Version-pin an Apps Script library so “latest” doesn’t break client scripts
Shared libraries are how bootstrappers stay DRY across client spreadsheets — until someone saves a breaking change and every file on “Head…
10 posts tagged with “safety”
Point your script at staging so you never write prod by accident
Dry Run previews writes. This guide is the other half of safety: which spreadsheet those writes would hit. Keep a Script Property pointer…
Pause a nightly job without deleting the trigger
Deleting a time-driven trigger to "turn off" a nightly job feels clean until Monday when nobody remembers the exact hour, timezone, or…
Safe JSON Parse
JSON.parse throws on garbage — and webhooks, Script Properties, and CacheService strings go garbage more often than we’d like. safeJsonParse…
Debounce Or Skip
onEdit fires for every cell change — paste 40 rows and your automation thrashes. debounceOrSkip uses CacheService as a quiet window: if a…
Get UI Safe
SpreadsheetApp.getUi() only exists when a user has the spreadsheet open. Time-driven and many installable triggers are headless — calling…
Try Lock Or Skip
Time-driven triggers and overlapping edits collide. withScriptLock waits then throws if it can't acquire — great when failure must be loud…
Require a Script Property (fail loud)
Silent null from Script Properties is how staging pointers and API bases "work" until they write nowhere. requireScriptProperty throws with…
Add a Dry Run switch before you write
The scariest line in a bootstrapper is the first setValues against a live client tab. A Dry Run switch lets you rehearse the import: same…
Confirm a Dangerous Action (Yes/No)
Custom menus that Clear, Re-import, or Archive should not fire on a misclick. This thin wrapper around SpreadsheetApp.getUi().alert returns…