Reading a public Google Sheet as JSON without OAuth or an API key

A publicly shared Google Sheet can be fetched as JSON through the Visualization API's gviz/tq endpoint, which needs no login or key. The response arrives wrapped in a JavaScript call, so the wrapper must be stripped before parsing. The write-up flags four pitfalls, including header rows being read as data, empty columns appearing, and a wrong tab name silently returning the first tab. Dates come back as strings with zero-based months, so they need conversion before storage. The author also offers a paid Apify Actor that handles these issues automatically, while noting it is their own product.