IMDB API Tutorial - How To Connect IMDB to Google Sheets

IMDB is an online database full of information about films, TV shows, and other types of content.

In this tutorial, I’ll show how to connect the IMDB REST API to Google Sheets in 5 steps:

Install the Apipheny Google Sheets Add-on
Obtain an IMDB API Key
Choose an IMBD API URL Endpoint
Enter Your IMDB API request into Apipheny
Run the IMDB API Request in your Google Sheet

Step 1.) Install and open the Apipheny add-on for Google Sheets

Apipheny is an API connector for Google Sheets. You can use Apipheny to connect your Google Sheets to unlimited API data sources, make unlimited API requests, and more. There is a 30 day free trial included.

1.) Install Apipheny by opening the following link on desktop and then clicking the Install button in the Google Marketplace: https://apipheny.io/install

2.) After you’ve installed Apipheny, open a Google Sheet and then click on the Extensions dropdown in the menu at the top.

In the dropdown list you should see Apipheny. Click Apipheny then click Import API to open the Apipheny sidebar in your Google Sheet.

Tip: you can open a new Google Sheet by entering this URL in your browser: sheet.new

Step 2.) Obtain an IMDB API Key

Next, log in to your IMDB developer account.

In your developer account dashboard, click on your username:

Click on your username in your IMDB developer account

In the Profile section, click the Profile option:

Click “Profile” in your account

On this Profile page, you will find your API key:

Copy and paste your IMDB API key somewhere safe

Copy and paste your API key to safe location, because you’ll need it in the next steps.

Step 3.) Choose an IMBD API Endpoint

In this section, we’ll show you how to browse the IMBD API documentation to find a specific API endpoint URL that retrieves the information you need from IMDB.

If you already know your API URL, or you want to use the same example URL as us, just skip to Step 4.

First, open the IMBD API documentation page: https://imdb-api.com/api

The main page contains a list of categorized IMBD API endpoints:

If you click an endpoint, for example FullCast, you’ll be redirected to that endpoint’s section:

If you click the little arrow next to the endpoint, you will expand the endpoint details.

For example, the FullCast endpoint returns the full cast/crew and actors/actresses of Movie or Series TV. Here is the URL for that specific endpoint:

https://imdb-api.com/en/API/FullCast/your_key/id

If you use this URL, don’t forget to replace your_key with your API key and id with a valid IMDB id.

Each endpoint’s documentation contains the endpoint’s HTTP method (eg. GET) and URL structure, a paragraph describing the endpoint’s purpose, a table listing the required parameters, and a section with formatted URL examples:

All API calls to the IMDB API should be made to the https://imdb-api.com/en/API/ base domain.

Step 4.) Enter Your IMDB API URL Into Apipheny

Now, the final steps to get your IMDB data in your Google Sheet is to go back to your Google Sheet and make sure that you’ve installed the Apipheny add-on and you have it opened to the “Import” tab. In the Import Tab of Apipheny, enter the following details into the add-on:

Method: At the top of the Apipheny sidebar, select the HTTP method (GET or POST) required by your IMDB API endpoint. For this example, we are using the “GET” method.

API URL: In Step 3, we explained how you can find the IMDB API endpoint that you need. Now copy your complete IMDB API URL into the Apipheny add-on, in the field that says API URL Path (JSON / CSV), followed by any GET parameters required for your query (if applicable).

For this example, we are using the SearchMovie endpoint, which returns the search results for a specific expression. The corresponding URL for this endpoint is:

https://imdb-api.com/en/API/SearchMovie/key/expression

If you want to follow the same example as us, just copy and paste this URL into the add-on, but replace key with your API key and expression with the movie title you want to search for.

Headers are not required for this API request, so you can leave that section blank in Apipheny.

Here’s what your IMDB API request should look like when entered into Apipheny:

IMDB API request entered into the Apipheny add-on in Google Sheets

Step 5.) Run the IMDB API Request in Your Google Sheet

The last step to get IMDB data into your Google Sheet is to click the Run button at the bottom of the Apipheny add-on. After clicking Run, your IMDB data will be imported into your Google Sheets. Congratulations!

IMDB data imported into Google Sheets using Apipheny

After making a successful request to the IMDB API, try querying a different IMDB API endpoint, or try using one of the more advanced features in the Apipheny add-on, such as:

Save and schedule your IMDB API request
Make a POST request to the IMDB API (if available)
Use the custom =APIPHENY() function to call the IMDB API request directly inside a cell of your spreadsheet
Call the IMDB API by referencing the value of a cell in the API URL with three curly braces eg. {{{Sheet1!A1}}}