Excel MCP Server by sbroenne: Automate Real Microsoft Excel with AI

• Opens, creates, saves and closes workbooks

  Opens or creates a workbook in the real Excel app and hands back a session ID the other tools use. It also saves, closes, attaches to a workbook already open and, with your explicit approval flags, enables editing, connections or macros. Closing without save:true discards unsaved edits.

  Try: “Create an empty Excel file called test.xlsx”

  Delete · file

• Finds and checks workbooks without changing them

  Lists open sessions, discovers workbooks already open on your desktop, tests whether a file can be opened (including protection checks) and shows a session's opening restrictions.

  Try: “Which workbooks are open in Excel right now?”

  Files · file_read

• Reads workbook details

  Returns information about the workbook in a session, such as whether it is read-only, using the session ID from the file tool.

  Try: “Is this workbook read-only?”

  Read · workbook_read

• Runs a list of Excel commands in one call

  Takes a list of commands in the CLI format and runs them in order in one call. It can stop at the first failure. It does not roll back earlier commands if a later one fails.

  Try: “Run these five range edits in one batch and stop if one fails”

  Delete · batch

• Writes values, formulas and formats

  Writes values and formulas to cells, sets number formats, copies ranges, and clears content or formatting. Strings that start with = are written as formulas.

  Try: “Put the quarterly totals in B2:E5 and format them as currency”

  Delete · range

• Reads cell values, formulas and formats

  The read-only side of range operations. Reads values, formulas, number formats, the used range, special cells and formula precedents or dependents without changing anything.

  Try: “Show me the values in A1:F20 on the Sales sheet”

  Read · range_read

• Inserts, deletes, sorts and cleans data

  Inserts or deletes cells, rows and columns, replaces text, and sorts, filters, fills and cleans data. Remove duplicates clears the removed rows inside the selection instead of shifting rows up.

  Try: “Remove duplicate rows by customer ID in A2:D500”

  Delete · range_edit

• Formats cells and sets validation

  Sets borders, fonts, fills, alignment and number formats, adds data validation, merges cells, auto-fits, and shows or hides rows and columns.

  Try: “Make the header row bold with a dark fill and add a dropdown to column C”

  Write · range_format

• Edits hyperlinks, comments and cell protection

  Adds and removes hyperlinks and threaded comments, and changes cell protection. It works through local Excel, so cloud mentions and assignments are not available.

  Try: “Add a comment to B7 asking for the source of this number”

  Delete · range_link

• Creates, renames, copies and deletes sheets

  Creates, renames, copies, moves and deletes worksheets. Deleting a sheet removes all its contents, may break formulas elsewhere and has no tool-level undo.

  Try: “Add a new sheet called Summary after Sales”

  Delete · worksheet

• Changes sheet look, visibility and protection

  Changes sheet styling, visibility, protection, grouping and outlines, such as grouping rows or collapsing outline levels.

  Try: “Group rows 5 to 20 on the Data sheet and collapse them”

  Write · worksheet_style

• Saves, copies, exports and protects workbooks

  Saves, copies, exports, refreshes and protects workbooks, and manages document properties, themes, external links and table or cell styles. Refresh all updates every data connection and PivotTable.

  Try: “Save this workbook as a copy named report-final.xlsx”

  Write · workbook

• Creates and edits Excel Tables

  Creates, changes, deletes and appends rows to Excel Tables. Creation checks for merged cells, header problems and formula-sort risks before it runs.

  Try: “Turn A1:F200 into a table called Orders”

  Delete · table

• Edits table columns, filters and sorting

  Changes table columns, applies and clears filters, and sorts. Filters can match values, dates, colors, top or bottom items and AND/OR conditions.

  Try: “Filter the Orders table to rows where Region is West”

  Write · table_column

• Manages named ranges

  Creates, updates, deletes and writes named ranges used as formula names or parameters.

  Try: “Create a named range TaxRate pointing at Settings!B2”

  Delete · namedrange

• Creates and refreshes PivotTables

  Creates PivotTables from a range, a table or the Data Model, then refreshes, deletes and changes their source or cache options. Several PivotTables can share one cache.

  Try: “Create a PivotTable from the Orders table on a new sheet”

  Delete · pivottable

• Arranges PivotTable fields

  Adds, removes and configures PivotTable fields, and sets filters, sorting and grouping. Report filters on Data Model sources can be read and changed.

  Try: “Put Region in rows and sum Revenue in values”

  Write · pivottable_field

• Adds PivotTable calculated fields

  Creates and deletes calculated fields and members and sets layout. A calculated field works on totals, not on single source rows, and affects every PivotTable that shares the cache.

  Try: “Add a calculated field Margin = Revenue - Cost”

  Delete · pivottable_calc

• Creates, moves and exports charts

  Creates embedded charts from a range, a table or a PivotTable, moves and resizes them, exports them and deletes them. It warns when a chart would cover data or another chart.

  Try: “Add a column chart of monthly revenue next to the table”

  Delete · chart

• Configures chart series and styling

  Changes chart data, series, titles, axes, labels, legends, trendlines and colors. Series and point numbers start at 1.

  Try: “Add a trendline and rename the axis titles on the revenue chart”

  Write · chart_config

• Adds conditional formatting rules

  Adds, updates, reorders, deletes and clears conditional formatting rules such as cell value, formula, color scale, data bar, icon set and top 10.

  Try: “Highlight cells in column D that are below zero in red”

  Delete · conditionalformat

• Creates slicers and timelines

  Creates, configures and deletes slicers and timelines that filter PivotTables and Tables. A slicer needs a unique name, a destination sheet and a position.

  Try: “Add a Region slicer next to the PivotTable”

  Delete · slicer

• Manages shapes, images and sparklines

  Creates, updates and deletes images, shapes, text boxes, connectors, sparklines and simple form controls on a sheet, and groups, aligns and reorders them. Charts and ActiveX objects are not covered.

  Try: “Insert logo.png at the top left of the Summary sheet”

  Delete · drawing

• Edits Power Query M code and loads

  Creates, changes, evaluates, refreshes and removes Power Query M code and its data loads. It can load to a worksheet, the Data Model, both, or stay connection-only, and the data source may be remote.

  Try: “Create a query that loads sales.csv and load it to a sheet”

  Delete · powerquery

• Reads Power Query definitions

  The read-only side of Power Query operations. Lists queries, shows their M code, and reads load and privacy settings without changing them.

  Try: “List the Power Query queries in this workbook”

  Read · powerquery_read

• Reads Power Query trace files

  Lists and summarizes local Power Query trace files, newest first. Summaries hide query text and error details unless you ask for them.

  Try: “List the Power Query trace files”

  Files · powerquery_trace_read

• Manages data connections

  Creates, changes, imports, deletes, loads and refreshes data connections (OLEDB, ODBC, ODC files), and can browse external OLAP dimensions and members through an existing connection.

  Try: “Refresh the SalesDB connection”

  Delete · connection

• Imports text, CSV and web tables

  Creates and configures QueryTables for local text and CSV imports and legacy HTML web imports. Modern connectors go through the Power Query tool instead.

  Try: “Import data.csv into Sheet2 as a query table”

  Write · querytable

• Edits the Data Model and DAX measures

  Creates, updates and deletes DAX measures, renames or removes Data Model tables, and refreshes the model. Worksheet tables and Data Model tables are separate, so refresh after changing a source.

  Try: “Add a DAX measure Total Sales as SUM of Sales[Amount]”

  Delete · datamodel

• Links Data Model tables

  Creates and deletes relationships between Data Model tables so DAX can calculate across them. Both tables must already be in the model with compatible column types.

  Try: “Relate Orders[CustomerID] to Customers[ID]”

  Delete · datamodel_relationship

• Runs what-if analysis

  Runs goal seek, creates and shows scenarios, and builds one- or two-variable data tables on a worksheet model.

  Try: “Use goal seek to find the price that gives a profit of 10000”

  Delete · analysis

• Inspects and runs VBA macros

  Inspects the VBA project, searches and reads module source, replaces one procedure, imports or updates modules, and runs procedures in .xlsm workbooks. It runs code you or the assistant supply.

  Try: “Show me the procedures in Module1”

  Runs code · vba

• Writes Python in Excel formulas

  Writes and reads =PY() formulas for Python in Excel. It needs a licensed Microsoft 365 account with Python in Excel, and the code runs in Microsoft's cloud.

  Try: “Put a Python formula in D2 that returns the mean of column C”

  Runs code · pythoninexcel

• Captures Excel as an image

  Photographs the live Excel window so the assistant can check formatting, charts and conditional formats. It needs an interactive desktop and leaves the workbook and clipboard untouched.

  Try: “Take a screenshot of the Summary sheet to check the layout”

  Read · screenshot

• Controls the Excel window

  Shows, hides, moves and resizes the Excel window, changes the status bar, and reads or sets the visible area, selection and zoom.

  Try: “Show Excel and scroll to cell A1”

  Write · window

• Reads and changes Excel settings

  Reads and changes per-user Excel settings that apply to every workbook, such as Power Query tracing and the approval step before new native database queries run. Turning that approval off reduces security.

  Try: “Turn on Power Query tracing”

  Write · settings

• Manages XML maps and XML import

  Manages workbook XML maps and imports or exports XML data without dialogs. External schema files are rejected and DTD processing is off.

  Try: “Import orders.xml into the existing map”

  Write · xmlmap

Watch out for

• It can run macros and Excel features that execute code

  The tools cover VBA and Python in Excel. Macros are off by default when opening, and enabling them needs an explicit approved:true and allow_reopen:true flag, so do not pre-approve those. github.com

• Closing a workbook can throw away your edits

  The file tool closes with save:false by default, which discards unsaved edits, and the docs say there is no tool-level undo. Ask it to save first and keep backups. github.com

• It sends pseudonymous usage telemetry

  Operation and outcome records go out with a stored random user ID, not workbook contents. The ADR calls the ID pseudonymous, not anonymous. github.com

• The assistant can read your workbook data

  Requested data goes back to the AI client you use, so check that client's data policy before opening sensitive workbooks. github.com

• Windows only

  It needs the Excel desktop app and an interactive session, so it will not run headless on a server. github.com

Security advisories