Excel MCP Server

Excel MCP Server

AI-Powered Excel Automation

Control Microsoft Excel with Natural Language through AI assistants like GitHub Copilot and Claude. One-click install for Visual Studio Code.

🤔 What is This?

Automate Excel with AI - A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for comprehensive Excel automation through conversational AI.

MCP Server for Excel enables AI assistants (GitHub Copilot, Claude, ChatGPT) to automate Excel through natural language commands. Automate Power Query, DAX measures, VBA macros, PivotTables, Charts, formatting, and data transformations - no Excel programming knowledge required.

🛡️ 100% Safe - Uses Excel’s Native COM API - Zero risk of file corruption. Unlike third-party libraries that manipulate .xlsx files directly, this project uses Excel’s official API ensuring complete safety and compatibility.

💡 Interactive Development - See results instantly in Excel. Create a query, run it, inspect the output, refine and repeat. Excel becomes your AI-powered workspace for rapid development and testing.

Optional CLI Tool: For advanced users who prefer command-line scripting, ExcelMcp includes a CLI interface for RPA workflows, CI/CD pipelines, and batch automation. Both interfaces share the same 173 operations.

🚀 Visual Studio Code Quick Start (1 Minute)

One-click setup with GitHub Copilot integration

Install from Marketplace

Key Features

173 Operations

12 specialized tools with 173 operations covering Power Query, DAX, Charts, VBA, PivotTables, ranges, conditional formatting, and more

Complete Feature Reference →

100% Safe

Uses Excel's native COM API - zero corruption risk, full compatibility

Interactive Development

See changes in real-time - create, test, refine, and iterate instantly. Use Excel as a REPL.

💡 Tip: Say "Show me Excel while you work" to watch changes live!

Natural Language Control

Describe what you want, AI does the rest

Comprehensive Automation

173 operations covering Power Query, DAX, Charts, VBA, Tables, and more

Dual Interface

Choose MCP for AI assistants or CLI for scripts and RPA

Installation

VS Code Extension Recommended

One-click setup with GitHub Copilot integration

Install from Marketplace

MCP Server

For Claude, ChatGPT, and other MCP clients

dotnet tool install -g Sbroenne.ExcelMcp.McpServer

CLI Tool

For scripting, RPA, and CI/CD workflows

dotnet tool install -g Sbroenne.ExcelMcp.CLI

📖 Complete Installation Guide

Documentation

• Excel MCP Server source code on GitHub
• How to contribute to Excel MCP Server development
• Complete API documentation and developer guides

Examples

AI Assistant Examples (MCP Server)

🔍 Optimize Power Query

You: "This Power Query is taking 5 minutes to refresh. Can you optimize it?"

AI analyzes your M code, identifies inefficiencies, and applies best practices automatically.

📊 Create PivotTable

You: "Create a PivotTable from SalesData showing top 10 products by region"

AI creates the PivotTable with proper field configuration in seconds.

🎨 Format Data

You: "Format revenue as currency, make headers bold blue, and add borders"

AI applies all formatting directly to your Excel file.

CLI Examples (Scripting & RPA)

Automate Power Query Refresh

# Refresh all queries in a workbook (CI/CD pipeline)
excel-mcp pq-refresh --file "sales-report.xlsx" --query "SalesData"

Batch Update Worksheets

# Process multiple workbooks in PowerShell
Get-ChildItem *.xlsx | ForEach-Object {
    excel-mcp sheet-create --file $_.Name --name "Summary"
    excel-mcp range-set-values --file $_.Name --sheet "Summary" --range "A1" --values "[[\"Generated: $(Get-Date)\"]]"
}

Export VBA for Version Control

# Export all VBA modules to Git repository
excel-mcp vba-export --file "macro-workbook.xlsm" --module "Module1" --output "src/vba/Module1.bas"

Why Choose This Project?

🤖 MCP Server (AI-Powered)

• Natural Language Control: Describe tasks in plain English
• Safe: Official COM API - zero corruption risk
• Interactive: See changes in real-time in Excel
• Comprehensive: 173 operations across 12 tools
• Works with: GitHub Copilot, Claude, ChatGPT, and any MCP client

⚙️ CLI (Automation & Scripting)

• RPA Ready: Perfect for robotic process automation workflows
• CI/CD Integration: Automate Excel operations in build pipelines
• Scripting: PowerShell, Bash, Python integration
• Batch Processing: Process multiple workbooks programmatically
• No AI Required: Direct command-line control for scripts

Both Share the Same Core Same 173 operations available via CLI and MCP. Consistent behavior across interfaces.

Complete Tool & Action Reference

12 specialized tools with 173 operations:

📊 Power Query & M Code (9 actions)

Action	Description
list	List all Power Query queries in workbook
view	View M code for a specific query
create	Create new Power Query from M code
update	Update existing query’s M code
delete	Delete a Power Query
refresh	Refresh a specific query to reload data
refresh-all	Refresh all queries in workbook
get-load-config	Get load destination settings for a query
load-to	Load query data to worksheet, data model, or both

🔢 Power Pivot / Data Model (15 actions)

Action	Description
list-tables	List all tables in Data Model
read-table	Read data from a Data Model table
list-columns	List all columns in a table
list-measures	List all DAX measures in a table
read	Read details of a specific measure
create-measure	Create new DAX measure
update-measure	Update existing DAX measure formula or format
delete-measure	Delete a DAX measure
list-relationships	List all table relationships
read-relationship	Read details of a specific relationship
create-relationship	Create relationship between tables
update-relationship	Update relationship properties
delete-relationship	Delete a relationship
read-info	Get Data Model metadata and statistics
refresh	Refresh entire Data Model

📋 Excel Tables (24 actions)

Action	Description
list	List all Excel Tables in workbook
read	Read table data and properties
create	Create new Excel Table from range
rename	Rename an Excel Table
delete	Delete an Excel Table
resize	Resize table range
set-style	Apply table style (TableStyleMedium2, etc.)
toggle-totals	Show/hide totals row
set-column-total	Set aggregation function for column total
append	Append rows to table
get-data	Return table data (optionally respecting active filters)
add-to-datamodel	Add table to Power Pivot Data Model
apply-filter	Apply filter criteria to column
apply-filter-values	Filter by specific values
clear-filters	Clear all filters
get-filters	Get current filter settings
add-column	Add new column to table
remove-column	Remove column from table
rename-column	Rename table column
get-structured-reference	Get structured reference formula
sort	Sort table by column
sort-multi	Sort by multiple columns
get-column-number-format	Get number format for column
set-column-number-format	Set number format for column

📈 PivotTables (25 actions)

Action	Description
list	List all PivotTables in workbook
read	Read PivotTable configuration
create-from-range	Create PivotTable from range
create-from-table	Create PivotTable from Excel Table
create-from-datamodel	Create PivotTable from Data Model
delete	Delete a PivotTable
refresh	Refresh PivotTable data
list-fields	List all available fields
add-row-field	Add field to Rows area
add-column-field	Add field to Columns area
add-value-field	Add field to Values area with aggregation
add-filter-field	Add field to Filters area
remove-field	Remove field from PivotTable
set-field-function	Set aggregation function (Sum, Count, Average, etc.)
set-field-name	Set custom field display name
set-field-format	Set number format for value field
set-field-filter	Apply filter to a field
sort-field	Sort field values
get-data	Extract PivotTable data as values
set-grand-totals	Configure grand totals display
set-column-grand-totals	Show/hide column grand totals
set-row-grand-totals	Show/hide row grand totals
get-grand-totals	Get grand totals configuration
set-subtotals	Configure subtotals for fields
get-subtotals	Get subtotals configuration

📊 Charts (14 actions)

Action	Description
list	List all charts in the workbook
read	Read chart metadata and data source information
create-from-range	Create chart from a worksheet range
create-from-pivottable	Create PivotChart from a PivotTable
delete	Delete a chart
move	Move and resize chart on the sheet
set-source-range	Update chart source range
add-series	Add a new data series to the chart
remove-series	Remove a data series by index
set-chart-type	Change chart type (Column, Line, Pie, etc.)
set-title	Set chart title text
set-axis-title	Set title for primary or secondary axes
show-legend	Show/hide legend and set legend position
set-style	Apply built-in chart style (1-48)

📝 Ranges & Data (42 actions)

Action	Description
get-values	Read cell values from range
set-values	Write values to range
get-formulas	Read formulas from range
set-formulas	Write formulas to range
get-number-formats	Get number formats for range
set-number-format	Set number format (currency, percentage, date, etc.)
set-number-formats	Set multiple number formats at once
clear-all	Clear values, formulas, and formatting
clear-contents	Clear values and formulas only
clear-formats	Clear formatting only
copy	Copy range (all attributes)
copy-values	Copy values only
copy-formulas	Copy formulas only
insert-cells	Insert cells with shift direction
delete-cells	Delete cells with shift direction
insert-rows	Insert rows
delete-rows	Delete rows
insert-columns	Insert columns
delete-columns	Delete columns
find	Find cells matching criteria
replace	Find and replace in range
sort	Sort range by columns
get-used-range	Get actual used range in worksheet
get-current-region	Get contiguous range around cell
get-info	Get range metadata (address, size, etc.)
add-hyperlink	Add hyperlink to cell
remove-hyperlink	Remove hyperlink from cell
list-hyperlinks	List all hyperlinks in range
get-hyperlink	Get hyperlink details
get-style	Get cell style name
set-style	Apply built-in Excel style
format-range	Apply visual formatting (font, fill, border, alignment)
validate-range	Add data validation rules (dropdowns, number/date/text rules)
get-validation	Get validation settings
remove-validation	Remove data validation
autofit-columns	Auto-fit column widths
autofit-rows	Auto-fit row heights
merge-cells	Merge cells in range
unmerge-cells	Unmerge cells
get-merge-info	Get merge status and areas
set-cell-lock	Lock/unlock cells for protection
get-cell-lock	Get cell lock status

🎨 Conditional Formatting (2 actions)

Action	Description
add-rule	Add conditional formatting rule (cell value or expression-based)
clear-rules	Clear conditional formatting from range

🖥️ VBA Macros (6 actions)

Action	Description
list	List all VBA modules in workbook
view	View VBA module code
import	Import VBA code from file
delete	Delete VBA module
run	Execute VBA macro
update	Update existing VBA module code

🔌 Data Connections (9 actions)

Action	Description
list	List all data connections
view	View connection details and settings
create	Create new data connection (OLEDB, ODBC, Text, Web)
test	Test connection validity
refresh	Refresh connection to reload data
delete	Delete a connection
load-to	Load connection data to worksheet
get-properties	Get connection properties
set-properties	Update connection properties

📄 Worksheets (16 actions)

Action	Description
list	List all worksheets in workbook
create	Create new worksheet
rename	Rename worksheet
copy	Copy worksheet within same workbook
delete	Delete worksheet
move	Move worksheet to different position
copy-to-file	Copy worksheet to different file (atomic, no session needed)
move-to-file	Move worksheet to different file (atomic, no session needed)
set-tab-color	Set worksheet tab color (RGB)
get-tab-color	Get current tab color
clear-tab-color	Remove tab color
hide	Hide worksheet from UI (visible in VBA)
very-hide	Hide from UI and VBA
show	Make worksheet visible
get-visibility	Get current visibility state
set-visibility	Set visibility state

🏷️ Named Ranges (6 actions)

Action	Description
list	List all named ranges
read	Read named range value
write	Write value to named range
create	Create new named range
update	Update named range reference
delete	Delete named range

📁 File Operations (5 actions)

Action	Description
open	Open workbook session
close	Close workbook session without saving
create-empty	Create new empty workbook (.xlsx or .xlsm)
close-workbook	Close workbook and optionally save changes
test	Test if workbook can be opened

Related Projects

• Model Context Protocol specification and documentation
• Official MCP server examples and implementations
• Download Claude Desktop AI assistant with MCP support
• GitHub Copilot AI coding assistant

Keywords

Excel automation, MCP server, Model Context Protocol, GitHub Copilot, Claude AI, Power Query, M language, DAX, Power Pivot, VBA macros, Excel Tables, PivotTables, data analysis, spreadsheet automation, RPA, robotic process automation, COM automation, Windows automation, AI Excel assistant, natural language Excel, Excel API, Excel COM interop, Excel CLI, command line Excel, Excel scripting, Excel batch processing, CI/CD Excel, DevOps Excel, Excel PowerShell, Excel automation tool, .NET Excel library, Excel NuGet package

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