apps-script-triggerslisted

Explains Google Apps Script's simple vs installable triggers, their event object shapes, authorization differences, and how to register/manage installable triggers programmatically without duplicating them. Use when adding onOpen/onEdit/onChange/onFormSubmit/time-driven behavior, or when a trigger isn't firing, is duplicated, or fails with an authorization error. Framework-agnostic — applies with or without bootgs.
bootgs/skills · ★ 5 · AI & Automation · score 80

Install: claude install-skill bootgs/skills

# Apps Script Triggers ## Simple vs installable | | Simple (`onOpen`, `onEdit`, `onInstall`, `onSelectionChange`) | Installable (`ScriptApp.newTrigger(...)`) | |---|---|---| | Registration | Automatic — GAS calls the global function by name | Explicit — created programmatically or via the Triggers UI | | Runs as | The user currently viewing the file, with **their** authorization | The user who created the trigger, with **that user's** authorization, regardless of who triggers it | | Can call authorized services | No — no `UrlFetchApp`, no most advanced services, no services needing OAuth consent | Yes — full access to whatever the installing user has authorized | | Typical use | UI-only reactions (build a menu, format a cell) | Anything that calls an external API, sends email, or must run reliably regardless of viewer permissions | If a simple `onEdit` needs to call `UrlFetchApp` or `MailApp`, it will silently fail or throw a permission error — convert it to an installable trigger instead. This is the most common "trigger works when I test it, breaks for other users" bug: the simple trigger works for you (the owner, already authorized) and fails for a viewer/editor without those grants. ## Event object shapes | Trigger | Event object fields | |---|---| | `onEdit` | `{ range, oldValue, value, source, user, authMode }` — `oldValue`/`value` are only present for single-cell edits with a scalar value; multi-cell pastes omit them (check `range.getNumRows()/getNumColumns()` ins