Delete Untitled Google Sheets

A Google Apps Script that automatically deletes Google Sheets with "Untitled" in their name from your Google Drive by moving them to the trash. Runs on a weekly time-based trigger.

The script logic is maintained as an external library (DeleteUntitledSheetsLib) by the original author. The district-side script is a thin wrapper that calls the library — no local code changes are needed when the library is updated.

Originally created for Northside Independent School District (NISD). Generalized for public use.

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What It Does

When run, the script:

1. Searches your Google Drive for all Google Sheets files
2. Identifies any file named exactly Untitled or matching the pattern Untitled(n) (e.g., Untitled(1), Untitled(2))
3. Moves those files to the trash
4. Logs each deletion (or any errors) to the Apps Script execution log

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Setup

Option A — Via clasp (recommended for developers)

This approach uses the included appsscript.json manifest, which automatically wires up the DeleteUntitledSheetsLib library dependency.

git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/delete-untitled-gsheets.git
cd delete-untitled-gsheets
npm install -g @google/clasp
clasp login
clasp create --type standalone --title "Delete Untitled Google Sheets"
clasp push --force

The --force flag is required to push the appsscript.json manifest, which includes the library dependency.

Option B — Manually via the Apps Script editor

1. Go to script.google.com and create a new standalone project
2. Name it something like Delete Untitled Google Sheets
3. Add the external library:
   • Click + next to Libraries in the left sidebar
   • Enter the Script ID: 1MNB2PhHwnPKvf2TOBqSilOzuWAl_XoNIIt--AIwPQ7HJ4p_9zla4Tbhx
   • Click Look up, select the latest version
   • Set the identifier to DeleteUntitledSheetsLib
   • Click Add
4. Replace the default Code.gs content with:

   function deleteUntitledGoogleSheets() {
     DeleteUntitledSheetsLib.deleteUntitledGoogleSheets();
   }

5. Save the project

Set Up a Time-Based Trigger

Regardless of which setup option you used:

1. In the Apps Script editor, click Triggers (clock icon) in the left sidebar
2. Click + Add Trigger
3. Configure as follows:
   • Function to run: deleteUntitledGoogleSheets
   • Event source: Time-driven
   • Type: Week timer
   • Day of week: Sunday (or your preference)
   • Time of day: Midnight to 1am (or your preference)
4. Click Save and authorize the script when prompted

Required Permissions

The script requires the following OAuth scope, which Apps Script will request automatically on first run:

• https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive — to search for and trash files in Google Drive

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Updating the Library

The appsscript.json manifest uses "developmentMode": true, which means the script always runs against the latest version of DeleteUntitledSheetsLib automatically. No manual version updates are needed.

If you prefer to pin to a specific version, edit src/appsscript.json, set "developmentMode": false, and change "version" to the desired version number, then run clasp push --force.

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Script Properties

This script does not require any Script Properties. No configuration is needed beyond setting up the trigger.

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Project Structure

delete-untitled-gsheets/
├── src/
│   ├── Code.js           # Wrapper that calls the external library
│   └── appsscript.json   # Apps Script manifest (includes library dependency)
├── .claspignore          # Controls which files clasp pushes
├── .gitignore
└── README.md

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Attribution

Originally created for Northside Independent School District (NISD). Generalized and released for public use upon retirement.