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Pro tip: Apps Script has 100-email quota on free / 1,500 on Workspace. Always dry-run first — one buggy script can blast your whole contact list.

Scheduled Refresh

9/20

<task>Build scheduled refresh script</task> <source>[API / sheet / system]</source> <schedule>[describe]</schedule> <output> 1. Fetch/sync logic 2. Time trigger 3. Error notifications 4. Data archival 5. Rate limit handling </output>

Builds scheduled refresh scripts with notifications, archival, and rate limits.

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Pro tip: Scheduled scripts fail silently are worse than no automation. Always wrap in try/catch + email on failure. Knowing it broke beats the automation itself.

Two-Way Sync

10/20

<task>Design two-way sync between [A] and [B]</task> <fields>[list]</fields> <output> 1. Source of truth per scenario 2. Apps Script for both directions 3. Unique ID strategy 4. Conflict resolution 5. Audit log </output>

Designs two-way sync with conflict resolution, unique IDs, and audit logs.

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Pro tip: Two-way sync is hard. Conflicts and deletions bite fast. If one side can be read-only, pick one-way. Only go two-way when truly necessary.

Data Transformation

5 prompts

REGEX Data Cleaner

11/20

<task>Clean messy data with REGEX</task> <samples>[paste 5-10 rows]</samples> <issues>[describe]</issues> <output> 1. Cleaning sequence 2. REGEXEXTRACT/REGEXREPLACE formulas 3. ARRAYFORMULA application 4. Verification QUERY </output>

Cleans messy data with REGEX wrapped in ARRAYFORMULA for bulk application.

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Pro tip: REGEX unlocks most cleanup tasks — extracting emails from paragraphs, phone numbers from strings, dates from text. 30 minutes learning regex pays back 100×.

Duplicate Handling

12/20

<task>Handle duplicates in [range]</task> <definition>[exact / fuzzy]</definition> <output> 1. QUERY/formula to flag duplicates 2. Merge strategy 3. Near-match handling 4. Output to clean sheet (preserve original) 5. Auto-dedupe script option </output>

Detects and handles duplicates with flagging, merge strategy, and non-destructive output.

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Pro tip: Never delete duplicates from original data. Copy to clean sheet first. Saves you when "those weren't duplicates" conversations happen.

Transformation Pipeline

13/20

<task>Build data pipeline from raw to analysis-ready</task> <raw>[describe]</raw> <target>[describe]</target> <output> 1. Transformations in order 2. Method per step 3. Sheet layout (Raw → Staging → Clean → Analysis) 4. Validation between stages 5. Refresh instructions </output>

Builds multi-stage data pipelines with validation checkpoints and sheet layout.

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Pro tip: "One sheet per stage" is the winning pattern. Raw → Staging → Clean → Analysis. Mixing stages in one sheet makes debugging impossible.

Form Response Processor

14/20

<task>Process Google Form submissions</task> <fields>[list]</fields> <actions>[auto-categorize / route / email]</actions> <output> 1. Response sheet formulas 2. onFormSubmit trigger 3. Conditional routing logic 4. Confirmation email 5. Dashboard summary </output>

Processes Form responses with categorization, routing, and dashboard automation.

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Pro tip: Forms + Sheets + Apps Script = free CRM / helpdesk / registration. Before paying SaaS, check if this combo solves 80% of your need. Usually does.

Performance Optimization

15/20

<task>Optimize slow Sheet</task> <size>[rows × cols]</size> <symptoms>[describe]</symptoms> <output> 1. Slow elements identified 2. Volatile formula replacements 3. When to split sheets 4. When to move to BigQuery Connected </output>

Optimizes slow Sheets with formula replacement and BigQuery migration recommendations.

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Pro tip: Sheets comfortable max is ~5M cells. Past 1M rows, move to BigQuery + Connected Sheets. Keep UX; gain database performance.

Dashboards & Sharing

5 prompts

Interactive Dashboard

16/20

<task>Build dashboard in Sheets</task> <purpose>[describe]</purpose> <output> 1. Tab layout 2. KPI formulas / QUERY 3. Drop-down slicers with FILTER/QUERY 4. Chart design 5. Mobile view notes </output>

Builds interactive Sheet dashboards with drop-down slicers and mobile-safe design.

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Pro tip: Sheets lacks native slicers, but drop-downs + FILTER/QUERY approximate them. 90% as good, 100% as free.

BigQuery Connected Sheets

17/20

<task>Set up Connected Sheets with BigQuery</task> <use_case>[describe]</use_case> <output> 1. BigQuery prep 2. Connection setup 3. Pivot/chart behavior 4. Refresh scheduling 5. Cost considerations </output>

Sets up Connected Sheets with BigQuery for massive-data analysis in Sheet UX.

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Pro tip: Connected Sheets is Google's best-kept Workspace secret. Analyze billions of rows in pivot tables. If your company uses BigQuery, this is non-negotiable.

Sheet Governance

18/20

<task>Design governance for shared sheet</task> <team_size>[number]</team_size> <issues>[describe]</issues> <output> 1. Protected ranges strategy 2. Permission tiers 3. Named versions workflow 4. Edit alerts 5. "How to use" tab </output>

Sets up sheet governance with protection, permissions, and audit processes.

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Pro tip: Shared sheets without governance become graveyards. Lock formulas, open input ranges, name critical versions. 1 hour saves 100 broken-formula mysteries.

Slides Report Generator

19/20

<task>Automate Slides from Sheet data</task> <output> 1. Apps Script reading sheet + writing Slides 2. Template with {{variable}} placeholders 3. Chart insertion (linked vs pasted) 4. Trigger + email delivery </output>

Automates Slides deck creation from Sheet data with template placeholders.

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Pro tip: Weekly executive decks that took hours become one-click buttons. Template once, automate once, save forever.

Mail Merge to Docs

20/20

<task>Build mail merge Sheet → Docs/PDF</task> <use_case>[contracts / invoices / letters]</use_case> <output> 1. Apps Script generating one Doc per row 2. Placeholder replacement 3. File naming + folder organization 4. PDF conversion 5. Email delivery </output>

Builds Sheet-to-Docs mail merge with placeholders, organization, and delivery.

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Pro tip: Paid mail-merge tools charge $10-50/month for what Apps Script does free. Learn the pattern once, generate thousands of personalized docs in minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Claude's step-by-step reasoning handles complex QUERY formulas, Apps Script debugging, and multi-step data transformations particularly well. It's also good at writing defensive Apps Script with proper error handling.
Yes, very reliably — with proper error handling, authorization scopes, and trigger setup. Always test in a copy first. Claude's defensive coding style prevents most runtime failures.
Particularly strong at QUERY — Claude thinks in structured SQL-like terms naturally. For complex QUERY formulas with multiple clauses, Claude outperforms quick references.
ARRAYFORMULA for applying a formula across a range. LAMBDA (via Name Manager) for reusable custom functions. Most power users combine both — ARRAYFORMULA wrapping LAMBDA calls.
Over 1M rows or multi-million-cell sheets. Connected Sheets keeps Sheet UX but moves computation to BigQuery. The migration is easier than most think — often an afternoon's work.

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