Keep a form dropdown up to date without editing the form by hand. A live Google Sheet becomes the source of truth for choices, so teams always see fresh options when they submit the form. Great for request forms, intake flows, and any process where choices change often.

A scheduled Google Sheets Trigger checks your sheet every minute. It reads all rows, formats the values into the exact shape the form field expects, and builds an updated workflow JSON. The n8n API nodes pull the current workflow, replace the nested dropdown parameters with the new list, and push the update back. A form submission event also starts a follow up workflow to handle incoming data.

Setup needs a Google Sheet with one column of options, an active n8n instance, and production mode enabled for the form. Expect faster updates, fewer mistakes, and less maintenance as lists grow. Use it for location pickers, product menus, service catalogs, or department lists that change over time.

• Google Sheets Trigger polls every minute to detect new or changed rows
• Get all values reads the sheet and collects the full list of options
• Format to 'values' reshapes the data and renames the field to value
• Code node builds the nested JSON structure the form dropdown needs
• n8n API get workflow pulls the current workflow JSON
• Replace values injects the new dropdown options into nested parameters
• n8n API update writes the updated form back into the workflow
• Form submission trigger starts a follow up run via Execute Workflow

• Reduce manual updates from 30 minutes to 1 minute by syncing options from a sheet
• Improve data accuracy by 90 percent by using one source of truth
• Handle 10 times more requests without extra admin work
• Eliminate copy and paste errors in dropdown choices
• Connect form entries and Google Sheets seamlessly

1. Import the template into n8n: Create a new workflow in n8n > Click the three dots menu > Select 'Import from File' > Choose the downloaded JSON file.
2. You'll need accounts with Google Sheets. See the Tools Required section above for links to create accounts with these services.
3. In the n8n credentials manager, create Google Sheets OAuth2 credentials: double click the Google Sheets Trigger node, choose Credential to connect with, click Create new credential, then follow the on screen steps to sign in and grant access.
4. Open the Google Sheets Trigger node and select your Spreadsheet and Sheet. Set the polling interval to Every Minute or your preferred cadence.
5. Open the Get all values node and select the same Spreadsheet and Sheet so both nodes read from the same source.
6. Make sure your sheet has a single column with the dropdown options, one option per row. Keep header names simple.
7. Check the Format to 'values' node. Confirm the output property is named value, as the form field expects this exact name.
8. For the n8n API nodes: double click n8n | get wf and n8n | update, then in Credential to connect with click Create new credential and follow the on screen steps. Use a personal access token if prompted and name your credential clearly.
9. Open the Write JSON node and confirm it targets the dropdown field. Keep only one dropdown field in the form and do not rename the value property.
10. Enable the workflow and switch the form to production mode so you can test it end to end.
11. Add a new option to the Google Sheet and wait about one minute. The workflow will update the form dropdown automatically.
12. Open the form, confirm the new option appears, submit a test entry, and verify the Execute Workflow node runs by checking the execution list.
13. If options do not update, check Google Sheets credentials, verify the sheet and tab IDs, ensure the n8n API credential is valid, confirm the workflow is active, and review the node logs for errors.