Monitoring Sheet Changes with SHEET and SHEETS Functions on Google Sheets

Abstract Google Sheets recently introduced the SHEET and SHEETS functions. Because they automatically recalculate upon structural changes, developers can utilize them as custom triggers. This article demonstrates how to leverage these functions to detect sheet insertions, deletions, renames, and movements without requiring cumbersome installable triggers in Google Apps Script. Introduction On February 23, 2026, Google introduced two pivotal built-in functions to Google Sheets: SHEET and SHEETS Ref . The SHEET function returns the index (sheet number) of a specified sheet or reference Ref . Meanwhile, the SHEETS function provides the total count of sheets within a spreadsheet Ref . A critical technical characteristic of these functions is their volatility and automatic recalculation based on the spreadsheet's structural metadata. Specifically: SHEET triggers a recalculation when a sheet is renamed or its position is changed via drag-and-drop. SHEETS triggers a recalculation whenever a s