Excel MCP server

Excel MCP Server is a protocol server that allows you to read from and write to Microsoft Excel files. It provides capabilities for working with cell values, formulas, and even capturing screen images from Excel spreadsheets.

Installation

Using NPM

You can install excel-mcp-server by adding the following configuration to your MCP servers configuration.

For Windows:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "excel": {
            "command": "cmd",
            "args": ["/c", "npx", "--yes", "@negokaz/excel-mcp-server"],
            "env": {
                "EXCEL_MCP_PAGING_CELLS_LIMIT": "4000"
            }
        }
    }
}

For other platforms:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "excel": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": ["--yes", "@negokaz/excel-mcp-server"],
            "env": {
                "EXCEL_MCP_PAGING_CELLS_LIMIT": "4000"
            }
        }
    }
}

Using Smithery

For Claude Desktop, you can install Excel MCP Server automatically using Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @negokaz/excel-mcp-server --client claude

Requirements

• Node.js 20.x or later

Supported File Formats

• xlsx (Excel book)
• xlsm (Excel macro-enabled book)
• xltx (Excel template)
• xltm (Excel macro-enabled template)

Available Tools

Reading Sheet Names

Use read_sheet_names to list all sheet names in an Excel file:

Arguments:

• fileAbsolutePath: Absolute path to the Excel file

Reading Sheet Data

Use read_sheet_data to read data from an Excel sheet with pagination:

Arguments:

• fileAbsolutePath: Absolute path to the Excel file
• sheetName: Sheet name in the Excel file
• range: Range of cells to read (e.g., "A1:C10"). [default: first paging range]
• knownPagingRanges: List of already read paging ranges

Reading Sheet Formulas

Use read_sheet_formula to read formulas from an Excel sheet with pagination:

Arguments:

• fileAbsolutePath: Absolute path to the Excel file
• sheetName: Sheet name in the Excel file
• range: Range of cells to read (e.g., "A1:C10"). [default: first paging range]
• knownPagingRanges: List of already read paging ranges

Capturing Sheet Images

Use read_sheet_image to read data as an image from an Excel sheet (Windows only):

Arguments:

• fileAbsolutePath: Absolute path to the Excel file
• sheetName: Sheet name in the Excel file
• range: Range of cells to read (e.g., "A1:C10"). [default: first paging range]
• knownPagingRanges: List of already read paging ranges

Writing Sheet Data

Use write_sheet_data to write data to an Excel sheet:

Arguments:

• fileAbsolutePath: Absolute path to the Excel file
• sheetName: Sheet name in the Excel file
• range: Range of cells to write to (e.g., "A1:C10")
• data: Data to write to the Excel sheet

Writing Sheet Formulas

Use write_sheet_formula to write formulas to an Excel sheet:

Arguments:

• fileAbsolutePath: Absolute path to the Excel file
• sheetName: Sheet name in the Excel file
• range: Range of cells to write to (e.g., "A1:C10")
• formulas: Formulas to write to the Excel sheet (e.g., "=A1+B1")

Configuration

You can modify the server's behavior using environment variables:

EXCEL_MCP_PAGING_CELLS_LIMIT

Sets the maximum number of cells to read in a single paging operation. Default value: 4000

How to add this MCP server to Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > MCP and click "Add new global MCP server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "cursor-rules-mcp": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "cursor-rules-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explictly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.