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.