How to convert Google spreadsheet's worksheet string id to integer index (GID)?

Question

To export google spreadsheet\'s single worksheet to CSV, integer worksheet index(GID) is required to be passed.

https://spreadsheets.google.com/feeds

Answer 1

I found your question looking for a solution to the same problem, and was surprised that those worksheet IDs actually correspond 1:1 to gids - I originally assumed they were assigned independently, instead of being an exercise in obfuscation.

I was able to find a slightly cleaner solution by reverse-engineering the formula they use to generate worksheet IDs from your table:

worksheetID = (gid xor 31578) encoded in base 36

So, some Python to go from a worksheet ID to gid:

def to_gid(worksheet_id):
    return int(worksheet_id, 36) ^ 31578

This is still dirty, but will work for GIDs higher than 99 without requiring giant tables. At least as long as they don't change the generation logic (which they probably won't, as it would break existing IDs that people already use).