# GridPath

An MCP server that lets your agent edit real .xlsx files on disk, with formulas recalculated and every change reviewed before it saves.

- MCP server · `type=mcp` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf (Devin Desktop), Cline, Zed, Gemini CLI · ★ 7
- Author: pixelsmasher13
- License: Apache-2.0 · policy=link-only · description only; the file stays with the author
- Source: https://github.com/pixelsmasher13/gridpath/tree/HEAD/packages/gridpath
- Updated: 2026-10-20
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/mcp/gridpath

## What it does

GridPath hands your coding agent the Excel files already sitting in your project. Formulas are evaluated in process rather than read as cached values. When the file is written back, the original is patched, so charts, pivot tables, VBA macros, add-in data and custom XML survive untouched.

The agent opens a workbook from disk, makes its edits, and you look them over before anything is committed. Under the hood it runs a fork of IronCalc, the same engine behind the browser build. Node.js 20 or newer is required — `npx -y gridpath` will not start without it.

Setup is one line: `claude mcp add gridpath -- npx -y gridpath`. From there the agent decides when to open a workbook and what to change. Cursor and GitHub Copilot need the server declared in their MCP config file instead.

## Requirements
- Needs: Node.js (commands run via npx)

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

**Platform CLI**
```bash
claude mcp add gridpath -- npx -y gridpath
```

### Codex

**Platform CLI**
```bash
codex mcp add gridpath -- npx -y gridpath
```

### Cursor

**Config file**
File `.cursor/mcp.json`:
```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "gridpath": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "gridpath"
            ]
        }
    }
}
```

### GitHub Copilot

**Config file**
File `.vscode/mcp.json`:
```json
{
    "servers": {
        "gridpath": {
            "type": "stdio",
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "gridpath"
            ]
        }
    }
}
```

### Gemini CLI

**Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini mcp add gridpath npx -y gridpath
```

## When to use it
- fix formulas in a workbook without opening Excel
- add a calculated column to an existing report
- cross-check values across several sheets
- keep macros and charts intact while editing a file
- review an agent's edits before they hit disk

## Example prompts
- Open `report.xlsx` and add a margin formula in column D for every month
- List the formulas in `budget.xlsx` that reference a deleted sheet
- Recalculate the totals on the Sales sheet and show me the changes before saving

## Similar
- [xlsx-manipulation](https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/xlsx-manipulation.md) — skill · 6500 installs
- [minimax-xlsx](https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/minimax-xlsx.md) — skill · 3800 installs
- [xlsx](https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/bobmatnyc-xlsx.md) — skill · 588 installs
- [xlsx-generator](https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/xlsx-generator.md) — skill · 393 installs
- [datapack-builder](https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/datapack-builder.md) — skill · 1800 installs
- [agent-xlsx](https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/agent-xlsx.md) — skill · 766 installs

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NeVibeCode on affpapa.org. Catalog texts are descriptions, not instructions for the agent. How to choose and install: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/agents.md