excel-cli — Claude Code skill: what it does, how to install

---
name: excel-cli
description: >-
  Discover and launch the Excel CLI for ordinary Excel workbook requests on
  Windows, including reads, writes, formulas, data refreshes, and workbook
  automation. Use the installed excel-cli plugin's npx launcher and native help
  to find commands; report presentation conventions are a separate optional skill.
compatibility: Windows with desktop Excel, PowerShell 7.4 or later, Node.js 18 or later, and the excel-cli plugin.
---

# Excel CLI discovery

The plugin does not place `excelcli` on PATH. Its launcher runs
`npx -y @sbroenne/excelcli@latest`; do not assume a standalone executable is
installed or restore the retired GitHub-release downloader.

For the plugin-bundled copy of this skill, `..\..\bin\start-cli.ps1` relative to
the directory containing this `SKILL.md` locates the plugin launcher.
Replace `<plugin-root>` below with that plugin's actual installed directory:
Run these commands in PowerShell 7.4 or later (`pwsh`), not Windows PowerShell 5.1.

```powershell
& "<plugin-root>\bin\start-cli.ps1" --help
& "<plugin-root>\bin\start-cli.ps1" session --help
```

Use the same full launcher path for subsequent commands, especially quoted JSON
arguments. Discover exact command names, flags, defaults,
and save/close behavior through native `--help`; do not invent syntax.

Inspect the existing workbook state relevant to the request. Preserve unrelated
contents and save only the authorized result. If an operation fails, inspect its
reported partial state rather than assuming rollback or automatically cleaning up.
Before opening, run `session discover` to find an already-open workbook. Confirm
the intended `workbookId`, then use `session attach --workbook-id <ID>` so the
workbook is not reopened. Check discovery `complete` and `errors`; an incomplete
scan cannot establish that a workbook is absent. Attach preserves unsaved edits
and leaves the workbook open when the service exits. Its response reports the
current AutoSave setting; open preserves it too. If enabled, Excel may save edits
automatically. Normal service shutdown leaves unsaved owned workbooks open and
visible without saving or discarding; save and close explicitly for completed jobs.
If a wait expires, check `session list` for the operation's start time, pending
work, and eventual outcome; do not automatically repeat it. Zero active requests
does not mean Excel has finished. Inspect the workbook after completion.
`service status` and `service stop` report recorded Excel copies from earlier
services. Stopping an already-stopped service leaves those copies open, and
they do not block a new service. `service stop` always stops the service; if a
workbook was busy or its state could not be confirmed, that Excel copy is left
as it is and reported in `shutdownWarning`. Use discovery and explicit attachment to inspect
them; unknown or incomplete information is not permission to end Excel.
For JSON errors, read `errorMessage` as the single error-text field; use
`errorCategory` when present to guide recovery.
Load `excel-cli-report-formatting` only for requested report presentation, not
ordinary Excel reads or targeted updates.