Show HN: Kyran – App Builder for Google Sheets (Apps Script Without the Pain)
by komlan | 2025-09-01 14:06:08+00:00
Hey HN,

I built something I've been wanting for years: a way to access the power of Google Apps Script inside Sheets on demand, without having to switch to the code editor and remembering Apps Script APIs.

## Why bother?

Apps Script is actually underrated: it lets you do arbitrary structured logic (when formulas get unreadable/convoluted), procedural transformations, and even add custom UIs (menus, dialogs, sidebars). It goes further than macros, with triggers, etc.

But the pain is real: remembering the APIs, figuring out deployment, debugging code in an unfamiliar environment, etc. For non-technical folks, it’s simply inaccessible.

## What Kyran does

It lives as a Sheets add-on (sidebar). You describe what you want, it generates Apps Script code, installs it into your Sheet, and you can run it right away.

You can iterate in the "spreadsheet-native" way: not by reading the code, but by trying it on some data and checking the result. If it's wrong, you tweak the description.

The code it generates is short (usually <50 lines), uses a very limited API surface, and can be tested quickly. That makes the usual risks of AI hallucination far less of an issue in practice than in general-purpose coding.

## What I love (technically) about this

It's a narrow domain where AI codegen actually works rather reliably: small programs, well-defined APIs, immediate execution in a data-rich context.

It matches how people already use spreadsheets: experiment -> check results -> adjust. People asking for formula help on the internet don't usually try to decipher the monstrosities given to them, and you don't need to read the code here either. The code is running in a very tight sandbox Google spent a lot of time improving, and it's even more restricted for our use case.

For power users, it's essentially "vibe coding" Apps Script: you still end up with real code, just without the boilerplate and deployment tax. For others, it just makes possible something they could only dream of.

I've been trying it on Google Sheets forum posts asking for help, and it works great.

## Who might care

- Spreadsheet power users who regularly outgrow formulas.

- Engineers who hate chasing docs just to write 30 lines of Apps Script for a one-off task

- Ops/analyst teams that hack Sheets together as their internal "apps."

## Limitations

The scripts you create inherit the permissions of the Kyran add-on itself. Apps Script can control a lot of other Google Apps, including Drive, but I don't want to scare people away with a huge permission prompt.

This is therefore currently limited to manipulating the current sheet only. I hope the permission model for add-ons evolves so I can ask for any permission (like calendar access) at the exact point where user generated code needs it.

## Links

[Homepage / docs](https://blog.darkaa.com/kyran-ai-app-builder-for-sheets-user...)

[Add-on install](https://workspace.google.com/marketplace/app/kyran_ai_app_bu...)

You get some free requests, and can add your Gemini API key for more.

Yes, this has massive platform risk. Sanity is not something I can afford right now ;)

Would love feedback, especially from folks who've wrestled with Apps Script before.