GSC Index Status Checker

A Google Sheets + Apps Script template that checks index status for a set of URLs on a schedule using the Search Console URL Inspection API, stores every result, and reports on it with pivots and charts.

This is not the Google Indexing API. The Indexing API only accepts JobPosting and BroadcastEvent submissions, and its metadata endpoint reports what you submitted — not whether Google has indexed a page.

The endpoint this tool calls:

POST https://searchconsole.googleapis.com/v1/urlInspection/index:inspect

One URL per request. No batch endpoint exists. Inspection uses UrlFetchApp + ScriptApp.getOAuthToken() with scope https://www.googleapis.com/auth/webmasters.readonly. Each user authorises with their own Google account and links their own Cloud project.

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Use it (no Git, no clasp)

GitHub is the source code. Users should never install from here.

Read more about how to use this tool - https://weareroast.com/resources/tools/google-indexing-api-tool/

Make a copy of the template

Then:

1. Create or pick your own Google Cloud project (the template’s Cloud project does not copy). Enable Google Search Console API, set the OAuth consent screen, then in this copy: Extensions → Apps Script → Project Settings → Change project and paste your project number. Full steps are under Switch off Default GCP.
2. Open Index Checker → Setup.
3. Authorise your Google account when asked.
4. Pick the Search Console property.
5. Import a sitemap or paste URLs.
6. Done. The daily trigger is created for you.

That /copy URL looks like:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/FILE_ID/copy

Share the template as Anyone with the link → Viewer. /copy puts a private copy in their Drive, with the script already attached. They never see this repo.

Until that link is published, there is no one-click install — Apps Script cannot be installed from GitHub the way a Chrome extension can.

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Quotas (verified 2026-08-21)

Re-check before treating these as gospel. Google changes them without much notice.

URL Inspection API — official limits

Limit	Value
Inspections per property per day	2,000
Inspections per property per minute	600
Per-project (usually irrelevant)	10,000,000 / day, 15,000 / min
Quota reset	Pacific time midnight

DAILY_CAP defaults to 1,900 to leave headroom.

Apps Script — official quotas

Limit	Consumer	Workspace
Script runtime per execution	6 min	6 min
Trigger total runtime per day	~90 min	~6 hr
UrlFetch calls per day	~20,000	~100,000
Emails per day	~100	~1,500
Cells per spreadsheet	10 million	10 million

The trigger runtime cap is the real constraint on consumer accounts: 90 minutes of continuation triggers per day limits practical throughput well below 2,000 URLs. Setup warns if the account looks like gmail.com.

mobileUsabilityResult is deprecated on the inspect schema. The sheet still captures Mobile Verdict if present; do not use it in client reporting. The Search Console Mobile Usability report was retired on 1 December 2023.

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Publish the template (once, as the maintainer)

This is the only “install” work. After this, users get a button.

1. Create a blank Google Sheet.
2. Extensions → Apps Script. Copy the Script ID from Project Settings.
3. Install clasp, then:

cp .clasp.json.example .clasp.json
# paste the Script ID
clasp push

4. Switch the script off Default GCP (required — see below).
5. Run bootstrapTemplate. Authorise when prompted.
6. Share → Anyone with the link → Viewer.
7. The user link is https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/FILE_ID/copy — put it in the button above.

Do not share the template as Editor. Viewers who hit /copy get their own sheet and their own script copy; they authorise as themselves.

A Workspace Marketplace add-on would be even easier for users (“Install” from Google), but it needs OAuth verification and a Marketplace listing. The /copy link is the easy path for a public GitHub project.

Switch off Default GCP

Default is a hidden Cloud project. You cannot enable APIs on it from Cloud Console. Each /copy gets a new Apps Script project on Default GCP — the template owner’s Cloud project does not copy. Every user creates or links their own standard Cloud project.

1. Open Google Cloud Console with the same Google account.
2. Create a project (or pick an existing one). Name it e.g. gsc-index-checker.
3. Copy the Project number (APIs & Services → Settings, or the project dashboard). That is digits, not the project ID string.
4. Enable Google Search Console API: console.cloud.google.com/apis/library/searchconsole.googleapis.com
5. APIs & Services → OAuth consent screen:
   • User type: Internal (Workspace) or External (gmail).
   • App name, user support email.
   • If External: Publishing status Testing, add your email under Test users.
6. In the Apps Script editor: Project Settings (gear) → Google Cloud Platform Project → Change project → paste the project number.
7. Re-run Index Checker → Setup and authorise again (the Cloud project change invalidates the old token).

Until you do this, sites.list and URL Inspection will 403.

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Install from this repo e.g. run the code yourselve rather than copy the template

For changing the code, not for handing to clients.

1. Create a blank Google Sheet → Extensions → Apps Script → copy the Script ID.
2. cp .clasp.json.example .clasp.json and paste that ID.
3. clasp push
4. Set timezone, enable the Search Console API, run bootstrapTemplate.
5. Index Checker → Setup in the sheet.

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Tabs

Tab	Visibility	Purpose
Settings	Visible	Named-range backed config
URLs	Visible	Input list plus live credit calculator
Data	Visible	Append-only result store
Run Log	Visible	One row per run
Pivots	Visible	Pivot tables over Data
Dashboard	Visible	Scorecards and charts
Glossary	Visible	Status definitions and API limits
_Queue	Hidden	Resumable batch state
_Quota	Hidden	Daily quota ledger (Pacific date)
_Import	Hidden	Staging area for sitemap wizard
_Deferred	Hidden	429 / trim leftovers requeued for tomorrow

The script reads Settings by named range, never by A1.

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How a run works

Apps Script kills executions at 6 minutes, so a full daily cap cannot finish in one shot.

1. buildQueue() takes Active = TRUE URLs whose Next Due is today or earlier, sorts by Priority then oldest due first, truncates to remaining quota, writes _Queue, and sets Reserved.
2. processQueue() takes a document lock (30s timeout), reads a cursor from Document Properties, inspects the next BATCH_SIZE URLs in UrlFetchApp.fetchAll() chunks of 10, sleeps ~1.1s between chunks to stay under 600 QPM, appends every result to Data, and bumps _Quota.
3. After 4.5 minutes it persists the cursor and creates a one-off trigger for +1 minute.
4. When the queue empties it writes Run Log, updates Last Checked / Next Due / Last Verdict on URLs, clears Reserved, deletes continuation triggers, and emails if configured.

Retry policy

Response	Action
429	Exponential backoff, 3 attempts, then requeue for tomorrow at Priority 1
5xx	Exponential backoff, 3 attempts, then log as failed
403	Abort the entire run — almost always no property access
404 from the API	Logged as a valid inspection result, not a failure
URL outside the property	Logged, run continues (no inspect call)

Quota ledger

Keyed on Pacific date, not local date. A 03:00 London run still draws on the previous Pacific day's allowance.

Remaining = DAILY_CAP − Scheduled Used − Ad-hoc Used − Reserved

During the day, Reserved is kept equal to the number of scheduled URLs still due, so ad-hoc runs cannot silently spend tonight's budget. Opening the sheet or View Quota refreshes that reservation.

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Ad-hoc runs

Index Checker → Run Ad-hoc opens a sidebar. Paste URLs or use the current URLs selection.

If the request fits in Remaining, it runs immediately against Ad-hoc Used.

If not, a modal shows the explicit numbers and three actions:

Button	Behaviour
Trim to fit	Runs what fits, queues the rest for tomorrow at Priority 1
Borrow from tonight	Second confirmation. Releases reservation, runs the request, shrinks tonight's scheduled run, flags Borrowed From Scheduled on the Run Log. Hidden when ADHOC_BORROW_ALLOWED is FALSE
Queue for tomorrow	No spend now

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Sitemap import

Index Checker → Import from Sitemap

• Search Console — GET /webmasters/v3/sites/{siteUrl}/sitemaps, then fetch each feed.
• Direct URL — paste a sitemap (needed for staging / unsubmitted files).

Parser: sitemap index recursion (depth cap 3), .xml.gz via Utilities.ungzip, <lastmod> captured, malformed XML fails with the sitemap URL named (no half-import). Filter with include/exclude regex before commit. Section is derived from the first path segment and can be remapped. Orphaned URLs are flagged Orphaned = TRUE, never deleted.

Priority from lastmod: ≤7 days → 1, ≤30 days → 2, older or absent → 3.

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Menu

Item	What it does
Setup	Property picker, consumer-account warning, daily trigger, smoke test
Run Now	Build queue + process
Run Ad-hoc	Sidebar
Import from Sitemap	Wizard
Build Queue Only	Write _Queue without inspecting
View Quota	Today's Pacific ledger
Reset Triggers	Delete all project triggers; recreate the daily one if setup is complete
Purge Old Data	Delete Data rows older than DATA_RETENTION_DAYS
Rebuild sheet structure	Re-run bootstrapTemplate (does not wipe Data / URLs / Run Log / quota history)

Setup is guarded by a SETUP_COMPLETE document property so reopening the sheet does not retrigger the wizard.

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Test cases

Case	Expected
Empty URLs sheet	Queue builds with 0 rows, run logs “Nothing due.”
URL outside the property	Data row with a clear error, run continues
No property access (403)	Run aborts immediately with a readable message
2,500 due vs 1,900 cap	Truncates; oldest overdue + highest priority kept
Execution hits 4.5 minutes	Continuation resumes at the stored cursor
Manual run during a scheduled run	Lock refuses the second caller
Ad-hoc over remaining	Trim / Borrow / Queue tomorrow all work
Gzipped sitemap index three levels deep	Recurses to depth 3
50,000-URL sitemap	Filter step before commit; no dump onto URLs
URL removed from sitemap	Orphaned = TRUE, row kept
Run spanning Pacific midnight	Later inspections increment the new PT date
Retention purge with 200 days of data	Rows older than DATA_RETENTION_DAYS removed

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Project layout

src/
  appsscript.json
  00_Constants.gs … 15_Bootstrap.gs
  Setup.html, AdhocSidebar.html, QuotaWarning.html,
  BorrowConfirm.html, SitemapWizard.html, QuotaView.html, Styles.html

Runtime helpers are named with a trailing _. Those names are not callable from google.script.run; public wrappers live in 13_Menu.gs.