Excel Reader — Claude Skill

Read Excel workbooks via scripts/excel.py. Requires Python 3. Auto-installs openpyxl on first run.

Commands

Command	Purpose	Example
`sheets`	List all sheets with row/column counts	`python3 scripts/excel.py sheets data.xlsx`
`headers`	Show first N rows (default 1)	`python3 scripts/excel.py headers data.xlsx --rows 3`
`rows`	Extract row range	`python3 scripts/excel.py rows data.xlsx 10-20`
`column`	Extract a column by name or index	`python3 scripts/excel.py column data.xlsx "Email"`

Common Arguments

Argument	Applies to	Default	Description
`--sheet NAME`	all except `sheets`	first sheet	Target sheet (case-insensitive)
`--limit N`	`rows`, `column`	50	Max rows in output
`--offset N`	`rows`, `column`	0	Skip first N data rows
`--header-row N`	`rows`, `column`	1	Row number containing headers
`--json`	all	off	Output as JSON instead of markdown table

Typical Workflow

List sheets: python3 scripts/excel.py sheets file.xlsx
Preview headers: python3 scripts/excel.py headers file.xlsx --sheet Sales --rows 2
Sample data: python3 scripts/excel.py rows file.xlsx --sheet Sales --limit 10
Inspect a column: python3 scripts/excel.py column file.xlsx "Status" --sheet Sales
Use the extracted structure and sample data to generate an import script

Examples

# List sheets
python3 scripts/excel.py sheets /path/to/workbook.xlsx

# Preview headers and first 5 rows
python3 scripts/excel.py headers /path/to/workbook.xlsx --rows 5

# Extract rows 100-200 from "Orders" sheet
python3 scripts/excel.py rows /path/to/workbook.xlsx 100-200 --sheet Orders

# Extract "Email" column (first 50 values)
python3 scripts/excel.py column /path/to/workbook.xlsx "Email" --sheet Users

# Extract column by 0-based index
python3 scripts/excel.py column /path/to/workbook.xlsx 3 --sheet Users

# JSON output for structured processing
python3 scripts/excel.py rows /path/to/workbook.xlsx 1-100 --json

Large Files

All commands stream via openpyxl read_only mode — constant memory regardless of file size. Default --limit 50 prevents context overflow. Increase with --limit 500 if needed.

Limitations

.xlsx only. Legacy .xls files must be converted first.
data_only=True: returns computed values, not formulas. Files never opened in Excel may show empty formula cells.
Merged cells show value only in the top-left cell; other cells in the merge appear empty.