Excel Automation

Automate spreadsheet operations including creating workbooks, writing data, formatting cells, upserting rows, and managing worksheets. Works with Microsoft Excel (OneDrive) and Google Sheets.

Toolkit docs: composio.dev/toolkits/excel

Setup

This skill requires the Rube MCP server connected at https://rube.app/mcp .

Before executing any tools, ensure an active connection exists for the excel (and optionally googlesheets ) toolkit. If no connection is active, initiate one via RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS .

Core Workflows

1. Create a New Excel Workbook

Use EXCEL_CREATE_WORKBOOK to generate a new .xlsx file and upload it to OneDrive.

Tool: EXCEL_CREATE_WORKBOOK

Steps:

• Call EXCEL_CREATE_WORKBOOK with worksheet names and data

• The tool creates a .xlsx file and uploads it to OneDrive

• Use the returned file path/URL for subsequent operations

2. Write Data to a Spreadsheet

Use GOOGLESHEETS_BATCH_UPDATE to write values to a specific range or append rows.

Tool: GOOGLESHEETS_BATCH_UPDATE

Key Parameters:

• spreadsheet_id (required) -- The spreadsheet ID from the URL (44-char alphanumeric string)

• sheet_name (required) -- Tab name, e.g., "Sheet1" , "Sales Data"

• values (required) -- 2D array of cell values, e.g., [["Name","Amount"],["Alice",100]]

• first_cell_location -- Starting cell in A1 notation (e.g., "A1" , "D3" ). Omit to append rows

• valueInputOption -- "USER_ENTERED" (default, parses formulas) or "RAW" (stores as-is)

Example:

Tool: GOOGLESHEETS_BATCH_UPDATE Arguments: spreadsheet_id: "1BxiMVs0XRA5nFMdKvBdBZjgmUUqptlbs74OgvE2upms" sheet_name: "Sheet1" values: [["Item","Cost","Stocked"],["Wheel",20.50,true],["Screw",0.50,true]] first_cell_location: "A1"

3. Upsert Rows by Key Column

Use GOOGLESHEETS_UPSERT_ROWS to update existing rows by matching a key column, or append new rows if no match is found. Ideal for CRM syncs, inventory updates, and deduplication.

Tool: GOOGLESHEETS_UPSERT_ROWS

Key Parameters:

• spreadsheetId (required) -- The spreadsheet ID

• sheetName (required) -- Tab name

• rows (required) -- 2D array of data rows (min 1 row). If headers is omitted, the first row is treated as headers

• headers -- Column names for the data, e.g., ["Email","Phone","Status"]

• keyColumn -- Column header to match on, e.g., "Email" , "SKU" , "Lead ID"

• strictMode -- true (default) errors on mismatched columns; false truncates silently

Example:

Tool: GOOGLESHEETS_UPSERT_ROWS Arguments: spreadsheetId: "1BxiMVs0XRA5nFMdKvBdBZjgmUUqptlbs74OgvE2upms" sheetName: "Contacts" keyColumn: "Email" headers: ["Email","Phone","Status"] rows: [["john@example.com","555-0101","Active"],["jane@example.com","555-0102","Pending"]]

4. Format Cells

Use GOOGLESHEETS_FORMAT_CELL to apply bold, italic, font size, and background colors to ranges.

Tool: GOOGLESHEETS_FORMAT_CELL

Key Parameters:

• spreadsheet_id (required) -- The spreadsheet ID

• range -- Cell range in A1 notation, e.g., "A1:D1" , "B2:B10" (recommended over index-based)

• sheet_name -- Worksheet name, e.g., "Sheet1"

• bold -- true /false

• italic -- true /false

• fontSize -- Font size in points, e.g., 12

• red , green , blue -- Background color components (0.0--1.0 float scale, NOT 0--255)

Example (bold header row with blue background):

Tool: GOOGLESHEETS_FORMAT_CELL Arguments: spreadsheet_id: "1BxiMVs0XRA5nFMdKvBdBZjgmUUqptlbs74OgvE2upms" range: "A1:D1" sheet_name: "Sheet1" bold: true fontSize: 12 red: 0.2 green: 0.4 blue: 0.9

5. Add New Worksheet Tabs

Use GOOGLESHEETS_ADD_SHEET to create new tabs within an existing spreadsheet.

Tool: GOOGLESHEETS_ADD_SHEET

Key Parameters:

• spreadsheetId (required) -- The spreadsheet ID

• title -- Name for the new tab, e.g., "Q4 Report"

• forceUnique -- true (default) auto-appends suffix if name exists

Example:

Tool: GOOGLESHEETS_ADD_SHEET Arguments: spreadsheetId: "1BxiMVs0XRA5nFMdKvBdBZjgmUUqptlbs74OgvE2upms" title: "Q4 Report" forceUnique: true

6. Read Data and Verify Content

Use GOOGLESHEETS_BATCH_GET to retrieve data from specified cell ranges for validation or further processing.

Tool: GOOGLESHEETS_BATCH_GET

Steps:

• Call GOOGLESHEETS_BATCH_GET with the spreadsheet ID and target ranges

• Validate headers and data alignment

• Use results to inform subsequent write or update operations

Supporting Tools:

• GOOGLESHEETS_GET_SHEET_NAMES -- List all tab names in a spreadsheet

• GOOGLESHEETS_GET_SPREADSHEET_INFO -- Get metadata (sheet IDs, properties)

• GOOGLESHEETS_FIND_WORKSHEET_BY_TITLE -- Check if a specific tab exists

Recommended Execution Plan

• Create or locate the spreadsheet using GOOGLESHEETS_CREATE_GOOGLE_SHEET1 or reuse an existing spreadsheetId

• Confirm the destination tab using GOOGLESHEETS_GET_SHEET_NAMES or GOOGLESHEETS_FIND_WORKSHEET_BY_TITLE ; create it with GOOGLESHEETS_ADD_SHEET if missing

• Read existing headers (optional) using GOOGLESHEETS_BATCH_GET to align columns

• Write or upsert data using GOOGLESHEETS_BATCH_UPDATE or GOOGLESHEETS_UPSERT_ROWS

• Apply formatting (optional) using GOOGLESHEETS_FORMAT_CELL

• Verify results (optional) using GOOGLESHEETS_BATCH_GET

• Fallback: If Google Sheets creation is blocked (HTTP 403), use EXCEL_CREATE_WORKBOOK for local .xlsx output

Known Pitfalls

Pitfall Detail

HTTP 403 on sheet creation GOOGLESHEETS_CREATE_GOOGLE_SHEET1 fails when Drive create scope is missing. Reuse an existing spreadsheetId or fall back to EXCEL_CREATE_WORKBOOK .

Cell limit and rate throttling Google Sheets has a ~5,000,000 cell limit per spreadsheet. Excessive write frequency triggers HTTP 429. Batch changes and chunk large writes (~500 rows/call).

Format range off-by-one GOOGLESHEETS_FORMAT_CELL uses 0-based, endIndex-exclusive ranges when using index mode. Background color uses 0--1 float RGB, NOT 0--255 integer RGB.

Sheet title uniqueness Sheet titles are not guaranteed unique across API responses. Prefer operating by numeric sheetId and verify the resolved tab before writing.

Upsert payload shape GOOGLESHEETS_UPSERT_ROWS requires headers + 2D rows array. Sending list-of-dicts or empty rows causes validation errors. Ensure at least 1 data row.

Quick Reference

Tool Slug Description

EXCEL_CREATE_WORKBOOK

Create a new .xlsx workbook and upload to OneDrive

GOOGLESHEETS_BATCH_UPDATE

Write values to a range or append new rows

GOOGLESHEETS_UPSERT_ROWS

Update existing rows by key or append new ones

GOOGLESHEETS_FORMAT_CELL

Apply text/background formatting to cell ranges

GOOGLESHEETS_ADD_SHEET

Add a new worksheet tab to a spreadsheet

GOOGLESHEETS_CREATE_GOOGLE_SHEET1

Create a new Google Spreadsheet in Drive

GOOGLESHEETS_GET_SHEET_NAMES

List all worksheet names in a spreadsheet

GOOGLESHEETS_GET_SPREADSHEET_INFO

Retrieve spreadsheet metadata

GOOGLESHEETS_FIND_WORKSHEET_BY_TITLE

Check if a worksheet exists by title

GOOGLESHEETS_BATCH_GET

Read data from specified cell ranges

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