Excel MCP server

Excel MCP Server is a Model Context Protocol server that enables reading and writing MS Excel data. It provides functionality for manipulating Excel spreadsheets, including reading/writing text values and formulas, creating new sheets, and on Windows, features like live editing and screen capture capabilities.

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)

Installation

Via NPM

The excel-mcp-server can be installed 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"
            }
        }
    }
}

Via Smithery

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

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

Available Tools

excel_describe_sheets

Lists all sheet information of the specified Excel file.

Arguments:

• fileAbsolutePath - Absolute path to the Excel file

excel_read_sheet

Reads values 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
• showFormula - Show formula instead of value

excel_screen_capture

Windows only: Takes a screenshot of the 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

excel_write_to_sheet

Writes values to the Excel sheet.

Arguments:

• fileAbsolutePath - Absolute path to the Excel file
• sheetName - Sheet name in the Excel file
• newSheet - Create a new sheet if true, otherwise write to the existing sheet
• range - Range of cells to write to (e.g., "A1:C10")
• values - Values to write. If the value is a formula, it should start with "="

excel_create_table

Creates a table in the Excel sheet.

Arguments:

• fileAbsolutePath - Absolute path to the Excel file
• sheetName - Sheet name where the table is created
• range - Range to be a table (e.g., "A1:C10")
• tableName - Table name to be created

excel_copy_sheet

Copies an existing sheet to a new sheet.

Arguments:

• fileAbsolutePath - Absolute path to the Excel file
• srcSheetName - Source sheet name in the Excel file
• dstSheetName - Sheet name to be copied

Configuration

You can modify the MCP Server behavior using the following environment variables:

EXCEL_MCP_PAGING_CELLS_LIMIT

The maximum number of cells to read in a single paging operation. [default: 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.