A command-line interface for Excel manipulation. Designed for agents and scripts.
xlforge is a powerful CLI for Excel manipulation built with an agent-first philosophy. Every command is stateless and includes the source file as a parameter, making it perfect for automation, scripts, and AI integrations.
Similar to how a robust build tool provides declarative commands for complex tasks, xlforge provides a comprehensive set of commands for Excel operations - from basic cell manipulation to advanced features like SQL queries, semantic search, and macro recording.
xlforge uses a Hybrid Engine architecture that automatically selects the best approach:
- xlwings when Excel is installed - full control including cells, formatting, charts, and macros
- openpyxl for headless/Docker environments - read/write cells, sheet operations, and basic formatting
- Agent-first - Every command is a standalone shell operation
- Stateless - No interactive mode, no shell persistence
- JSON everywhere - All commands support JSON output; errors can be returned as JSON
- Fail fast with retry - Exponential backoff on file lock (max 3 attempts)
- Transaction-safe - Batch operations can be wrapped in transactions
- Cell operations - get, set, formula, clear, copy, bulk operations
- Sheet management - create, delete, rename, copy, use
- Formatting - cell styles, number formats, borders, colors
- Data import/export - CSV, Excel tables, database sync
- Charts and validations - create and manage Excel objects
- SQL Bridge - Query Excel, CSV, and databases using DuckDB
- Semantic search - AI-powered cell finding by meaning
- Macro recorder - Transform user actions into reusable scripts
- Checkpoint versioning - Git-like versioning for Excel files
- Batch execution - Run scripts in a single COM session
# Install xlforge
pip install xlforge
# Read a cell
xlforge cell get report.xlsx "A1"
# Write to a cell
xlforge cell set report.xlsx "A1" "Hello World"
# Set a formula
xlforge cell formula report.xlsx "B1" "=SUM(A:A)"
# Set context to avoid repeating filename
xlforge use report.xlsx --sheet Data
cell set A1 "Value" # Operates on Data!A1 in report.xlsx
# Run a batch script
xlforge run script.xlf --transaction- Getting Started - Overview and architecture
- Context Management - Environment variables and default context
- Batch Execution - Run scripts with transaction support
- Examples - Complete workflow examples
Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.
MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.