Website · Installation · Features · Troubleshooting · Automate real Microsoft Excel with AI. Excel MCP Server lets GitHub Copilot, Claude, ChatGPT, and other agents control Excel through natural-language requests—using either MCP or a token-efficient CLI.
$ npx -y skills add sbroenne/mcp-server-excel --agent claude-code
Repo: sbroenne/mcp-server-excel
What's inside
Website · Installation · Features · Troubleshooting · 2-minute demo
Automate real Microsoft Excel with AI. Excel MCP Server lets GitHub Copilot, Claude, ChatGPT, and other agents control Excel through natural-language requests—using either MCP or a token-efficient CLI.
Unlike file-parser tools, ExcelMcp drives the actual Excel application through
its official COM API. It can refresh Power Query, recalculate formulas, evaluate
DAX, run VBA and Python =PY(), and preserve PivotTables, charts, macros, the
Data Model, and workbook formatting.
31 tools with 326 operations cover end-to-end Excel automation.
[!IMPORTANT] Requires Windows, Microsoft Excel 2016 or later, and an interactive desktop. It is not intended for Linux, macOS, or server-side batch processing.
| Use case | Recommended path |
|---|---|
| VS Code | Install the extension |
| Claude Desktop or another MCP client | Install the MCP Server |
| Coding agents and scripts | Install the CLI |
| Not sure which to choose? | Read the installation overview |
Close open Excel workbooks before starting; ExcelMcp requires exclusive access while automating them.
Explore the complete reference for all 326 operations.
Ask in plain language:
Because Excel performs the work, you can inspect results live and continue editing the workbook normally.
See more examples and use cases.
Both entry points expose the same Core commands and behavior.
| Interface | Best for | Why |
|---|---|---|
| MCP Server | Conversational assistants and exploratory work | Rich schemas, tool discovery, and persistent sessions |
CLI (excelcli) | Coding agents, automation, and scripts | One compact tool surface and substantially lower token usage |
The MCP Server calls the ExcelMcp service in-process. The CLI uses a background daemon so workbook sessions persist across commands.
AI assistant or script
│
MCP Server / CLI
│
ExcelMcp Core commands
│
Real Excel COM API
Read the architecture or browse the MCP Server and CLI guides.
Documentation · Changelog · Contributing · Security · Privacy
License: MIT License - see LICENSE file
Other projects by the author:
FAQ
mcp-server-excel is a Claude Code plugin with 2 hand-picked skills for mcp servers work, indexed on Flowy. Install it with the command on its page. It includes excel-cli, excel-mcp. Its skills do not fire on their own yet. Request auto-invocation to have Flowy route them as you prompt. Free and open source.
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