Excel MCP Server

What haris-musa/excel-mcp-server MCP server does

The haris-musa/excel-mcp-server MCP server exposes Excel workbook operations to MCP-compatible AI clients. It can create, read, and update workbooks and worksheets without requiring Microsoft Excel on the machine. Supported spreadsheet work includes formulas, range and data validation, cell formatting, Excel tables, charts, and pivot tables.

Worksheet management is also covered: an agent can copy, rename, and delete worksheets. Formatting capabilities include fonts, colors, borders, alignment, and conditional formatting. Chart creation supports several chart families, including line, bar, pie, and scatter charts. The README identifies validation for ranges, formulas, and data integrity as part of the server’s functionality.

How it works

The server communicates with clients through MCP transports. For local execution, use stdio so the client starts the server process and sends file paths with individual tool calls. The server also supports streamable HTTP for remote connections and provides SSE transport as a deprecated option.

With HTTP-based transports, the server uses a configured directory as its file boundary. Tool calls must provide paths relative to that directory, while absolute paths and directory traversal are rejected. This differs from stdio, where each operation supplies the file path directly.

Setup and configuration

The published PyPI package can be started locally with:

uvx excel-mcp-server stdio

An MCP client configuration uses uvx as the command and passes excel-mcp-server stdio as its arguments. The repository also documents Cursor installation support.

For streamable HTTP, start the server with:

uvx excel-mcp-server streamable-http

The documented MCP endpoint is http://localhost:8000/mcp. SSE uses the sse subcommand and the /sse endpoint, but that transport is marked deprecated. For SSE or streamable HTTP, set EXCEL_FILES_PATH on the server to choose the directory containing files. If omitted, the server uses ./excel_files. FASTMCP_PORT changes the listening port; the documented default is 8017.

Tools and capabilities

The available tool set is intended for spreadsheet creation and editing tasks, including:

• Creating, reading, and modifying workbooks and worksheets
• Writing formulas and performing data operations
• Applying styles, colors, borders, alignment, and conditional formatting
• Creating and managing Excel tables with custom styles
• Generating line, bar, pie, scatter, and other chart types
• Creating pivot tables for data analysis
• Validating ranges, formulas, and data integrity
• Copying, renaming, and deleting worksheets

The full individual tool reference is maintained in the project’s TOOLS.md file.

Limitations and notes

Microsoft Excel is not required, but the server operates on Excel files rather than providing a general-purpose spreadsheet user interface. Remote operation requires server-side file-directory configuration and relative paths. SSE remains available in the documented interface but is deprecated; streamable HTTP is the recommended transport for remote connections. The project is released under the MIT License.