JavaScript / Cypress script that fills out Google Forms automatically.
JavaScript / Cypress script that fills out Google Forms automatically. Useful for submitting the same form multiple times, either from fixed values or according to predefined probabilities.
- Graphical and command line view modes.
- Forms are filled out the desired number of times from a JSON file preloaded with data.
- Support for multi-section forms in any language.
- Fixed fill pattern for the following question types:
- Short answer
- Paragraph
- Date
- Time
- Fixed and probabilistic fill patterns for the following question types:
- Multiple choice
- Linear scale
- Checkboxes
- Multiple choice grid
- Checkbox grid
- Node.js (10 or above)
Install from this repository:
git clone https://github.com/hreyesm/google-forms-automation
After cloning the repository, go to the root directory and enter the command npm install to install Cypress.
JSON files corresponding to the forms to be submitted will only be processed if they are inside the forms subdirectory, as shown in the directory tree below; otherwise the script will not be able to find them.
📦 google-forms-automation
┣ 📂 cypress
┃ ┣ 📂 fixtures
┃ ┃ ┣ 📂 forms
┃ ┃ ┃ ┣ 📄 fixed.json
┃ ┃ ┃ ┣ 📄 probabilistic.json
The general structure of a JSON file supported by the script looks like the following:
{
"url": "https://example.com",
"questions": [ ... ]
}
For the forms to be submitted correctly, JSON files must be formatted according to the guidelines below.
Due to how Cypress redirects to web pages, the URL to be included in the JSON file should not be abbreviated. For example, a valid URL would be https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfZOj6_2ryFbvfrzTyCUT6prKCP7blBJpq9SIJnwPFl4X9hRQ/viewform?usp=sf_link, while an invalid one would be https://forms.gle/2vXJ9zTJdR664c9TA.
The format of the questions to be included in the JSON file will vary depending on the nature of their respective answers. Questions must be added to the "questions" array in the exact order they appear on the original form. Fill patterns can be fixed or probabilistic:
-
Fixed Fill Pattern: Can only be filled out from a predefined fixed value. The following question types support a fixed fill pattern:
-
Short Answer
{ "title": "Question title", "type": "shortAnswer", "answer": "Value to fill" } -
Paragraph
{ "title": "Question title", "type": "paragraph", "answer": "Value to fill" } -
Date
{ "title": "Question title", "type": "date", "answer": "YYYY-MM-DD" } -
Time
{ "title": "Question title", "type": "time", "answer": "HH:MM" }
-
-
Fixed and Probabilistic Fill Patterns: Can be filled out from a predefined fixed value, based on predefined probabilities assigned to the available options, or, in the case of grid-type questions, a combination of both. For probability-based filling, all options must be listed followed by their respective probabilities so that the sum of the
"probabilities"array equals 1.0. The following JSON attribute, for example, ensures that there is a 40% chance that the script will choose "Option 1", a 30% chance that it will choose "Option 2", a 20% chance that it will choose "Option 3", and a 10% chance that it will choose "Option 4":"answer": { "pattern": "probabilistic", "options": ["Option 1", "Option 2", "Option 3", "Option 4"], "probabilities": [0.4, 0.3, 0.2, 0.1] }The following question types support fixed and probabilistic fill patterns:
-
Multiple Choice
-
Fixed Fill Pattern
{ "title": "Question title", "type": "multipleChoice", "answer": { "pattern": "fixed", "choice": "Option to select" } } -
Probabilistic Fill Pattern
{ "title": "Question title", "type": "multipleChoice", "answer": { "pattern": "probabilistic", "options": ["Option 1", ..., "Option N"], "probabilities": [P("Option 1"), ..., P("Option N")] } }
-
-
Linear Scale
-
Fixed Fill Pattern
{ "title": "Question title", "type": "linearScale", "answer": { "pattern": "fixed", "choice": "Option to select" } } -
Probabilistic Fill Pattern
{ "title": "Question title", "type": "linearScale", "answer": { "pattern": "probabilistic", "options": ["Option 1", ..., "Option N"], "probabilities": [P("Option 1"), ..., P("Option N")] } }
-
-
Checkboxes
-
Fixed Fill Pattern
{ "title": "Question title", "type": "checkboxes", "answer": { "pattern": "fixed", "choice": ["Option to select 1", ..., "Option to select N"] } } -
Probabilistic Fill Pattern
{ "title": "Question title", "type": "checkboxes", "answer": { "pattern": "probabilistic", "options": ["Option 1", ..., "Option N"], "probabilities": [P("Option 1"), ..., P("Option N")] } }
-
-
Multiple Choice Grid (Fixed and Probabilistic Fill Patterns)
{ "title": "Question title", "type": "multipleChoiceGrid", "rows": [ { "title": "Row 1", "answer": { "pattern": "fixed", "choice": "Column to select" } }, ..., { "title": "Row N", "answer": { "pattern": "probabilistic", "options": ["Column 1", ..., "Column N"], "probabilities": [P("Column 1"), ..., P("Column N")] } } ] } -
Checkbox Grid (Fixed and Probabilistic Fill Patterns)
{ "title": "Question title", "type": "checkboxGrid", "rows": [ { "title": "Row 1", "answer": { "pattern": "fixed", "choice": ["Column to select"] } }, ..., { "title": "Row N", "answer": { "pattern": "probabilistic", "options": ["Column 1", ..., "Column N"], "probabilities": [P("Column 1"), ..., P("Column N")] } } ] }
-
To instruct the script to go to the next section of a form, simply add a "sectionEnd" flag to the last question in a section:
{
"title": "Question title",
"type": "questionType",
"answer": { ... },
"sectionEnd": true
}
Similarly, to submit a form, add a "formEnd" flag to the last question in the form:
{
"title": "Question title",
"type": "questionType",
"answer": { ... },
"formEnd": true
}
The fixed.json and probabilistic.json files included in this repository should give you a good idea on how to properly structure the form data. Feel free to use this sample form to test the script yourself.
From the root directory, enter the following command to open the graphical Cypress Test Runner:
npx cypress open -e FORM=<Name of JSON file with form data>,N=<# of iterations>
For example, if we wanted the script to fill out the form specified in the fixed.json file a total of three times, we would enter the command as follows:
If successful, the command should open a window similar to this:
After that, click on the google-forms-automation.spec.js file shown. A Chrome window like the one below should appear:
The script should start running shortly after.
From the root directory, enter the following command to run the command-line Cypress Test Runner:
npx cypress run -e FORM=<Name of JSON file with form data>,N=<# of iterations>
For example, if we wanted the script to fill out the form specified in the fixed.json file a total of three times, we would enter the command as follows:
The script should start running shortly after. If successful, the terminal should display the following information:
The code of this repository was implemented by Héctor Reyes. Released under the MIT license.