excel-mcp-server
Excel MCP server: let AI (Claude, Cursor, Codex) create and edit Excel files with charts, PivotTables, slicers and formulas. No Excel required.
Install / Use
claude mcp add haris-musa -- npx -y github:haris-musa/excel-mcp-serverIf the server publishes to npm under a different name, use that package instead — check the repo README.
MCP Server
Model Context Protocol server
Quality Score
Category
AutomationSupported Platforms
Our assessment of excel-mcp-server
excel-mcp-server scores 91/100 on our quality scale, 943rd of 2,877 Automation skills we index (top 33%).
Its MCP Server is 4.1 KB long, well organised into 11 sections with 6 code examples: a solid amount of guidance for an agent.
With 4,279 GitHub stars, it is one of the more widely adopted skills in the catalogue.
Maintenance, license and trust
- The repository was last updated yesterday, so excel-mcp-server is actively maintained.
- Our last check on 2026-10-17 found the source still online.
- It is released under the MIT license, a permissive license that allows use, modification and commercial use with attribution.
- Its trust signals score 100/100, with no cautions. These come from repository metadata, not a code audit — read the skill file before letting an agent act on it.
Safety scan
No issues foundOur scan of the whole file found no instruction hijacking, hidden characters, credential access, data exfiltration or destructive commands. An AI review of the same text found nothing harmful.
AI review by kimi-k2.7-code on 2026-09-24. Automated pattern scan on 2026-09-24. It catches known dangerous patterns, not every risk — read a skill before letting an agent act on it.
excel-mcp-server compared with similar skills
All 4 of these similar skills score higher than excel-mcp-server; compare them before choosing.
| Skill | Score | Stars | Updated | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| excel-mcp-server (this skill)by haris-musa | 91 | 4.3k | 1d ago | MCP Server |
| Agent-Reachby Panniantong | 100 | 109.5k | 1d ago | CLAUDE.md |
| headroomby headroomlabs-ai | 100 | 79.0k | today | CLAUDE.md |
| CowAgentby zhayujie | 100 | 47.8k | today | CLAUDE.md |
| Scraplingby D4Vinci | 100 | 98.7k | today | MCP Server |
Frequently asked questions
- How do I install excel-mcp-server?
- Run
claude mcp add haris-musa -- npx -y github:haris-musa/excel-mcp-server. The install tabs above show the steps for each supported agent. - Which AI agents does excel-mcp-server work with?
- It is written for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor and OpenAI Codex, as a MCP Server file. Other agents that read the same format can often use it too.
- Is excel-mcp-server safe to use?
- Our scan of the whole file found no instruction hijacking, hidden characters, credential access, data exfiltration or destructive commands. An AI review of the same text found nothing harmful. It is MIT-licensed and scores 100/100 on trust signals. Skills are instructions an agent will follow, so read the file before installing it and do not approve commands you do not understand.
- Is excel-mcp-server still maintained?
- The repository was last updated yesterday, so excel-mcp-server is actively maintained.
Skill content
View source on GitHubA Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that lets you manipulate Excel files without needing Microsoft Excel installed. Create, read, and modify Excel workbooks with your AI agent.
Features
- 📊 Excel Operations: Create, read, update workbooks and worksheets
- 📈 Data Manipulation: Formulas, formatting, charts, pivot tables, and Excel tables
- 🔍 Data Validation: Built-in validation for ranges, formulas, and data integrity
- 🎨 Formatting: Font styling, colors, borders, alignment, and conditional formatting
- 📋 Table Operations: Create and manage Excel tables with custom styling
- 📊 Chart Creation: Generate various chart types (line, bar, pie, scatter, etc.)
- 🔄 Pivot Tables: Create dynamic pivot tables for data analysis
- 🔧 Sheet Management: Copy, rename, delete worksheets with ease
- 🔌 Triple transport support: stdio, SSE (deprecated), and streamable HTTP
- 🌐 Remote & Local: Works both locally and as a remote service
Usage
The server supports three transport methods:
1. Stdio Transport (for local use)
uvx excel-mcp-server stdio
{
"mcpServers": {
"excel": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["excel-mcp-server", "stdio"]
}
}
}
2. SSE Transport (Server-Sent Events - Deprecated)
uvx excel-mcp-server sse
SSE transport connection:
{
"mcpServers": {
"excel": {
"url": "http://localhost:8000/sse",
}
}
}
3. Streamable HTTP Transport (Recommended for remote connections)
uvx excel-mcp-server streamable-http
Streamable HTTP transport connection:
{
"mcpServers": {
"excel": {
"url": "http://localhost:8000/mcp",
}
}
}
Environment Variables & File Path Handling
SSE and Streamable HTTP Transports
When running the server with the SSE or Streamable HTTP protocols, you must set the EXCEL_FILES_PATH environment variable on the server side. This variable tells the server where to read and write Excel files.
- If not set, it defaults to
./excel_files. - With these transports, tool
filepathvalues must be relative to that directory (e.g.reports/q1.xlsx); absolute paths and directory traversal are rejected.
You can also set the FASTMCP_PORT environment variable to control the port the server listens on (default is 8017 if not set).
- Example (Windows PowerShell):
$env:EXCEL_FILES_PATH="E:\MyExcelFiles" $env:FASTMCP_PORT="8007" uvx excel-mcp-server streamable-http - Example (Linux/macOS):
EXCEL_FILES_PATH=/path/to/excel_files FASTMCP_PORT=8007 uvx excel-mcp-server streamable-http
Stdio Transport
When using the stdio protocol, the file path is provided with each tool call, so you do not need to set EXCEL_FILES_PATH on the server. The server will use the path sent by the client for each operation.
Available Tools
The server provides a comprehensive set of Excel manipulation tools. See TOOLS.md for complete documentation of all available tools.
Star History
License
MIT License - see LICENSE for details.
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Languages
Trust signals
From repository metadata: license, adoption, age and documentation. Not a code audit — see the Safety scan above for what the skill file itself contains.
