Automate real Excel with AI
Drive Microsoft Excel with natural language from GitHub Copilot, Claude and any MCP client — Power Query, DAX, VBA, PowerPivot, Tables and Python in Excel.
Powered by the real Excel engine
Excel MCP Server automates the actual Excel application through its official COM API — the same engine Excel itself uses. That unlocks what spreadsheets are really for:
- Runs live Excel operations. Refresh Power Query to pull and reshape fresh data, recalculate with Excel's own engine, refresh PivotTables and the Data Model, evaluate DAX, and run VBA or Python
=PY()— the real, computed results land right in your workbook. - Edits your existing files safely. Excel opens and saves the workbook itself, so every formula, PivotTable, chart, macro, the Data Model and all your formatting stay exactly as they were.
Other tools (openpyxl-based MCP servers and Agent Skills, including Anthropic's xlsx skill) read and rewrite the .xlsx file directly — which can quietly drop PivotTables, charts, and macros, and can't run Power Query, the Data Model, or DAX at all. Here, Excel does the work. Watch it live: just say "Show me Excel while you work."
Also building PowerPoint decks?
Check out PowerPoint MCP Server — the sister project, built the same way.
Key features¶
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Power Query & M code
Create, edit and optimize M code. Import from files, databases and APIs. Refresh queries and manage load destinations.
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Power Pivot & DAX
Build Data Models, create DAX measures and manage table relationships. Full Power Pivot automation.
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PivotTables & charts
Create PivotTables from ranges, tables or the Data Model. Build charts and PivotCharts with full formatting control.
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Tables & ranges
Read/write data, formulas and formatting. Filter, sort and validate. Manage Excel Tables with structured references.
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VBA macros
View, import, update and execute VBA code. Export modules for version control.
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Worksheets & connections
Manage sheets, named ranges and data connections. Copy and move sheets between workbooks.
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Agent mode
Watch AI work in Excel in real time — side-by-side view, live status-bar feedback and smart window arrangement, like a pair programmer in a spreadsheet.
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Python in Excel
Write and run
=PY()formulas that execute in Excel's cloud Python engine — process worksheet data with pandas, NumPy and more, from your AI assistant. -
LLM-tested quality
Tool behavior validated with real LLM workflows, so AI assistants reliably understand and use every operation.
See all 26 tools and 232 operations
See it in action¶
Ask your AI assistant in plain language — it drives Excel for you:
📝 Create & populate data
You: "Create a new Excel file with a table for tracking sales — include Date, Product, Quantity, Unit Price and Total with sample data and formulas."
The AI creates the workbook, adds headers, enters sample data and builds formulas automatically.
📊 PivotTables & charts
You: "Create a PivotTable showing total sales by Product, then add a bar chart to visualize the results."
The AI creates the PivotTable with proper field configuration and adds a linked chart.
🔄 Power Query & Data Model
You: "Use Power Query to import products.csv, load it to the Data Model, and create measures for Total Revenue and Average Rating."
The AI imports the data, adds it to Power Pivot and creates DAX measures ready for analysis.
🎨 Formatting & tables
You: "Format the Price column as currency, highlight values over $500 in green, and convert this to an Excel Table."
The AI applies number formats, conditional styling, auto-fit and structured table styling.
CLI or MCP Server?¶
This package ships both a CLI and an MCP Server. They share the same core, so every operation behaves identically — pick the entry point that fits your workflow:
| Interface | Best for | Why |
|---|---|---|
CLI (excelcli) | Coding agents (Copilot, Cursor, Windsurf) | 64% fewer tokens — single tool, no large schemas. Better for cost-sensitive, high-throughput automation. |
| MCP Server | Conversational AI (Claude Desktop, VS Code Chat) | Rich tool discovery and a persistent connection. Better for interactive, exploratory workflows. |