Excel

Comprehensive Excel file manipulation - read, write, edit, format, and export.

Setup

pip install openpyxl

# Or use uv (recommended)
uv run --with openpyxl python3 scripts/excel.py --help

Quick Reference

cd skills/excel

# Get file info
python3 scripts/excel.py info report.xlsx

# Read entire sheet
python3 scripts/excel.py read report.xlsx
python3 scripts/excel.py read report.xlsx --format markdown
python3 scripts/excel.py read report.xlsx --sheet "Sales" --range A1:D10

# Read specific cell
python3 scripts/excel.py cell report.xlsx B5

# Create new workbook
python3 scripts/excel.py create output.xlsx
python3 scripts/excel.py create output.xlsx --sheets "Data,Summary,Charts"

# Write data
python3 scripts/excel.py write output.xlsx --data '[[1,2,3],[4,5,6]]'
python3 scripts/excel.py write output.xlsx --data '{"headers":["Name","Age"],"rows":[["Alice",30],["Bob",25]]}'

# Edit a cell
python3 scripts/excel.py edit report.xlsx A1 "New Value"
python3 scripts/excel.py edit report.xlsx B2 "SUM(A1:A10)" --formula

# Export
python3 scripts/excel.py to-csv report.xlsx output.csv
python3 scripts/excel.py to-json report.xlsx output.json
python3 scripts/excel.py to-markdown report.xlsx

Commands

Reading Data

info - Get workbook metadata

python3 scripts/excel.py info report.xlsx
# Returns: sheets, dimensions, row/column counts

read - Read sheet data

python3 scripts/excel.py read file.xlsx                     # JSON output
python3 scripts/excel.py read file.xlsx --format csv        # CSV output
python3 scripts/excel.py read file.xlsx --format markdown   # Markdown table
python3 scripts/excel.py read file.xlsx --sheet "Sheet2"    # Specific sheet
python3 scripts/excel.py read file.xlsx --range A1:D10      # Specific range

cell - Read a specific cell

python3 scripts/excel.py cell file.xlsx A1
python3 scripts/excel.py cell file.xlsx B5 --sheet "Data"
# Returns: value, formula (if any), data type, merge status

Creating & Writing

create - Create new workbook

python3 scripts/excel.py create new.xlsx
python3 scripts/excel.py create new.xlsx --sheets "Sheet1,Sheet2,Summary"

write - Write data to cells

# 2D array
python3 scripts/excel.py write file.xlsx --data '[[1,2,3],[4,5,6]]'

# With headers
python3 scripts/excel.py write file.xlsx --data '{"headers":["A","B"],"rows":[[1,2],[3,4]]}'

# Start at specific cell
python3 scripts/excel.py write file.xlsx --data '[[1,2]]' --start C5

# Key-value pairs
python3 scripts/excel.py write file.xlsx --data '{"Name":"Alice","Age":30}'

from-csv - Create Excel from CSV

python3 scripts/excel.py from-csv data.csv output.xlsx
python3 scripts/excel.py from-csv data.csv output.xlsx --sheet "Imported"

from-json - Create Excel from JSON

python3 scripts/excel.py from-json data.json output.xlsx
# Supports: array of objects, array of arrays, headers+rows format

Editing

edit - Edit a cell value or formula

python3 scripts/excel.py edit file.xlsx A1 "New Value"
python3 scripts/excel.py edit file.xlsx B2 100
python3 scripts/excel.py edit file.xlsx C3 "SUM(A1:B2)" --formula
python3 scripts/excel.py edit file.xlsx D4 "=VLOOKUP(A1,Data!A:B,2,FALSE)" --formula

find - Search for text

python3 scripts/excel.py find file.xlsx "search term"
python3 scripts/excel.py find file.xlsx "error" --sheet "Log"
# Returns: list of cells containing the text

replace - Find and replace

python3 scripts/excel.py replace file.xlsx "old" "new"
python3 scripts/excel.py replace file.xlsx "2024" "2025" --sheet "Dates"

Sheet Management

add-sheet - Add a new sheet

python3 scripts/excel.py add-sheet file.xlsx "NewSheet"
python3 scripts/excel.py add-sheet file.xlsx "First" --position 0  # Insert at beginning

rename-sheet - Rename a sheet

python3 scripts/excel.py rename-sheet file.xlsx "Sheet1" "Data"

delete-sheet - Delete a sheet

python3 scripts/excel.py delete-sheet file.xlsx "OldSheet"

copy-sheet - Copy a sheet

python3 scripts/excel.py copy-sheet file.xlsx "Template" "January"

Row & Column Operations

insert-rows - Insert rows

python3 scripts/excel.py insert-rows file.xlsx 5              # Insert 1 row at row 5
python3 scripts/excel.py insert-rows file.xlsx 5 --count 3    # Insert 3 rows

insert-cols - Insert columns

python3 scripts/excel.py insert-cols file.xlsx C              # Insert at column C
python3 scripts/excel.py insert-cols file.xlsx 3 --count 2    # Insert 2 cols at position 3

delete-rows - Delete rows

python3 scripts/excel.py delete-rows file.xlsx 5
python3 scripts/excel.py delete-rows file.xlsx 5 --count 3

delete-cols - Delete columns

python3 scripts/excel.py delete-cols file.xlsx C
python3 scripts/excel.py delete-cols file.xlsx B --count 2

Cell Operations

merge - Merge cells

python3 scripts/excel.py merge file.xlsx A1:C1
python3 scripts/excel.py merge file.xlsx A1:A5 --sheet "Header"

unmerge - Unmerge cells

python3 scripts/excel.py unmerge file.xlsx A1:C1

Formatting

format - Apply cell formatting

# Bold and italic
python3 scripts/excel.py format file.xlsx A1:D1 --bold --italic

# Font settings
python3 scripts/excel.py format file.xlsx A1:D1 --font-size 14 --font-color RED --font-name "Arial"

# Background color
python3 scripts/excel.py format file.xlsx A1:D1 --bg-color YELLOW

# Alignment
python3 scripts/excel.py format file.xlsx A:A --align center --valign top

# Text wrapping
python3 scripts/excel.py format file.xlsx B2:B100 --wrap

# Borders
python3 scripts/excel.py format file.xlsx A1:D10 --border thin
# Border styles: thin, medium, thick, double

# Combined
python3 scripts/excel.py format file.xlsx A1:D1 --bold --bg-color "#4472C4" --font-color WHITE --align center

resize - Resize rows and columns

python3 scripts/excel.py resize file.xlsx --row 1:30          # Row 1 height = 30
python3 scripts/excel.py resize file.xlsx --col A:20          # Column A width = 20
python3 scripts/excel.py resize file.xlsx --row 1:30 --col A:15 --col B:25

freeze - Freeze panes

python3 scripts/excel.py freeze file.xlsx A2    # Freeze row 1
python3 scripts/excel.py freeze file.xlsx B1    # Freeze column A
python3 scripts/excel.py freeze file.xlsx B2    # Freeze row 1 and column A

Export

to-csv - Export to CSV

python3 scripts/excel.py to-csv file.xlsx output.csv
python3 scripts/excel.py to-csv file.xlsx data.csv --sheet "Data"

to-json - Export to JSON (first row as headers)

python3 scripts/excel.py to-json file.xlsx output.json
# Outputs: [{"Header1": "val1", "Header2": "val2"}, ...]

to-markdown - Export to markdown table

python3 scripts/excel.py to-markdown file.xlsx
python3 scripts/excel.py to-markdown file.xlsx --sheet "Summary"

Colors

Named colors:

RED

,

GREEN

,

BLUE

,

YELLOW

,

WHITE

,

BLACK

,

GRAY

,

ORANGE

,

PURPLE

,

PINK

,

CYAN

Hex colors:

#FF0000

,

#4472C4

,

00FF00

(with or without #)

Common Workflows

Create a report from data

# Create workbook with data
python3 scripts/excel.py from-json sales.json report.xlsx --sheet "Sales"

# Format headers
python3 scripts/excel.py format report.xlsx A1:E1 --bold --bg-color "#4472C4" --font-color WHITE

# Freeze header row
python3 scripts/excel.py freeze report.xlsx A2

# Resize columns
python3 scripts/excel.py resize report.xlsx --col A:15 --col B:25 --col C:12

Update existing report

# Add new row
python3 scripts/excel.py insert-rows report.xlsx 2
python3 scripts/excel.py write report.xlsx --data '[["New Item", 100, 50]]' --start A2

# Update specific cell
python3 scripts/excel.py edit report.xlsx D10 "=SUM(D2:D9)" --formula

# Find and replace dates
python3 scripts/excel.py replace report.xlsx "2024" "2025"

Extract data for analysis

# Read as JSON for processing
python3 scripts/excel.py read data.xlsx --format json > data.json

# Read specific range as markdown
python3 scripts/excel.py read data.xlsx --range A1:D20 --format markdown

# Export specific sheet to CSV
python3 scripts/excel.py to-csv data.xlsx --sheet "Raw Data" export.csv

Output Format

All commands output JSON with

success: true/false

:

{
  "success": true,
  "file": "report.xlsx",
  "sheet": "Sheet1",
  ...
}

Use

--format markdown

or

--format csv

with

read

command for alternative output.