By name: excel-processor description: Read, write, analyze, and format Excel spreadsheets (.xlsx). Use when the user needs to create Excel files, extract data from spreadsheets, apply formulas, format cells, or generate Excel reports from data. Supports multiple sheets, charts, and conditional formatting. compatibility: Requires Python 3 and openpyxl (pip install openpyxl).
Excel Processor
Read, write, analyze, and format Excel spreadsheets (.xlsx) using Python.
When to use this skill
- User asks to create an Excel spreadsheet
- User wants to read or extract data from an .xlsx file
- User needs to add formulas, formatting, or charts to a spreadsheet
- User wants to convert CSV/JSON data into a formatted Excel file
- User needs Excel report generation with multiple sheets
Scripts overview
| Script | Purpose | Dependencies |
|---|---|---|
excel_tool.py |
Read, write, format, and analyze Excel files | openpyxl |
Steps
1. Install dependencies (first time only)
pip install openpyxl
CRITICAL — Dependency Error Recovery: If the script fails with an
ImportError, install the missing dependency using the command above, then re-run the EXACT SAME script command that failed.
2. Read an Excel file
python scripts/excel_tool.py read "INPUT.xlsx"
Options:
--sheet SHEET_NAME— Read a specific sheet (default: active sheet)--format json— Output as JSON instead of table--format csv— Output as CSV--save OUTPUT_PATH— Save output to file
3. Create a new Excel file from CSV
python scripts/excel_tool.py create "OUTPUT.xlsx" --from-csv "DATA.csv"
Options:
--from-csv PATH— Import data from CSV file--from-json PATH— Import data from JSON file--sheet SHEET_NAME— Set the sheet name (default: Sheet1)--title TITLE— Add a title row with merged cells--auto-width— Auto-adjust column widths to fit content--header-style— Apply bold + colored header row
4. Add a sheet to existing workbook
python scripts/excel_tool.py add-sheet "EXISTING.xlsx" --sheet "NewSheet" --from-csv "DATA.csv"
5. Apply formatting
python scripts/excel_tool.py format "FILE.xlsx" --auto-width --header-style --freeze-header
Options:
--auto-width— Auto-fit column widths--header-style— Bold white text on blue background for header--freeze-header— Freeze the first row--number-format COLS FORMAT— Apply number format (e.g.,--number-format "C,D" "#,##0.00")
6. Analyze / summarize
python scripts/excel_tool.py analyze "FILE.xlsx"
Shows: sheet names, row/column counts, column types, basic stats for numeric columns.
7. Add formulas
python scripts/excel_tool.py formula "FILE.xlsx" --cell "E2" --formula "=SUM(B2:D2)"
python scripts/excel_tool.py formula "FILE.xlsx" --column "E" --formula "=SUM(B{row}:D{row})" --start-row 2 --end-row 100
Common workflows
CSV to formatted Excel report
excel_tool.py create "report.xlsx" --from-csv "data.csv" --title "Monthly Report" --auto-width --header-style --freeze-header
Multi-sheet workbook
excel_tool.py create "workbook.xlsx" --from-csv "sales.csv" --sheet "Sales"excel_tool.py add-sheet "workbook.xlsx" --sheet "Expenses" --from-csv "expenses.csv"
Quick data inspection
excel_tool.py analyze "data.xlsx"— overviewexcel_tool.py read "data.xlsx" --sheet "Sheet1"— view contents
Edge cases
- Large files (100MB+): openpyxl loads into memory. Use
--read-onlymode for very large files. - Formulas: When reading, formulas show the formula text, not computed values (unless cached).
- Macros (.xlsm): Not supported. Use .xlsx format only.
- Password-protected files: Not supported by openpyxl.
- Date formats: Dates are auto-detected. Use explicit format if ambiguous.
Scripts
- excel_tool.py — Read, write, format, and analyze Excel files