Installable and time-driven triggers

Concept

Simple vs installable

	Simple trigger	Installable trigger
Setup	Just name the function	Create it once (UI or code)
Can send email / use Drive	No	Yes
Runs as	The user at that moment	The person who created the trigger
Time-based	No	Yes
Max run time	30 seconds	~6 minutes
Event types	open, edit, selection	open, edit, change, form submit, time, calendar

Installable triggers run with your permissions, even when nobody has the file open — that's why they can send emails at 9 a.m. every day.

Creating a trigger from the editor

Click the Triggers (clock) icon on the left.
+ Add Trigger (bottom right).
Choose the function, event source (Time-driven or From spreadsheet), and the type.
Optionally set failure notifications — choose Notify me immediately for important jobs.
Save and authorize.

Creating a trigger from code

// Run dailyReport every day between 9 and 10 a.m. (project time zone)
function createDailyTrigger() {
  ScriptApp.newTrigger('dailyReport')
    .timeBased()
    .everyDays(1)
    .atHour(9)
    .create();
}

// Run syncRates every hour
function createHourlyTrigger() {
  ScriptApp.newTrigger('syncRates')
    .timeBased()
    .everyHours(1)
    .create();
}

// Run weeklySummary every Monday around 8 a.m.
function createWeeklyTrigger() {
  ScriptApp.newTrigger('weeklySummary')
    .timeBased()
    .onWeekDay(ScriptApp.WeekDay.MONDAY)
    .atHour(8)
    .create();
}

Run the create… function once. Each run adds another trigger, so running it twice gives you two emails every morning.

Note: atHour(9) means "sometime between 9:00 and 10:00", not exactly 9:00. Minute-based triggers allow everyMinutes(1), 5, 10, 15 or 30.

Installable onEdit (with email)

function createEditTrigger() {
  const ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
  ScriptApp.newTrigger('onBigOrder')
    .forSpreadsheet(ss)
    .onEdit()
    .create();
}

function onBigOrder(e) {
  const r = e.range;
  if (r.getSheet().getName() !== 'Orders' || r.getColumn() !== 4) return;
  if (Number(e.value) > 100000) {
    MailApp.sendEmail('owner@example.com', 'Big order', `Order in row ${r.getRow()}: ₹${e.value}`);
  }
}

Give the handler a different name than onEdit — otherwise it runs twice (once as a simple trigger, once as installable), and the simple one fails on MailApp.

Safe setup: avoid duplicates

function resetTriggers() {
  // Delete existing triggers for this project that call dailyReport
  ScriptApp.getProjectTriggers()
    .filter(t => t.getHandlerFunction() === 'dailyReport')
    .forEach(t => ScriptApp.deleteTrigger(t));

  ScriptApp.newTrigger('dailyReport').timeBased().everyDays(1).atHour(9).create();
}

Run resetTriggers whenever you want to (re)install — it always leaves exactly one.

Key points

Installable triggers can email, use Drive and run on a schedule.
They run as the creator, so they work while everyone is offline.
Create them once; use getProjectTriggers to clean up duplicates.
Check Executions to see each triggered run.

What you'll learn