DEV Community: Aero

Stop Digging for Google Form Entry IDs: Automate It with This Free Tool

Aero — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 10:05:05 +0000

If you’ve ever tried to programmatically submit data to a Google Form or create dynamic pre-filled links, you already know the headache. Google doesn't make it easy. Instead of clean, readable input names like name="email", Google Forms assigns obscure, randomly generated IDs to every field—like entry.123456789.

Historically, finding these IDs meant right-clicking the page, opening Chrome Developer Tools, and meticulously digging through a maze of HTML code to find the exact entry tags. If your form had 20 questions, you were in for a long, tedious afternoon.

Not anymore.

Today, I’m sharing a completely free, open-source tool that does the heavy lifting for you: the Google Forms Prefill Extractor.

Whether you’re a developer building a custom integration, a marketer automating lead generation, or just someone tired of manually inspecting web pages, this tool will save you hours.

What Does This Tool Do?

The Google Forms Prefill Extractor is a simple, automated script that opens a Google Form and instantly maps out its entire hidden structure.

Instead of manual clicking and inspecting, you run a single command, and the tool spits out a beautifully organized JSON file containing:

The exact entry.ID for every question.
The Question Type (Short answer, Multiple choice, Grid, File Upload, etc.).
Available Options (all the choices inside a dropdown or multiple-choice list).
Scale Limits (the minimum and maximum labels for linear scales).
Required Status (whether the question is mandatory or optional).

The best part? You don’t need any API keys, you don’t need a Google Cloud project, and it works perfectly even if you aren't a hardcore coder.

How It Works (The Magic Under the Hood)

You might be wondering: If Google Forms hides these IDs so well, how does the script find them?

Without getting bogged down in complex code, here is the secret: Google Forms stores its entire structure inside a hidden data object loaded in the background called FB_PUBLIC_LOAD_DATA_.

This tool uses Puppeteer, a browser automation library. When you run the script:

It automatically opens a real Google Chrome window on your computer.
It navigates to your target Google Form.
It quietly looks behind the scenes, finds the FB_PUBLIC_LOAD_DATA_ object, and extracts the raw form blueprint.
It translates Google's messy data arrays into a clean, human-readable file.

Because it uses your local Chrome browser, it can seamlessly handle restricted forms! If a form requires you to be logged into your company’s Google Workspace, the script will pause, let you sign in, remember your session, and then continue extracting.

How to Use It (Step-by-Step)

Even if you aren't a developer, getting this running is incredibly straightforward.

1. Prerequisites

You only need three things installed on your Windows computer:

Google Chrome
Node.js (version 18 or newer)
A Google Account (if the form you want to scan is private)

2. Setup

First, grab the code from GitHub and install the necessary dependencies:

# Clone the repository (or download the ZIP from GitHub)
git clone https://github.com/Mahmadabid/google-forms-prefill-extractor.git

# Navigate into the folder
cd google-forms-prefill-extractor

# Install dependencies
npm install

3. Run the Extractor

To scan a form, simply run the script and pass the URL of your Google Form's prefill link:

node script.js https://docs.google.com/forms/d/your-form-id/prefill

Note: If the form is private, Chrome will open and ask you to log in. Just sign in, press Enter in your terminal, and the script will remember you for next time!

The Output

In just a few seconds, the tool creates an output/form-fields.json file. Instead of digging through HTML, you get a clean, ready-to-use map like this:

[
  {
    "label": "What is your email address?",
    "entry": "entry.104578129",
    "type": "Short answer",
    "required": true,
    "description": "Please use your work email."
  },
  {
    "label": "Which department are you in?",
    "entry": "entry.987654321",
    "type": "Dropdown",
    "required": false,
    "description": "",
    "options": [
      "Engineering",
      "Marketing",
      "Sales"
    ]
  }
]

Boom. You instantly have everything you need to build custom webhook integrations, create dynamic pre-filled URLs, or automate your data entry workflows.

Why You Should Add This to Your Toolkit

If you work with Google Forms and automation (like Zapier, Make.com, or custom Node.js/Python scripts), extracting entry IDs is an unavoidable chore.

This tool eliminates that friction entirely. It’s lightweight, fast, and completely free.

No API limits: It runs locally on your machine.
Handles Complex Forms: It flawlessly detects grids, linear scales, checkboxes, and date/time fields.
Saves Time: What used to take 15 minutes of manual inspecting now takes 3 seconds.

Grab the Code!

Ready to stop digging through developer tools?

You can find the full source code, instructions, and updates here:

👉 Google Forms Prefill Extractor on GitHub

If you find this tool helpful, be sure to drop a ⭐ on the GitHub repository to show your support, and share it with anyone else who spends too much time wrestling with Google Forms!

How to Bulk Delete Your X (Twitter) History for Free (No API Keys Needed!)

Aero — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 09:40:36 +0000

We’ve all been there. You look at your X (formerly Twitter) profile and realize you have thousands of old tweets, cringy replies, and outdated retweets from a decade ago. It’s time for a clean slate.

In the past, you could just plug your account into a free third-party app and wipe your history in minutes. But ever since X changed its API pricing, almost all of those free tools have either shut down or started charging hefty subscription fees.

So, how do you clean up your digital footprint without opening your wallet?

Enter twitter-x-cleaner-automation: a completely free, open-source tool that runs directly on your computer to bulk delete your X history.

In this article, I’ll explain how this tool works, why it’s safe to use, and how absolutely anyone—even non-developers—can set it up in minutes.

🚀 What is this tool?

This tool is a lightweight script that automates the tedious process of deleting your X content. Instead of using expensive API keys to talk to X's servers behind the scenes, this tool uses Browser Automation.

Imagine hiring a tireless digital assistant who sits at your computer, opens Google Chrome, scrolls through your profile, clicks the three-dot menu on every single post, and hits "Delete." That is exactly what this script does, just much faster.

What can it clean up?

Posts: Deletes your original tweets.
Replies: Removes all the replies you’ve left on other people's posts.
Retweets (Reposts): Undoes retweets on your timeline.
Likes: Un-hearts posts you’ve previously liked.

🧠 How it Works (No Coding Degree Required)

You don't need to be a programmer to use this, but understanding how it works will give you peace of mind.

The script uses a technology called Puppeteer. Puppeteer is an invisible "puppeteer" for your web browser. When you run the tool, it does the following:

Opens Chrome: It launches a local version of Google Chrome right on your screen.
Logs You In: It uses a secure, local profile. The first time you run it, you'll log in just like you normally do. After that, it remembers you.
Scans and Clicks: It automatically navigates to your profile, uses visual cues to find posts that belong to you, clicks the specific "Delete" or "Unlike" buttons, and confirms the prompt.
Keeps Receipts: As it works, it saves a neat little log file (like a digital receipt) on your computer, so you always know exactly what text was deleted and when.

Because it mimics human behavior—actually clicking buttons on the website—it completely bypasses the need for API keys. Furthermore, it has built-in smarts. If X notices you are deleting things too fast and tries to pause you (a "rate limit"), the script will automatically wait for 60 seconds and resume.

🔒 Why This is the Safest Way to Clean Your Account

When you use sketchy third-party web apps, you are often asked to authorize their app to access your account. This means giving a stranger's server permission to post, delete, or read your messages.

This tool is entirely different:

100% Private: It runs only on your computer. Your passwords and data are never sent to any cloud server.
Transparent: It’s open-source. Anyone can look at the code to verify it does exactly what it says and nothing else.
No Account Bans: By mimicking normal browser clicks and respecting X's rate limits, it avoids triggering bot-detection alarms.

🛠️ Step-by-Step Guide: How to Use It

Ready to nuke your timeline? Here is how to get started.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed on your Windows PC:

Google Chrome (Your everyday browser).
Node.js (Version 18 or newer). Just download the Windows installer and click "Next" until it's finished.

Step 1: Download the Tool

Go to the GitHub Repository. Click the green <> Code button and select Download ZIP. Extract the folder anywhere on your computer (like your Desktop).

Step 2: Open your Terminal

Open your computer's Command Prompt (or Terminal) and navigate to the folder you just extracted.
(Tip: You can open the extracted folder, click the address bar at the top of the window, type cmd, and press Enter. This opens a terminal right in that folder!)

Step 3: Install the Magic

In the terminal window, type the following command and press Enter:

npm install

This downloads the small set of instructions the script needs to run.

Step 4: Run the Cleaner

Now, start the tool by typing:

node script.js

Step 5: Choose Your Adventure

The tool will greet you with a friendly menu:

What would you like to do? (enter numbers separated by commas)
  1) Delete posts
  2) Delete replies
  3) Undo retweets
  4) Unlike posts
  5) All of the above

Your choice (e.g. 1,3,4):

Just type the numbers for what you want to do and press Enter.

A Chrome window will pop up. If it's your first time, the terminal will ask you to sign into X. Just log in manually in that Chrome window, switch back to your terminal, and press Enter

Sit back and watch. The tool will auto-detect your username and start scrubbing your profile. You can literally watch the posts disappear one by one!

📂 Advanced Options

If you want to be more specific, you can give the tool extra commands right from the start.

Want to delete exactly 100 posts?

node script.js @yourhandle 100

Want to start a completely fresh log file instead of keeping a running list?

node script.js @yourhandle 100 overwrite

All of your deleted history will be saved neatly inside the output/ folder in the tool's directory, categorized by actions (e.g., deleted-posts.json).

🏁 Final Thoughts

Taking control of your digital footprint shouldn't cost you a monthly subscription. Thanks to browser automation, we can take back control of our data for free, securely, and privately.

If this tool helped you clean up your timeline, be sure to head over to the twitter-x-cleaner-automation GitHub repo and give it a ⭐ Star to support the project!

Happy cleaning! 🧹✨