API DATA CLEANING FOR GOOGLE SHEETS

Introduction to the Flookup API

The Flookup API offers a powerful suite of REST endpoints designed to integrate advanced data cleaning directly into your applications and workflows. You can programmatically access features for fuzzy matching, similarity scoring and deduplication through reliable, CORS-enabled endpoints. Whether for internal systems or public-facing applications, our API provides a seamless solution for automating complex data processing tasks.

Quick Overview

Request Authentication

All API requests must be authenticated by including your "apiKey" in the JSON body of the request. You will receive your "apiKey" via email after subscribing to a plan.

Example Request Body Structure:

{ "apiKey": "your_api_key_here", ... }

Failure to provide a valid API key in the request body will result in an authentication error.
Important: Your API key is a secret. Do not share it publicly or commit it to version control. Keep it secure to prevent unauthorized use of your credits.

How to Make API Requests

You can test the Flookup API directly from your terminal using a tool like cURL. Below is an example of how to call the /fuzzyLookup endpoint with a JSON payload:

curl -X POST https://api.getflookup.com/fuzzyLookup \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"apiKey": "your_api_key_here",
"lookup_value": [["apple"]],
"table_array": [["apple", "fruit"], ["banana", "fruit"]],
"lookup_col": 1,
"index_num": 2
}'

Or in Google Apps Script:

function callFlookup() {
let url = "https://api.getflookup.com/fuzzyLookup";
let payload = {
apiKey: "your_api_key_here",
lookup_value: [["apple"]],
table_array: [["apple","fruit"], ["banana","fruit"]],
lookup_col: 1,
index_num: 2
};
let options = {
method: "POST",
contentType: "application/json",
payload: JSON.stringify(payload),
muteHttpExceptions: true
};
let response = UrlFetchApp.fetch(url, options);
let responseCode = response.getResponseCode();
let responseBody = response.getContentText();
if (responseCode === 200) {
let data = JSON.parse(responseBody);
Logger.log(data.result);
} else {
Logger.log(Error: ${responseCode} - ${responseBody});
}
}

Flookup API Endpoints

Fuzzy Lookup

POST https://api.getflookup.com/fuzzyLookup

• Description: Finds and locates values against a table and returns the best matches.
• Request Body:

{ "apiKey": "...", "lookup_value": [["..."]], "table_array": [["..."]], "lookup_col": 1, "index_num": 2, "threshold": 0.8 }

Parameters Explained

• lookup_value: A single value or an array of values to look up (e.g. "value1" or [["value1"], ["value2"]]).
• table_array: An array of values to compare with each item from lookup_value.
• lookup_col: The column of table_array to lookup.
• index_num: The column of table_array from which to return matches.
• threshold: (Optional) The minimum level of similarity for a match.

Response

{ "result": [["matched value", score], ...] }

Errors

{ "error": "Error: ..." }

Fuzzy Similarity

POST https://api.getflookup.com/fuzzySimilarity

• Description: Returns the percentage similarity score between two strings or numbers.
• Request Body:

{ "apiKey": "your_api_key_here", "left_string": "string1", "right_string": "string2" }

Parameters Explained

• left_string: A single value or an array of values to compare.
• right_string: A single value or an array of values to compare.

Response

{ "result": 0.92 }

Errors

{ "error": "Error: ..." }

Unique List

POST https://api.getflookup.com/uniqueList

• Description: Deduplicates a list or column using fuzzy or sound-based matching, leaving only unique values.
• Request Body:

{ "apiKey": "...", "col_array": [["..."]], "index_num": 1, "threshold": 0.8, "operation": "by_percentage" }

Parameters Explained

• col_array: An array of values to process for duplicates.
• index_num: The column of col_array from which to remove duplicates.
• threshold: The minimum level of similarity for a match.
• operation: The mode or method for the function to identify duplicates. Options: "by_percentage" or "by_sound".

Response

{ "result": [["unique1"], ["unique2"], ...] }

Errors

{ "error": "Error: ..." }

Check Quota Status

POST https://api.getflookup.com/checkQuotaStatus

• Description: Check your current API call usage and remaining quota for your plan.
• Request Body:

{ "apiKey": "your_api_key_here" }

Response

{ "status": "active", "credits_remaining": 9850 }

Errors

{ "error": "Error: ..." }

Flookup API Privacy

We are committed to protecting your privacy. When you use the Flookup API, we collect your API key for authentication and usage tracking. We do not store the data you process through the API. All data transmission is encrypted. For more details, please see our full Privacy Policy.

Explore More

• How to Compare Text for Similarity
• Highlighting Duplicates by Text Similarity
• Removing Duplicates by Text Similarity