excel-mcp-server

excel-mcp-server

2
file_systems

Excel MCP Server is a Model Context Protocol server that facilitates reading and writing data in MS Excel files, including text values and formulas. It supports various Excel file formats and offers features like pagination and screen capturing, designed to integrate easily with Node.js environments.

Excel MCP Server

NPM Version smithery badge

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that reads and writes MS Excel data.

Features

  • Read text values from MS Excel file
  • Write text values to MS Excel file
  • Read formulas from MS Excel file
  • Write formulas to MS Excel file
  • Capture screen image from MS Excel file (Windows only)

For more details, see the tools section.

Requirements

  • Node.js 20.x or later

Supported file formats

  • xlsx (Excel book)
  • xlsm (Excel macro-enabled book)
  • xltx (Excel template)
  • xltm (Excel macro-enabled template)

Installation

Installing via NPM

excel-mcp-server is automatically installed by adding the following configuration to the MCP servers configuration.

Using stdio transport (default)

For Windows:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "excel": {
            "command": "cmd",
            "args": ["/c", "npx", "--yes", "@fbeawels/excel-mcp-server"],
            "env": {
                "EXCEL_MCP_PAGING_CELLS_LIMIT": "4000"
            }
        }
    }
}

For other platforms:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "excel": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": ["--yes", "@fbeawels/excel-mcp-server"],
            "env": {
                "EXCEL_MCP_PAGING_CELLS_LIMIT": "4000"
            }
        }
    }
}
Using SSE transport

For Windows:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "excel": {
            "command": "cmd",
            "args": ["/c", "npx", "--yes", "@fbeawels/excel-mcp-server"],
            "env": {
                "EXCEL_MCP_PAGING_CELLS_LIMIT": "4000",
                "EXCEL_MCP_TRANSPORT": "sse",
                "EXCEL_MCP_HOST": "0.0.0.0",
                "EXCEL_MCP_PORT": "8000"
            }
        }
    }
}

For other platforms:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "excel": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": ["--yes", "@fbeawels/excel-mcp-server"],
            "env": {
                "EXCEL_MCP_PAGING_CELLS_LIMIT": "4000",
                "EXCEL_MCP_TRANSPORT": "sse",
                "EXCEL_MCP_HOST": "0.0.0.0",
                "EXCEL_MCP_PORT": "8000"
            }
        }
    }
}

When using SSE transport, the server will start an HTTP server with the following endpoints:

  • /sse - SSE endpoint for receiving events from the server
  • /command - POST endpoint for sending commands to the server
  • /status - GET endpoint for checking server status

Installing via Smithery

To install Excel MCP Server for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @fbeawels/excel-mcp-server --client claude

Tools

read_sheet_names

List all sheet names in an Excel file.

Arguments:

  • fileAbsolutePath
    • Absolute path to the Excel file

read_sheet_data

Read data from Excel sheet with pagination.

Arguments:

  • fileAbsolutePath
    • Absolute path to the Excel file
  • sheetName
    • Sheet name in the Excel file
  • range
    • Range of cells to read in the Excel sheet (e.g., "A1:C10"). [default: first paging range]
  • knownPagingRanges
    • List of already read paging ranges

read_sheet_formula

Read formulas from Excel sheet with pagination.

Arguments:

  • fileAbsolutePath
    • Absolute path to the Excel file
  • sheetName
    • Sheet name in the Excel file
  • range
    • Range of cells to read in the Excel sheet (e.g., "A1:C10"). [default: first paging range]
  • knownPagingRanges
    • List of already read paging ranges

read_sheet_image

[Windows only] Read data as an image from the Excel sheet with pagination.

Arguments:

  • fileAbsolutePath
    • Absolute path to the Excel file
  • sheetName
    • Sheet name in the Excel file
  • range
    • Range of cells to read in the Excel sheet (e.g., "A1:C10"). [default: first paging range]
  • knownPagingRanges
    • List of already read paging ranges

write_sheet_data

Write data to the Excel sheet.

Arguments:

  • fileAbsolutePath
    • Absolute path to the Excel file
  • sheetName
    • Sheet name in the Excel file
  • range
    • Range of cells to read in the Excel sheet (e.g., "A1:C10").
  • data
    • Data to write to the Excel sheet

write_sheet_formula

Write formulas to the Excel sheet.

Arguments:

  • fileAbsolutePath
    • Absolute path to the Excel file
  • sheetName
    • Sheet name in the Excel file
  • range
    • Range of cells to read in the Excel sheet (e.g., "A1:C10").
  • formulas
    • Formulas to write to the Excel sheet (e.g., "=A1+B1")

Configuration

Command-line Arguments

The following command-line arguments are available:

--transport <type>   Transport type (stdio or sse)
--host <address>     Host address to listen on for SSE transport (default: all interfaces)
--port <number>      Port for SSE transport (default: 8000)

Example usage:

npx @fbeawels/excel-mcp-server --transport sse --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000

Environment Variables

You can also change the MCP Server behaviors by the following environment variables:

EXCEL_MCP_PAGING_CELLS_LIMIT

The maximum number of cells to read in a single paging operation.
[default: 4000]

EXCEL_MCP_TRANSPORT

The transport mechanism to use for communication.
Possible values: stdio, sse
[default: stdio]

EXCEL_MCP_HOST

The host address to bind to when using SSE transport.
[default: ""] (all interfaces)

EXCEL_MCP_PORT

The port to use for the HTTP server when using SSE transport.
[default: 8000]

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Franck Besnard

excel-mcp-server is released under the