Weekly MySQL Database Backup to Google Sheets

Overview

This workflow automatically exports data from a MySQL database table into a Google Sheet on a weekly schedule. It's perfect for creating regular backups of critical database tables, generating weekly reports for stakeholders, or maintaining an audit trail of database changes without manual intervention.

The workflow runs every week at 5:00 AM (server time), queries a MySQL database using a custom SQL statement, and appends the results to a specified Google Sheet. This eliminates the need for manual exports and ensures your data is consistently backed up in an accessible format.

Workflow Steps

1. Cron — Schedule Trigger (No auth)

   • Runs the workflow every week at 5:00 AM (hour: 5, mode: everyWeek)
   • No authentication required as it's a built-in trigger

2. MySQL - select — MySQL Database Node (Database credentials required)

   • Executes the query: SELECT * FROM books;
   • Operation: executeQuery — runs a raw SQL query against your MySQL database
   • Requires MySQL connection credentials (host, port, database name, username, password)

3. Google Sheets - write — Google Sheets Node (OAuth2 authentication)

   • Operation: append — adds new rows to the end of the specified sheet
   • Sheet ID: qwertz (you must replace this with your actual Google Sheet ID)
   • Uses OAuth2 authentication to connect to Google Sheets
   • No additional options configured

Setup Instructions

Prerequisites

1. MySQL Database — You need access to a MySQL database with the books table (or modify the query for your table)
2. Google Account — A Google account with access to Google Sheets
3. n8n Instance — Running n8n (self-hosted or cloud)

Configuration Steps

1. MySQL Credentials

   • In n8n, create a new MySQL credential
   • Enter your database host, port (default 3306), database name, username, and password
   • Test the connection to ensure it works

2. Google Sheets Credentials

   • Create a Google Sheets OAuth2 credential in n8n
   • Follow the OAuth2 setup flow to authorize n8n to access your Google Sheets
   • Ensure the credential has access to the sheet you want to use

3. Update Node Parameters

   • Replace qwertz in the Google Sheets node with your actual Sheet ID (found in the sheet URL: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/YOUR_SHEET_ID/edit)
   • Modify the SQL query in the MySQL node if you want to select different columns or tables
   • Optionally, add a sheet name in the options if you want to write to a specific tab

Use Cases & Variations

Common Use Cases

• Weekly sales reports — Export orders or transactions from MySQL to a shared Google Sheet
• Inventory backups — Regularly backup product inventory data
• User activity logs — Archive user actions or login records
• Financial audits — Maintain an append-only log of financial transactions

Possible Adaptations

• Change schedule — Modify the Cron node to run daily, monthly, or at a specific time
• Filter data — Update the SQL query to select only recent records (e.g., WHERE created_at > NOW() - INTERVAL 7 DAY)
• Multiple tables — Add more MySQL nodes to export different tables in sequence
• Data transformation — Insert a Function or Set node between MySQL and Google Sheets to transform data before writing
• Error handling — Add an Error Trigger to send notifications if the workflow fails
• Notifications — Add a Slack or Email node to alert when the backup completes

{
  "nodes": [
    {
      "name": "Cron",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.cron",
      "position": [
        100,
        420
      ],
      "parameters": {
        "triggerTimes": {
          "item": [
            {
              "hour": 5,
              "mode": "everyWeek"
            }
          ]
        }
      },
      "typeVersion": 1
    },
    {
      "name": "MySQL - select",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.mySql",
      "position": [
        300,
        420
      ],
      "parameters": {
        "query": "SELECT * FROM books;",
        "operation": "executeQuery"
      },
      "credentials": {
        "mySql": {
          "id": "82",
          "name": "MySQL account"
        }
      },
      "typeVersion": 1
    },
    {
      "name": "Google Sheets - write",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.googleSheets",
      "position": [
        500,
        420
      ],
      "parameters": {
        "options": {},
        "sheetId": "qwertz",
// ... truncated (copy to see full JSON)