Installation Guide

Complete installation instructions for Excel MCP Server - VS Code Extension, MCP Server, and CLI tool

Complete installation instructions for the ExcelMcp MCP Server and CLI tool.

System Requirements

Required

VS Code Extension (Easiest - One-Click Setup)

Best for: GitHub Copilot users, beginners, anyone wanting automatic configuration

  1. Install the Extension
    • Open VS Code
    • Press Ctrl+Shift+X (Extensions)
    • Search for “ExcelMcp”
    • Click Install
  2. That’s It!
    • Extension automatically installs .NET 10 runtime
    • Bundles MCP server (no separate installation needed)
    • Auto-configures GitHub Copilot
    • Shows quick start guide on first launch

Marketplace Link: Excel MCP VS Code Extension

Claude Desktop (One-Click Install)

Best for: Claude Desktop users who want the simplest installation

  1. Download excel-mcp-{version}.mcpb from the latest release
  2. Double-click the .mcpb file (or drag-and-drop onto Claude Desktop)
  3. Restart Claude Desktop

That’s it! The MCPB bundle includes everything needed - no .NET installation required.

Manual Installation & Configuration (MCP Server)

Best for: Other MCP clients (Cursor, Windsurf, Cline), advanced users

Step 1: Install .NET 10

Check if already installed:

dotnet --version
# Should show 10.0.x or higher

If not installed:

winget install Microsoft.DotNet.Runtime.10

Manual Download: .NET 10 Downloads

Step 2: Install ExcelMcp MCP Server

# Install globally as a .NET tool
dotnet tool install --global Sbroenne.ExcelMcp.McpServer

# Verify installation
dotnet tool list --global | Select-String "ExcelMcp"

Step 3: Configure Your MCP Client

Quick Start: Ready-to-use config files for all clients are available in examples/mcp-configs/

For GitHub Copilot (VS Code):

Create .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace:

{
  "servers": {
    "excel": {
      "command": "mcp-excel"
    }
  }
}

For GitHub Copilot (Visual Studio):

Create .mcp.json in your solution directory or %USERPROFILE%\.mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "excel": {
      "command": "mcp-excel"
    }
  }
}

For Claude Desktop:

  1. Locate config file: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
  2. If file doesn’t exist, create it with the content below
  3. If file exists, merge the excel entry into your existing mcpServers section
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "excel": {
      "command": "mcp-excel",
      "args": [],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}
  1. Save and restart Claude Desktop

For Cursor:

  1. Open Cursor Settings (Ctrl+,)
  2. Search for “MCP” in settings
  3. Click “Edit in settings.json” or create config at: %APPDATA%\Cursor\User\globalStorage\mcp\mcp.json
  4. Add this configuration:
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "excel": {
      "command": "mcp-excel",
      "args": [],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}
  1. Save and restart Cursor

For Cline (VS Code Extension):

  1. Install Cline extension in VS Code
  2. Open Cline panel and click the MCP settings gear icon
  3. Add this configuration:
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "excel": {
      "command": "mcp-excel",
      "args": [],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}
  1. Save and restart VS Code

For Windsurf:

  1. Open Windsurf Settings
  2. Navigate to MCP Servers configuration
  3. Add this configuration:
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "excel": {
      "command": "mcp-excel",
      "args": [],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}
  1. Save and restart Windsurf

Step 4: Test the Installation

Restart your MCP client, then ask:

Create an empty Excel file called "test.xlsx"

If it works, you’re all set! 🎉

💡 Tip: Want to watch the AI work? Ask:

Show me Excel while you work on test.xlsx

This opens Excel visibly so you can see every change in real-time - great for debugging and demos!

CLI Installation (No AI Required)

Best for: Scripting, RPA, CI/CD pipelines, automation without AI

Install CLI Tool

# Install CLI globally
dotnet tool install --global Sbroenne.ExcelMcp.CLI

# Verify installation
excel-mcp --version

Quick Test

# Create a test workbook
excel-mcp file-create --file "test.xlsx"

# List worksheets
excel-mcp sheet-list --file "test.xlsx"

CLI Documentation: CLI Guide

Updating ExcelMcp

Check Installed Version

MCP Server:

dotnet tool list --global | Select-String "ExcelMcp"

CLI:

excel-mcp --version

Update MCP Server

Step 1: Update the tool

dotnet tool update --global Sbroenne.ExcelMcp.McpServer

Step 2: Verify update

dotnet tool list --global | Select-String "ExcelMcp"
# Should show the new version number

Step 3: Restart your MCP client

Update CLI

dotnet tool update --global Sbroenne.ExcelMcp.CLI

# Verify
excel-mcp --version

Troubleshooting Updates

Update Command Fails

Error: “Tool not found”

# The tool may need to be reinstalled
dotnet tool uninstall --global Sbroenne.ExcelMcp.McpServer
dotnet tool install --global Sbroenne.ExcelMcp.McpServer

Error: “Access denied”

MCP Server Still Running Old Version

Solution: Fully restart your MCP client

Still not working?

# Reinstall the tool
dotnet tool uninstall --global Sbroenne.ExcelMcp.McpServer
dotnet tool install --global Sbroenne.ExcelMcp.McpServer

Rollback to Previous Version

If an update causes issues, you can downgrade:

# Uninstall current version
dotnet tool uninstall --global Sbroenne.ExcelMcp.McpServer

# Install specific version
dotnet tool install --global Sbroenne.ExcelMcp.McpServer --version 1.2.3
# Replace 1.2.3 with the version you want

Check What’s New

Before updating, check the release notes:

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. “dotnet command not found”

Solution: Install .NET 10 SDK or Runtime (see Step 1 above)

2. MCP Server Not Responding

Check if tool is installed:

dotnet tool list --global | Select-String "ExcelMcp"

Reinstall if missing:

dotnet tool uninstall --global Sbroenne.ExcelMcp.McpServer
dotnet tool install --global Sbroenne.ExcelMcp.McpServer

3. “Workbook is locked” or “Cannot open file”

Solution: Close all Excel windows before running ExcelMcp

ExcelMcp requires exclusive access to workbooks (Excel COM limitation).

Uninstallation

Uninstall MCP Server

dotnet tool uninstall --global Sbroenne.ExcelMcp.McpServer

Uninstall CLI

dotnet tool uninstall --global Sbroenne.ExcelMcp.CLI

Getting Help

Next Steps

After installation:

  1. Learn the basics: Try simple commands like creating worksheets, setting values
  2. Explore features: See README for complete feature list
  3. Read the guides:
  4. Join the community: Star the repo, report issues, contribute improvements

Agent Skills (Optional)

Agent Skills provide domain-specific guidance to AI coding assistants, helping them use Excel MCP Server more effectively.

VS Code Extension: Skills are installed automatically to ~/.copilot/skills/.

Other Platforms (Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.):

# Cross-platform installation
npx add-skill sbroenne/mcp-server-excel

# Install for specific agent
npx add-skill sbroenne/mcp-server-excel -a claude-code
npx add-skill sbroenne/mcp-server-excel -a cursor

Manual Installation:

  1. Download excel-mcp-skills-{version}.zip from GitHub Releases
  2. Extract to your AI assistant’s skills directory:
    • Copilot: ~/.copilot/skills/excel-mcp/
    • Claude Code: .claude/skills/excel-mcp/
    • Cursor: .cursor/skills/excel-mcp/

See: Agent Skills Documentation

Happy automating! 🚀

This site is open source. Improve this page.