sheetforge-mcp 0.3.0

SheetForge MCP for reading, writing, and reshaping Excel workbooks

SheetForge MCP

SheetForge MCP exposes .xlsx workbook operations over the Model Context Protocol. It uses openpyxl under the hood, so MCP clients can inspect and modify Excel files without launching Microsoft Excel or LibreOffice.

Package name: sheetforge-mcp CLI command: sheetforge-mcp

What This Project Covers

• workbook creation and metadata
• worksheet creation, renaming, copying, and deletion
• structured reads, compact table reads, and cell search
• row, column, and range mutations
• formulas and validation checks
• formatting, merges, and conditional formatting
• native Excel tables, charts, and pivot summaries
• stdio, streamable-http, and deprecated sse transports

Requirements

• Python 3.10+
• .xlsx workbooks
• either uvx or a local package install

Quick Start

Stdio

Use stdio when the MCP client starts the server locally.

uvx sheetforge-mcp stdio

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "excel": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["sheetforge-mcp", "stdio"]
    }
  }
}

Streamable HTTP

Use streamable-http when you want a long-running local or remote server process.

EXCEL_FILES_PATH=/path/to/excel-files uvx sheetforge-mcp streamable-http

Default endpoint:

http://127.0.0.1:8017/mcp

Example client config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "excel": {
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:8017/mcp"
    }
  }
}

SSE

SSE is kept for compatibility, but new integrations should prefer streamable-http.

EXCEL_FILES_PATH=/path/to/excel-files uvx sheetforge-mcp sse

Default endpoint:

http://127.0.0.1:8017/sse

File Path Rules

• In stdio mode, filepath values must be absolute paths.
• In streamable-http and sse mode, relative paths are resolved under EXCEL_FILES_PATH.
• Absolute paths are accepted in every transport.
• In streamable-http and sse mode, the server creates EXCEL_FILES_PATH automatically if it does not exist.

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Used by	Purpose
FASTMCP_HOST	127.0.0.1	HTTP and SSE	Bind address for the server process
FASTMCP_PORT	8017	HTTP and SSE	Port for the server process
EXCEL_FILES_PATH	./excel_files	HTTP and SSE	Base directory for relative workbook paths

Tooling Overview

The server currently registers 30 MCP tools across these groups:

• workbook overview: create_workbook, create_worksheet, get_workbook_metadata, list_all_sheets
• data access: read_data_from_excel, read_excel_as_table, search_in_sheet, write_data_to_excel, append_table_rows, update_rows_by_key
• worksheet and range changes: copy_worksheet, delete_worksheet, rename_worksheet, copy_range, delete_range, insert_rows, insert_columns, delete_sheet_rows, delete_sheet_columns
• formatting and layout: format_range, merge_cells, unmerge_cells, get_merged_cells
• formulas and validation: apply_formula, validate_formula_syntax, validate_excel_range, get_data_validation_info
• analysis and structure: create_table, create_chart, create_pivot_table

The three most agent-friendly read tools are:

• list_all_sheets: quick workbook inventory with sheet sizes and emptiness flags
• read_excel_as_table: compact headers + rows output for structured datasets
• search_in_sheet: exact or partial value search across a worksheet

See TOOLS.md for the full reference.

Response Format

Every tool now returns a JSON envelope with a consistent top-level shape:

{
  "ok": true,
  "operation": "read_excel_as_table",
  "message": "read_excel_as_table completed",
  "data": {}
}

Error responses follow the same contract:

{
  "ok": false,
  "operation": "write_data_to_excel",
  "error": {
    "type": "DataError",
    "message": "No data provided to write"
  }
}

For destructive tools that support preview mode, the envelope may also include dry_run and changes.

Development

Install dependencies:

uv sync --extra dev

Run tests:

uv run --extra dev pytest -q

Run the package locally:

uv run sheetforge-mcp stdio

Release Flow

• GitHub releases run a build verification workflow only.
• PyPI publishing is a separate manual workflow, so releases do not create a failing deployment before Trusted Publisher is configured for the package.

Repository Layout

• src/excel_mcp/server.py: MCP server, transport setup, and tool registration
• src/excel_mcp/workbook.py: workbook lifecycle helpers and workbook metadata
• src/excel_mcp/data.py: read, write, table, and search helpers
• src/excel_mcp/sheet.py: worksheet and range mutations
• tests/: regression tests for workbook handling and public behavior
• manifest.json: packaged MCP bundle metadata
• docs/index.html: static project landing page

Notes For Integrators

• stdio mode is careful not to write non-protocol text to stdout.
• All tools return structured JSON envelopes, which makes client-side parsing predictable.
• read_data_from_excel(..., preview_only=True) limits the response to the first 10 rows in the selected range and marks the payload as truncated when applicable.
• Core mutation tools support dry_run=True so clients can preview changes before saving a workbook.

License

MIT. See LICENSE.