Import GTmetrix Data to Google Sheets

In this guide, we’ll walk through how to pull data from the GTmetrix API directly into Google Sheets, using the API Connector add-on for Sheets.

Contents

• Before You Begin
• Part 1: Get Your GTmetrix API Key
• Part 2: Pull GTmetrix API Data into Sheets
• Part 3: API Documentation

Before You Begin

Click here to install the API Connector add-on from the Google Marketplace.

Part 1: Get Your GTmetrix API Key

1. If you haven't already, create an account at https://gtmetrix.com/ and log in
2. Click Account from the dropdown Account menu at the top (or navigate directly to https://gtmetrix.com/dashboard/account)
   
3. On the account page, scroll down and click Generate API Key
   
4. Your key will now be displayed. Copy this to your clipboard as we'll use it right away.
   
5. One last step: Because the GMetrix API requires Basic Authentication, we need to encode our API key to base 64. You can do this by entering your API key into this form.
   
   The encoding script runs in your browser, and none of your credentials are seen or stored by this site.
   Base64 Encode

    

Part 2: Pull GTmetrix API Data into Sheets

GTmetrix uses a credit system, where different API reports require different numbers of credits. You can run a request to any of the endpoints shown in the documentation, but for this example, we'll fetch a Lighthouse page speed report, which costs 1 credit.

Substitute in your own encoded API key where it says your_encoded_key, and modify the request body as needed using the test parameters provided here.

1. Open up Google Sheets and click Extensions > API Connector > Open > Create request.
2. In the request form enter the following to set up the test:
   • Application: Custom
   • Method: POST
   • Request URL: https://gtmetrix.com/api/2.0/tests
   • Headers:
     • Authorization: Basic your_encoded_key
     • Content-Type: application/vnd.api+json
   • Request body: {"data":{"type":"test","attributes":{"url":"https://www.mixedanalytics.com","location":"1","browser":"3","adblock":1,"report":"lighthouse"}}}
3. Create a new tab and click Set current to use that tab as your data destination.
4. Name your request and click Run. A moment later you’ll see response metadata and the report status populate your sheet. This means the report is now in the queue waiting to be run.
   
5. Pay special attention to the value in the links.self field as this is the link to the finalized report. We'll create a new request that plugs this URL into the request URL field. Note that it may take a few minutes for this report to be ready.
   • Application: Custom
   • Method: GET
   • Request URL: https://gtmetrix.com/api/2.0/tests/ZCNe4eOA
   • Headers:
     • Authorization: Basic your_encoded_key
6. You should now see your Lightspeed report results.
   
7. To automate this further, you may want to reference the cell containing the links.self URL, instead of entering it directly. This is convenient as it allows you to dynamically fetch new data without manually updating your request.

Part 3: API Documentation

Official API documentation: https://gtmetrix.com/api/docs/2.0/