Agent Xlsx

agent-xlsx

XLSX CLI for AI agents. Structured JSON to stdout. Polars+fastexcel for data reads (7-10x faster than openpyxl), openpyxl for metadata/​writes, three rendering engines for visual capture (Aspose → Excel → LibreOffice), oletools for VBA.

Running

If agent-xlsx is not already installed, use uvx for zero-install execution:

uvx agent-xlsx probe report.xlsx

All examples below use agent-xlsx directly — prefix with uvx if not globally installed.

Workflow: Progressive Disclosure

Start lean, opt into detail:

probe (<10ms)  →  screenshot (~3s)  →  read (data)  →  inspect (metadata)

Always start with probe:

agent-xlsx probe <file>                        # Sheet names, dims, headers, column_map
agent-xlsx probe <file> --types                # + column types, null counts
agent-xlsx probe <file> --full                 # + types, sample(3), stats, date_summary
agent-xlsx probe <file> -s "Sales" --full      # Single-sheet deep-dive
agent-xlsx probe <file> --no-header            # Non-tabular: P&L, dashboards (cols as A,B,C)
agent-xlsx probe <file> --types --no-header    # + potential_headers auto-detection

Tabular probes return column_map — map headers to column letters for building ranges:

{"column_map": {"user_id": "A", "amount": "E"}, "last_col": "W"}

Non-tabular probes (--no-header) with --types return potential_headers — auto-detected header rows:

{"potential_headers": [{"row": 6, "values": {"I": "Dec", "J": "% sales", "L": "Nov"}}]}

Essential Commands

Data (Polars — fast)

# Read
agent-xlsx read <file> "A1:F50"                    # Range (positional arg)
agent-xlsx read <file> -s Sales "B2:G100"          # Sheet + range
agent-xlsx read <file> --limit 500 --offset 100    # Pagination
agent-xlsx read <file> --sort amount --descending  # Sorted
agent-xlsx read <file> --formulas                  # Formula strings (slower, openpyxl)
agent-xlsx read <file> "H54:AT54" -s 2022 --no-header            # Non-tabular (compact by default)
agent-xlsx read <file> "H54:AT54,H149:AT149" -s 2022             # Multi-range (1 call)
agent-xlsx read <file> "H54:AT54" --all-sheets                    # Same range, every sheet (1 call)
agent-xlsx read <file> "H54:AT54,H149:AT149" --all-sheets         # Multi-range × all sheets

# Search
agent-xlsx search <file> "revenue"                 # Exact match, all sheets
agent-xlsx search <file> "rev.*" --regex           # Regex
agent-xlsx search <file> "stripe" --ignore-case    # Case-insensitive
agent-xlsx search <file> "SUM(" --in-formulas      # Inside formula strings

# Export
agent-xlsx export <file> --format csv              # CSV to stdout (compact by default)
agent-xlsx export <file> --format markdown          # Markdown table
agent-xlsx export <file> --format csv -o out.csv -s Sales
agent-xlsx export <file> --format markdown --no-header -s 2022  # Non-tabular export

Metadata (openpyxl)

# Overview — structural summary
agent-xlsx overview <file>
agent-xlsx overview <file> --include-formulas --include-formatting

# Inspect — comprehensive single-pass metadata
agent-xlsx inspect <file> -s Sales                 # Everything: formulas, merges, tables, charts, comments, cond. formatting, validation, hyperlinks, freeze panes
agent-xlsx inspect <file> -s Sales --range A1:C10  # Scoped
agent-xlsx inspect <file> --names                  # Named ranges
agent-xlsx inspect <file> --charts                 # Chart metadata
agent-xlsx inspect <file> --vba                    # VBA modules
agent-xlsx inspect <file> --format "A1" -s Sales   # Cell formatting detail
agent-xlsx inspect <file> --comments               # Cell comments

# Format — read/​write cell formatting
agent-xlsx format <file> "A1" --read -s Sales      # Read formatting
agent-xlsx format <file> "A1:D1" --font '{"bold": true, "size": 14}'
agent-xlsx format <file> "B2:B100" --number-format "#,##0.00"
agent-xlsx format <file> "A1:D10" --copy-from "G1" # Copy all formatting

Write (openpyxl)

agent-xlsx write <file> "A1" "Hello"                               # Single value
agent-xlsx write <file> "A1" "=SUM(B1:B100)" --formula             # Formula
agent-xlsx write <file> "A1:C3" --json '[[1,2,3],[4,5,6],[7,8,9]]' # 2D array
agent-xlsx write <file> "A1" --from-csv data.csv                   # CSV import
agent-xlsx write <file> "A1" "Hello" -o new.xlsx -s Sales          # New file

# Sheet management
agent-xlsx sheet <file> --list
agent-xlsx sheet <file> --create "New Sheet"
agent-xlsx sheet <file> --rename "Old" --new-name "New"
agent-xlsx sheet <file> --delete "Temp"
agent-xlsx sheet <file> --copy "Template" --new-name "Q1"
agent-xlsx sheet <file> --hide "Internal"

Visual & Analysis (3 engines: Aspose → Excel → LibreOffice)

# Screenshot — HD PNG capture (auto-fits columns)
agent-xlsx screenshot <file>                       # All sheets
agent-xlsx screenshot <file> -s Sales              # Specific sheet
agent-xlsx screenshot <file> -s "Sales,Summary"    # Multiple sheets
agent-xlsx screenshot <file> "Sales!A1:F20"        # Range capture
agent-xlsx screenshot <file> -o ./​shots/           # Output directory
agent-xlsx screenshot <file> --engine aspose       # Force engine
agent-xlsx screenshot <file> --dpi 300             # DPI (Aspose/​LibreOffice)

# Objects — embedded charts, shapes, pictures
agent-xlsx objects <file>                          # List all
agent-xlsx objects <file> --export "Chart 1"       # Export chart as PNG

# Recalc — formula error checking
agent-xlsx recalc <file> --check-only              # Scan for #REF!, #DIV/​0! (no engine needed)
agent-xlsx recalc <file>                           # Full recalculation (needs engine)

VBA (oletools + xlwings)

agent-xlsx vba <file> --list                       # List modules + security summary
agent-xlsx vba <file> --read ModuleName            # Read module code
agent-xlsx vba <file> --read-all                   # All module code
agent-xlsx vba <file> --security                   # Full security analysis (risk level, IOCs)
agent-xlsx vba <file> --run "Module1.MyMacro"      # Execute (requires Excel)
agent-xlsx vba <file> --run "MyMacro" --args '[1]' # With arguments

Config

agent-xlsx license --status                        # Check Aspose install + licence status
agent-xlsx license --set /​path/​to/​Aspose.Cells.lic # Save licence path
agent-xlsx license --clear                         # Remove saved licence

Common Patterns

Profile a new spreadsheet

agent-xlsx probe file.xlsx --full             # Structure + types + samples + stats
agent-xlsx screenshot file.xlsx               # Visual understanding

Non-tabular spreadsheets (P&L, dashboards, management accounts)

agent-xlsx probe file.xlsx --types --no-header   # Structure + potential_headers
agent-xlsx search file.xlsx "Total Sales" --no-header  # Find key rows
agent-xlsx read file.xlsx "H54:AT54,H149:AT149,H156:AT156" -s 2022 --no-header  # Multi-range (compact by default)
agent-xlsx read file.xlsx "H54:AT54" --all-sheets --no-header  # Same range across all sheets

Find and extract specific data

agent-xlsx probe file.xlsx                    # Get column_map
agent-xlsx search file.xlsx "overdue" -i      # Find matching cells
agent-xlsx read file.xlsx "A1:G50" -s Invoices  # Extract the range

Audit formulas

agent-xlsx recalc file.xlsx --check-only      # Scan for errors (#REF!, #DIV/​0!)
agent-xlsx read file.xlsx --formulas          # See formula strings
agent-xlsx search file.xlsx "VLOOKUP" --in-formulas  # Find specific formulas

Write results back

agent-xlsx write file.xlsx "H1" "Status" -o updated.xlsx
agent-xlsx write updated.xlsx "H2" --json '["Done","Pending","Done"]'

Export for downstream use

agent-xlsx export file.xlsx --format csv -s Sales -o sales.csv
agent-xlsx export file.xlsx --format markdown  # Stdout

Analyse VBA for security

agent-xlsx vba suspect.xlsm --security        # Risk assessment
agent-xlsx vba suspect.xlsm --read-all        # Read all code

Critical Rules

1. Always probe first — instant (<10ms), returns sheet names and column_map
2. --no-header for non-tabular sheets — P&L reports, dashboards, management accounts. Columns become Excel letters (A, B, C). Use with probe, read, and search
3. --compact on by default — read and export drop fully-null columns automatically. Use --no-compact to preserve all columns
4. Multi-range reads — comma-separated ranges in one call: "H54:AT54,H149:AT149" (sheet prefix carries forward)
5. --all-sheets for cross-sheet reads — same range(s) from every sheet in one call
6. --formulas for formula strings — default read returns computed values only (Polars, fast). Add --formulas for formula text (openpyxl, slower)
7. --in-formulas for formula search — default search checks cell values. Add --in-formulas to search formula strings
8. Dates auto-convert — Excel serial numbers (44927) become ISO strings ("2023-01-15") automatically
9. Check truncated field — results are capped (search: 25, formula patterns: 10, comments: 20). Narrow query if truncated
10. Range is positional — "A1:F50" or "Sheet1!A1:F50" is a positional argument, not a flag. Comma-separated for multi-range
11. -o preserves original — write/​format save to a new file when --output specified
12. Screenshot needs an engine — requires Excel, Aspose, or LibreOffice. See backends.md
13. VBA read vs run — oletools for read/​analysis (cross-platform), xlwings for execution (Excel required)
14. 500MB memory limit — large files auto-chunk. Use --limit for big reads
15. Writable: .xlsx and .xlsm only — .xlsb, .xls, .ods are read-only

Output Format

JSON to stdout. Errors:

{"error": true, "code": "SHEET_NOT_FOUND", "message": "...", "suggestions": ["..."]}

Codes: FILE_NOT_FOUND, INVALID_FORMAT, SHEET_NOT_FOUND, INVALID_RANGE, EXCEL_REQUIRED, LIBREOFFICE_REQUIRED, ASPOSE_NOT_INSTALLED, NO_RENDERING_BACKEND, MEMORY_EXCEEDED, VBA_NOT_FOUND, CHART_NOT_FOUND.

Deep-Dive Reference