Automate Excel with AI โ 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 (25 tools with 230 operations).
๐ก๏ธ 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.
๐ก 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.
๐งช LLM-Tested Quality - Tool behavior validated with real LLM workflows using pytest-skill-engineering. We test that LLMs correctly understand and use our tools.
Technical Requirements:
โ ๏ธ Windows Only - COM interop is Windows-specific
โ ๏ธ Excel Required - Microsoft Excel 2016 or later must be installed
โ ๏ธ Desktop Environment - Controls actual Excel process (not for server-side processing)
๐ฏ What You Can Do
25 specialized tools with 230 operations:
๐ Power Query (1 tool, 12 ops) - Atomic workflows, M code management, load destinations
๐ Data Model/DAX (2 tools, 19 ops) - Measures, relationships, model structure
| Platform | Installation |
|----------|-------------|
| VS Code | Install Extension (one-click, recommended) |
| Claude Desktop | Download .mcpb from latest release |
| Any MCP Client | Download mcp-excel.exe from latest release and add to PATH |
| Details | ๐ Installation Guide |
โ ๏ธ Important: Close all Excel files before using. The server requires exclusive access to workbooks during automation.
๐ง CLI vs MCP Server
This package provides both CLI and MCP Server interfaces. Choose based on your use case:
| Interface | Best For | Why |
|-----------|----------|-----|
| CLI (excelcli) | Coding agents (Copilot, Cursor, Windsurf) + Scripting | 64% fewer tokens - single tool, no large schemas. Auto-generated from Core code, ensuring 1:1 feature parity. Bundled with excel-cli skill. |
| MCP Server | Conversational AI (Claude Desktop, VS Code Chat) | Rich tool discovery, persistent connection. Better for interactive, exploratory workflows. |
Installation:
CLI via Copilot plugin (Recommended for Copilot CLI): Install the excel-cli plugin for skill guidance, then install excelcli separately
CLI Standalone: Download ZIP from releases or install via NuGet
Skill only: Install the excel-cli skill separately when your agent already has excelcli available on PATH
MCP Server: Download from releases or install VS Code Extension
โก CLI Commands: Generated automatically from Core service definitions using Roslyn source generators. All 22 command categories maintain exact 1:1 parity with MCP tools through shared code generation. See code generation docs for details.
๐ฆ GitHub Copilot Plugins
ExcelMcp is available as two GitHub Copilot CLI plugins in the Copilot plugin marketplace:
# Register the plugin marketplace (one-time)
copilot plugin marketplace add sbroenne/mcp-server-excel-plugins
# Install one or both plugins
copilot plugin install excel-mcp@mcp-server-excel-plugins # For conversational AI
copilot plugin install excel-cli@mcp-server-excel-plugins # For scripting / coding agents
excel-mcp โ MCP server for conversational workflows
excel-cli โ Skill for coding agents (install excelcli separately if you want the CLI tool)
Note: After each release, there may be a short delay before plugins appear in the marketplace. You may need to wait a few moments for updates to sync.
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