refactor: extract metadata from sheet

apps/client/src/common/api/excel.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import axios, { AxiosResponse } from 'axios';
-import { CustomFields, Rundown, RundownSummary } from 'ontime-types';
+import type { SpreadsheetPreviewResponse, SpreadsheetWorksheetMetadata, SpreadsheetWorksheetOptions } from 'ontime-types';
 import { ImportMap } from 'ontime-utils';
 
 import { apiEntryUrl } from './constants';
@@ -11,12 +11,12 @@ const excelPath = `${apiEntryUrl}/excel`;
 
 /**
  * upload Excel file to server
- * @return string - file ID op the uploaded file
+ * Uploads an Excel file and returns worksheet names plus metadata for the initial worksheet.
  */
-export async function upload(file: File, requestOptions?: RequestOptions): Promise<string[]> {
+export async function upload(file: File, requestOptions?: RequestOptions): Promise<SpreadsheetWorksheetOptions> {
   const formData = new FormData();
   formData.append('excel', file);
-  const response = await axios.post(`${excelPath}/upload`, formData, {
+  const response: AxiosResponse<SpreadsheetWorksheetOptions> = await axios.post(`${excelPath}/upload`, formData, {
     signal: requestOptions?.signal,
     timeout: requestOptions?.timeout ?? axiosConfig.longTimeout,
     headers: {
@@ -26,16 +26,11 @@ export async function upload(file: File, requestOptions?: RequestOptions): Promi
   return response.data;
 }
 
-type PreviewSpreadsheetResponse = {
-  rundown: Rundown;
-  customFields: CustomFields;
-  summary: RundownSummary;
-};
 export async function importRundownPreview(
   options: ImportMap,
   requestOptions?: RequestOptions,
-): Promise<PreviewSpreadsheetResponse> {
-  const response: AxiosResponse<PreviewSpreadsheetResponse> = await axios.post(
+): Promise<SpreadsheetPreviewResponse> {
+  const response: AxiosResponse<SpreadsheetPreviewResponse> = await axios.post(
     `${excelPath}/preview`,
     {
       options,
@@ -48,6 +43,22 @@ export async function importRundownPreview(
   return response.data;
 }
 
+export async function getWorksheetMetadata(
+  worksheet: string,
+  requestOptions?: RequestOptions,
+): Promise<SpreadsheetWorksheetMetadata> {
+  const response: AxiosResponse<SpreadsheetWorksheetMetadata> = await axios.post(
+    `${excelPath}/metadata`,
+    { worksheet },
+    {
+      signal: requestOptions?.signal,
+      timeout: requestOptions?.timeout ?? axiosConfig.longTimeout,
+    },
+  );
+
+  return response.data;
+}
+
 /**
  * Downloads a xlsx representation of the rundown from the server
  */

apps/client/src/common/api/sheets.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
 import axios, { AxiosResponse } from 'axios';
-import { AuthenticationStatus, CustomFields, Rundown, RundownSummary } from 'ontime-types';
+import type {
+  AuthenticationStatus,
+  SpreadsheetPreviewResponse,
+  SpreadsheetWorksheetMetadata,
+  SpreadsheetWorksheetOptions,
+} from 'ontime-types';
 import { ImportMap } from 'ontime-utils';
 
 import { apiEntryUrl } from './constants';
@@ -59,11 +64,7 @@ export const previewRundown = async (
   sheetId: string,
   options: ImportMap,
   requestOptions?: RequestOptions,
-): Promise<{
-  rundown: Rundown;
-  customFields: CustomFields;
-  summary: RundownSummary;
-}> => {
+): Promise<SpreadsheetPreviewResponse> => {
   const response = await axios.post(
     `${sheetsPath}/${sheetId}/read`,
     { options },
@@ -75,11 +76,34 @@ export const previewRundown = async (
   return response.data;
 };
 
-export const getWorksheetNames = async (sheetId: string, requestOptions?: RequestOptions): Promise<string[]> => {
-  const response: AxiosResponse<string[]> = await axios.post(`${sheetsPath}/${sheetId}/worksheets`, undefined, {
-    signal: requestOptions?.signal,
-    timeout: requestOptions?.timeout ?? axiosConfig.longTimeout,
-  });
+export const getWorksheetMetadata = async (
+  sheetId: string,
+  worksheet: string,
+  requestOptions?: RequestOptions,
+): Promise<SpreadsheetWorksheetMetadata> => {
+  const response: AxiosResponse<SpreadsheetWorksheetMetadata> = await axios.post(
+    `${sheetsPath}/${sheetId}/metadata`,
+    { worksheet },
+    {
+      signal: requestOptions?.signal,
+      timeout: requestOptions?.timeout ?? axiosConfig.longTimeout,
+    },
+  );
+  return response.data;
+};
+
+export const getWorksheetNames = async (
+  sheetId: string,
+  requestOptions?: RequestOptions,
+): Promise<SpreadsheetWorksheetOptions> => {
+  const response: AxiosResponse<SpreadsheetWorksheetOptions> = await axios.post(
+    `${sheetsPath}/${sheetId}/worksheets`,
+    undefined,
+    {
+      signal: requestOptions?.signal,
+      timeout: requestOptions?.timeout ?? axiosConfig.longTimeout,
+    },
+  );
   return response.data;
 };
 

apps/server/src/api-data/excel/__tests__/spreadsheetMetadata.utils.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+
+import { getWorksheetMetadataFromRows } from '../spreadsheetMetadata.utils.js';
+
+describe('getWorksheetMetadataFromRows()', () => {
+  it('detects headers from the first meaningful row', () => {
+    const result = getWorksheetMetadataFromRows('Sheet 1', [
+      [''],
+      ['Cue', 'Title', 'Duration'],
+      ['1', 'Opening', '00:05:00'],
+      ['2', 'Intro', '00:02:00'],
+    ]);
+
+    expect(result.headers).toEqual(['Cue', 'Title', 'Duration']);
+  });
+
+  it('throws when no worksheet headers can be found', () => {
+    expect(() => getWorksheetMetadataFromRows('Empty', [[''], ['']])).toThrow('Could not find any data in worksheet');
+  });
+
+  it('falls back to a single non-empty cell as the header row', () => {
+    const result = getWorksheetMetadataFromRows('Sheet', [['Title'], ['Opening'], ['Closing']]);
+
+    expect(result.headers).toEqual(['Title']);
+  });
+
+  it('normalizes numeric and mixed-type cell values to strings', () => {
+    const result = getWorksheetMetadataFromRows('Sheet', [
+      [42, true, 'Name', 'Value'],
+      ['a', 'b'],
+    ]);
+
+    expect(result.headers).toEqual(['42', 'true', 'Name', 'Value']);
+  });
+
+  it('filters sparse columns where headers are empty', () => {
+    const result = getWorksheetMetadataFromRows('Sheet', [
+      ['Cue', '', 'Title', '', 'Duration', 'Note'],
+      ['1', '', 'Opening', '', '', ''],
+      ['2', '', 'Closing', '', '', ''],
+    ]);
+
+    expect(result.headers).toEqual(['Cue', 'Title', 'Duration', 'Note']);
+  });
+
+  it('uses progressive threshold to find row with most columns', () => {
+    // First row has 2 columns, second row has 6 - should pick the second row as it's more likely to be a header
+    const result = getWorksheetMetadataFromRows('Sheet', [
+      ['', ''],
+      ['ID', 'Cue', 'Title', 'Start', 'Duration', 'Note'],
+      ['1', '1.0', 'Opening', '10:00', '5:00', 'Test'],
+      ['2', '2.0', 'Closing', '10:05', '3:00', 'Test2'],
+    ]);
+
+    expect(result.headers).toEqual(['ID', 'Cue', 'Title', 'Start', 'Duration', 'Note']);
+  });
+});

apps/server/src/api-data/excel/excel.router.ts

@@ -1,13 +1,23 @@
 import express from 'express';
 import type { Request, Response } from 'express';
-import { CustomFields, ErrorResponse, Rundown, RundownSummary } from 'ontime-types';
+import type {
+  ErrorResponse,
+  SpreadsheetPreviewResponse,
+  SpreadsheetWorksheetMetadata,
+  SpreadsheetWorksheetOptions,
+} from 'ontime-types';
 
 import { getDataProvider } from '../../classes/data-provider/DataProvider.js';
 import { getProjectCustomFields } from '../rundown/rundown.dao.js';
 import { EXCEL_MIME } from './excel.constants.js';
 import { uploadExcel } from './excel.middleware.js';
-import { generateExcelFile, generateRundownPreview, readExcelFile } from './excel.service.js';
-import { validateFileExists, validateImportMapOptions, validateRundownExport } from './excel.validation.js';
+import { generateExcelFile, generateRundownPreview, getWorksheetMetadata, readExcelFile } from './excel.service.js';
+import {
+  validateFileExists,
+  validateImportMapOptions,
+  validateRundownExport,
+  validateWorksheetMetadataRequest,
+} from './excel.validation.js';
 
 export const router = express.Router();
 
@@ -15,12 +25,12 @@ router.post(
   '/upload',
   uploadExcel,
   validateFileExists,
-  async (req: Request, res: Response<string[] | ErrorResponse>) => {
+  async (req: Request, res: Response<SpreadsheetWorksheetOptions | ErrorResponse>) => {
     try {
       // file has been validated by middleware
       const filePath = (req.file as Express.Multer.File).path;
-      const worksheetNames = await readExcelFile(filePath);
-      res.status(200).send(worksheetNames);
+      const worksheetOptions = await readExcelFile(filePath);
+      res.status(200).send(worksheetOptions);
     } catch (error) {
       res.status(500).send({ message: String(error) });
     }
@@ -30,10 +40,7 @@ router.post(
 router.post(
   '/preview',
   validateImportMapOptions,
-  (
-    req: Request,
-    res: Response<{ rundown: Rundown; customFields: CustomFields; summary: RundownSummary } | ErrorResponse>,
-  ) => {
+  (req: Request, res: Response<SpreadsheetPreviewResponse | ErrorResponse>) => {
     try {
       const { options } = req.body;
       const data = generateRundownPreview(options);
@@ -44,6 +51,20 @@ router.post(
   },
 );
 
+router.post(
+  '/metadata',
+  validateWorksheetMetadataRequest,
+  (req: Request, res: Response<SpreadsheetWorksheetMetadata | ErrorResponse>) => {
+    try {
+      const { worksheet } = req.body;
+      const data = getWorksheetMetadata(worksheet);
+      res.status(200).send(data);
+    } catch (error) {
+      res.status(500).send({ message: String(error) });
+    }
+  },
+);
+
 router.get('/:rundownId/export', validateRundownExport, (req: Request, res: Response) => {
   try {
     const rundown = getDataProvider().getRundown(req.params.rundownId);

apps/server/src/api-data/excel/excel.service.ts

@@ -16,6 +16,9 @@ import { parseCustomFields } from '../custom-fields/customFields.parser.js';
 import { getProjectCustomFields, processRundown } from '../rundown/rundown.dao.js';
 import { parseRundown } from '../rundown/rundown.parser.js';
 import { parseExcel } from './excel.parser.js';
+import type { SpreadsheetWorksheetMetadata } from 'ontime-types';
+
+import { getWorksheetMetadataFromRows } from './spreadsheetMetadata.utils.js';
 import { rundownToTabular } from './excel.utils.js';
 
 // we keep the excel data in memory to allow the flow upload -> preview
@@ -33,11 +36,25 @@ function getValidWorksheetName(title: string): string {
   return truncatedTitle.length > 0 ? truncatedTitle : 'Rundown';
 }
 
+function getInitialWorksheetMetadata(worksheets: string[]): SpreadsheetWorksheetMetadata | null {
+  for (const worksheet of worksheets) {
+    try {
+      return getWorksheetMetadata(worksheet);
+    } catch {
+      // Continue looking for the first worksheet with usable headers.
+    }
+  }
+
+  return null;
+}
+
 /**
  * Receives and parses an excel file
  * The file is deleted after being read
  */
-export async function readExcelFile(filePath: string): Promise<string[]> {
+export async function readExcelFile(
+  filePath: string,
+): Promise<{ worksheets: string[]; metadata: SpreadsheetWorksheetMetadata | null }> {
   if (!existsSync(filePath)) {
     throw new Error('Upload of excel file failed');
   }
@@ -50,7 +67,13 @@ export async function readExcelFile(filePath: string): Promise<string[]> {
 
   await deleteFile(filePath);
 
-  return excelData.SheetNames;
+  const worksheets = excelData.SheetNames;
+  const metadata = getInitialWorksheetMetadata(worksheets);
+
+  return {
+    worksheets,
+    metadata,
+  };
 }
 
 export function generateRundownPreview(options: ImportMap): {
@@ -94,6 +117,17 @@ export function generateRundownPreview(options: ImportMap): {
   };
 }
 
+export function getWorksheetMetadata(worksheet: string) {
+  const data = excelData.Sheets[worksheet];
+
+  if (!data) {
+    throw new Error(`Could not find worksheet: ${worksheet}`);
+  }
+
+  const arrayOfData: unknown[][] = xlsx.utils.sheet_to_json(data, { header: 1, blankrows: false, raw: false });
+  return getWorksheetMetadataFromRows(worksheet, arrayOfData);
+}
+
 /**
  * Creates an xlsx file from a given rundown and custom fields
  * @throws if the rundown is empty

apps/server/src/api-data/excel/excel.validation.ts

@@ -18,4 +18,9 @@ export const validateImportMapOptions = [
   requestValidationFunction,
 ];
 
+export const validateWorksheetMetadataRequest = [
+  body('worksheet').isString().trim().notEmpty(),
+  requestValidationFunction,
+];
+
 export const validateRundownExport = [param('rundownId').isString().trim().notEmpty(), requestValidationFunction];

apps/server/src/api-data/excel/spreadsheetMetadata.utils.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+import type { SpreadsheetWorksheetMetadata } from 'ontime-types';
+
+function normalizeCell(value: unknown): string {
+  if (value === null || value === undefined) {
+    return '';
+  }
+
+  if (typeof value === 'string') {
+    return value.trim();
+  }
+
+  return String(value).trim();
+}
+
+function countNonEmpty(row: string[]): number {
+  return row.filter((cell) => cell.length > 0).length;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Finds the index of the header row in a spreadsheet.
+ * Prioritizes rows with >5 non-empty columns (early exit), otherwise returns the row with the most columns.
+ * This heuristic works because header rows typically have more columns than data rows.
+ * @param rows - Array of spreadsheet rows, each containing normalized cell values
+ * @returns Index of the header row, or -1 if no data is found
+ */
+function findHeaderRowIndex(rows: string[][]): number {
+  const rowCounts = rows.map(countNonEmpty);
+
+  let bestIndex = -1;
+  let bestCount = 0;
+
+  for (let index = 0; index < rowCounts.length; index++) {
+    const count = rowCounts[index];
+
+    // Early exit if we find a row with >5 columns (likely a header)
+    if (count > 5) {
+      return index;
+    }
+
+    // Otherwise track the row with the most columns
+    if (count > bestCount) {
+      bestIndex = index;
+      bestCount = count;
+    }
+  }
+
+  return bestIndex;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Extracts metadata from a spreadsheet worksheet including detected headers.
+ * Normalizes cell values and identifies the header row.
+ * @throws Error if no data is found or headers cannot be detected
+ */
+export function getWorksheetMetadataFromRows(worksheet: string, sheetRows: unknown[][]): SpreadsheetWorksheetMetadata {
+  const rows = sheetRows.map((row) => row.map(normalizeCell));
+  const headerRowIndex = findHeaderRowIndex(rows);
+
+  if (headerRowIndex === -1) {
+    throw new Error(`Could not find any data in worksheet: ${worksheet}`);
+  }
+
+  const headerEntries = rows[headerRowIndex]
+    .map((header, index) => ({ header, index }))
+    .filter(({ header }) => header.length > 0);
+
+  if (headerEntries.length === 0) {
+    throw new Error(`Could not detect worksheet headers in: ${worksheet}`);
+  }
+
+  return {
+    worksheet,
+    headers: headerEntries.map(({ header }) => header),
+  };
+}

apps/server/src/api-data/sheets/sheets.controller.ts

@@ -6,12 +6,19 @@
 import { readFileSync } from 'fs';
 
 import { Request, Response } from 'express';
-import type { AuthenticationStatus, CustomFields, ErrorResponse, Rundown, RundownSummary } from 'ontime-types';
+import type {
+  AuthenticationStatus,
+  ErrorResponse,
+  SpreadsheetPreviewResponse,
+  SpreadsheetWorksheetMetadata,
+  SpreadsheetWorksheetOptions,
+} from 'ontime-types';
 import { getErrorMessage } from 'ontime-utils';
 
 import { deleteFile } from '../../utils/fileManagement.js';
 import {
   download,
+  getWorksheetMetadata,
   getWorksheetOptions,
   handleClientSecret,
   handleInitialConnection,
@@ -69,10 +76,13 @@ export async function revokeAuthentication(
   }
 }
 
-export async function getWorksheetNamesFromSheet(req: Request, res: Response<string[] | ErrorResponse>) {
+export async function getWorksheetNamesFromSheet(
+  req: Request,
+  res: Response<SpreadsheetWorksheetOptions | ErrorResponse>,
+) {
   try {
     const { sheetId } = req.params;
-    const { worksheetOptions } = await getWorksheetOptions(sheetId);
+    const worksheetOptions = await getWorksheetOptions(sheetId);
     res.status(200).send(worksheetOptions);
   } catch (error) {
     const message = getErrorMessage(error);
@@ -80,16 +90,21 @@ export async function getWorksheetNamesFromSheet(req: Request, res: Response<str
   }
 }
 
+export async function getWorksheetMetadataFromSheet(req: Request, res: Response<SpreadsheetWorksheetMetadata | ErrorResponse>) {
+  try {
+    const { sheetId } = req.params;
+    const { worksheet } = req.body;
+    const metadata = await getWorksheetMetadata(sheetId, worksheet);
+    res.status(200).send(metadata);
+  } catch (error) {
+    const message = getErrorMessage(error);
+    res.status(500).send({ message });
+  }
+}
+
 export async function readFromSheet(
   req: Request,
-  res: Response<
-    | {
-        rundown: Rundown;
-        customFields: CustomFields;
-        summary: RundownSummary;
-      }
-    | ErrorResponse
-  >,
+  res: Response<SpreadsheetPreviewResponse | ErrorResponse>,
 ) {
   try {
     const { sheetId } = req.params;

apps/server/src/api-data/sheets/sheets.router.ts

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 import express from 'express';
 
 import {
+  getWorksheetMetadataFromSheet,
   getWorksheetNamesFromSheet,
   readFromSheet,
   requestConnection,
@@ -13,7 +14,12 @@ import {
   writeToSheet,
 } from './sheets.controller.js';
 import { uploadClientSecret } from './sheets.middleware.js';
-import { validateRequestConnection, validateSheetId, validateSheetOptions } from './sheets.validation.js';
+import {
+  validateRequestConnection,
+  validateSheetId,
+  validateSheetOptions,
+  validateWorksheetMetadata,
+} from './sheets.validation.js';
 
 export const router = express.Router();
 
@@ -23,6 +29,7 @@ router.post('/:sheetId/connect', uploadClientSecret, validateRequestConnection,
 router.post('/revoke', revokeAuthentication);
 
 router.post('/:sheetId/worksheets', validateSheetId, getWorksheetNamesFromSheet);
+router.post('/:sheetId/metadata', validateWorksheetMetadata, getWorksheetMetadataFromSheet);
 
 router.post('/:sheetId/read', validateSheetOptions, readFromSheet);
 router.post('/:sheetId/write', validateSheetOptions, writeToSheet);

apps/server/src/api-data/sheets/sheets.service.ts

@@ -26,6 +26,9 @@ import { logger } from '../../classes/Logger.js';
 import { consoleSubdued } from '../../utils/console.js';
 import { parseCustomFields } from '../custom-fields/customFields.parser.js';
 import { parseExcel } from '../excel/excel.parser.js';
+import type { SpreadsheetWorksheetMetadata } from 'ontime-types';
+
+import { getWorksheetMetadataFromRows } from '../excel/spreadsheetMetadata.utils.js';
 import { getCurrentRundown, getProjectCustomFields, processRundown } from '../rundown/rundown.dao.js';
 import { parseRundowns } from '../rundown/rundown.parser.js';
 import { catchCommonImportXlsxError } from './googleApi.utils.js';
@@ -224,7 +227,7 @@ export function hasAuth(): { authenticated: AuthenticationStatus; sheetId: strin
 async function verifySheet(
   sheetId = currentSheetId,
   authClient = currentAuthClient,
-): Promise<{ worksheetOptions: string[] }> {
+): Promise<string[]> {
   if (!sheetId || !authClient) {
     throw new Error('Missing sheet ID or authentication');
   }
@@ -245,7 +248,7 @@ async function verifySheet(
     if (worksheets.length === 0) {
       throw new Error('No worksheets found');
     }
-    return { worksheetOptions: worksheets };
+    return worksheets;
   } catch (error) {
     // attempt to catch errors caused by importing xlsx
     catchCommonImportXlsxError(error);
@@ -284,13 +287,61 @@ export async function handleInitialConnection(
  * Allow calling verification for sheetId
  * @returns
  */
-export async function getWorksheetOptions(sheetId: string): ReturnType<typeof verifySheet> {
+export async function getWorksheetOptions(
+  sheetId: string,
+): Promise<{ worksheets: string[]; metadata: SpreadsheetWorksheetMetadata | null }> {
   if (!currentAuthClient) {
     throw new Error('Not authenticated');
   }
   currentSheetId = sheetId;
 
-  return verifySheet(sheetId);
+  const worksheets = await verifySheet(sheetId);
+  const metadata = await getInitialWorksheetMetadata(sheetId, worksheets);
+
+  return {
+    worksheets,
+    metadata,
+  };
+}
+
+async function getInitialWorksheetMetadata(
+  sheetId: string,
+  worksheets: string[],
+): Promise<SpreadsheetWorksheetMetadata | null> {
+  for (const worksheet of worksheets) {
+    try {
+      return await getWorksheetMetadata(sheetId, worksheet);
+    } catch {
+      // Continue looking for the first worksheet with usable headers.
+    }
+  }
+
+  return null;
+}
+
+export async function getWorksheetMetadata(sheetId: string, worksheet: string) {
+  if (!currentAuthClient) {
+    throw new Error('Not authenticated');
+  }
+
+  const { range } = await verifyWorksheet(sheetId, worksheet);
+
+  const googleResponse = await sheets({ version: 'v4', auth: currentAuthClient }).spreadsheets.values.get({
+    spreadsheetId: sheetId,
+    valueRenderOption: 'FORMATTED_VALUE',
+    majorDimension: 'ROWS',
+    range,
+  });
+
+  if (googleResponse.status !== 200) {
+    throw new Error(`Sheet read failed: ${googleResponse.statusText}`);
+  }
+
+  if (!googleResponse.data.values) {
+    throw new Error('Sheet: No data found in the worksheet');
+  }
+
+  return getWorksheetMetadataFromRows(worksheet, googleResponse.data.values);
 }
 
 async function verifyWorksheet(sheetId: string, worksheet: string): Promise<{ worksheetId: number; range: string }> {

apps/server/src/api-data/sheets/sheets.validation.ts

@@ -30,6 +30,12 @@ export const validateRequestConnection = [
 
 export const validateSheetId = [param('sheetId').isString().trim().notEmpty(), requestValidationFunction];
 
+export const validateWorksheetMetadata = [
+  param('sheetId').isString().trim().notEmpty(),
+  body('worksheet').isString().trim().notEmpty(),
+  requestValidationFunction,
+];
+
 export const validateSheetOptions = [
   param('sheetId').isString().trim().notEmpty(),
   body('options')