📊 Excel Automation Suite — 274 Tools | MCP Server + Batch API

🏆 The most comprehensive Excel automation actor on Apify. Create, edit, format, analyze, and export Excel files with 274 professional-grade tools — or run as an MCP server for AI assistants.

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🌟 Why This Actor?

Feature	This Actor	Typical Competitors
Total Tools	274	15–50
MCP Server Mode	✅	❌
Batch Operations	✅	❌
Power Tools	✅ Dashboards, Templates, URL import	❌
Data Analysis	✅ Statistics, Pivot, Correlation	Minimal
Chart Types	14 chart types	2–4
Conditional Formatting	15 rule types	1–2
LRU Workbook Cache	✅	❌

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🚀 Quick Start (5 Minutes)

Mode 1: Direct — Execute a Single Tool

{
  "mode": "direct",
  "tool": "create_workbook",
  "arguments": {
    "filename": "my_report.xlsx"
  }
}

Mode 2: Batch — Run Multiple Tools in One Call ⚡

This is the most powerful mode. Build an entire report in one actor run:

{
  "mode": "batch",
  "operations": [
    {
      "tool": "create_workbook",
      "arguments": { "filename": "sales_report.xlsx" }
    },
    {
      "tool": "write_range",
      "arguments": {
        "filename": "sales_report.xlsx",
        "sheet_name": "Sheet1",
        "start_cell": "A1",
        "data": [
          ["Product", "Q1 Sales", "Q2 Sales", "Growth"],
          ["Widget A", 15000, 18500, "23%"],
          ["Widget B", 12000, 14200, "18%"],
          ["Widget C", 9500, 11000, "16%"]
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "tool": "format_cell",
      "arguments": {
        "filename": "sales_report.xlsx",
        "sheet_name": "Sheet1",
        "range": "A1:D1",
        "bold": true,
        "bg_color": "366092",
        "color": "FFFFFF",
        "align_h": "center"
      }
    },
    {
      "tool": "add_chart",
      "arguments": {
        "filename": "sales_report.xlsx",
        "sheet_name": "Sheet1",
        "chart_type": "col",
        "data_range": "A1:C4",
        "title": "Q1 vs Q2 Sales",
        "position": "F2"
      }
    },
    {
      "tool": "auto_fit_columns",
      "arguments": {
        "filename": "sales_report.xlsx",
        "sheet_name": "Sheet1"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Mode 3: MCP Server — For AI Assistants (Claude, GPT-4)

{
  "mode": "server"
}

The actor starts an SSE MCP server. Connect to it from Claude Desktop or any MCP-compatible client. Your AI assistant then has full Excel capabilities.

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📚 All 274 Tools at a Glance

📊 Category Overview

Category	Tools	Description
⭐ Power Tools	10	Dashboards, templates, URL import, themes, bulk write
Basic Operations	34	Create workbooks, read/write cells, manage sheets
Formula & Calculations	15	Write formulas, array formulas, evaluate, trace
Data Analysis	11	Statistics, pivot summaries, correlation, ranking
Charts & Visualization	16	14 chart types + customization
Conditional Formatting	15	Color scales, icon sets, data bars, formula rules
Tables	10	Create, style, sort, filter Excel Tables
Import / Export	8	JSON, CSV, HTML, URL — import and export
Workbook Management	10	Properties, named ranges, protection, copies
Paste Special	6	Values, formats, formulas, transpose
Sparklines	5	Line, column, win/loss sparklines
Comments & Hyperlinks	12	Add, edit, delete, list
Data Validation	7	Dropdowns, number/date/text constraints
View & Freeze	9	Freeze panes, zoom, split, gridlines
Print & Page Setup	13	Margins, headers, footers, print area, scaling
Protection	10	Sheet/workbook/range protection with passwords
Images & Shapes	7	Insert images, text boxes, shape management
Extended Formatting	20	Borders, fills, fonts, gradients, patterns
Named Ranges	8	Create, list, scope, delete named ranges
Array Formulas	6	FILTER, SORT, UNIQUE, SEQUENCE, XLOOKUP
Grouping & Outline	6	Group rows/columns, show/hide outline
What-If Analysis	4	Data tables, goal seek, scenarios
Pivot & Aggregation	3	Pivot summaries, group-by, cross-tabulate
Tab Management	6	Colors, reorder, move sheets
Other Utilities	~20	Cell stats, workbook stats, merge, etc.

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📖 Common Use Cases

📊 Sales Dashboard Report

{
  "mode": "batch",
  "operations": [
    { "tool": "create_workbook", "arguments": { "filename": "dashboard.xlsx" } },
    { "tool": "import_json", "arguments": {
        "filename": "dashboard.xlsx",
        "sheet_name": "RawData",
        "json_data": "[{\"region\": \"North\", \"sales\": 45000}, {\"region\": \"South\", \"sales\": 38000}]"
    }},
    { "tool": "create_pivot_summary", "arguments": {
        "filename": "dashboard.xlsx",
        "source_sheet": "RawData",
        "source_range": "A1:B3",
        "dest_sheet": "Summary",
        "dest_cell": "A1",
        "row_fields": ["region"],
        "value_field": "sales",
        "aggregate_function": "SUM"
    }},
    { "tool": "add_chart", "arguments": {
        "filename": "dashboard.xlsx",
        "sheet_name": "Summary",
        "chart_type": "col",
        "data_range": "A1:B3",
        "title": "Sales by Region",
        "position": "D1"
    }}
  ]
}

📈 Import JSON → Format → Export

{
  "mode": "batch",
  "operations": [
    { "tool": "create_workbook", "arguments": { "filename": "data.xlsx" } },
    { "tool": "import_json", "arguments": {
        "filename": "data.xlsx",
        "sheet_name": "Data",
        "json_data": "[{\"name\": \"Alice\", \"score\": 95}, {\"name\": \"Bob\", \"score\": 87}]"
    }},
    { "tool": "create_table", "arguments": {
        "filename": "data.xlsx",
        "sheet_name": "Data",
        "range": "A1:B3",
        "table_name": "ScoreTable",
        "style": "TableStyleMedium9"
    }},
    { "tool": "conditional_format", "arguments": {
        "filename": "data.xlsx",
        "sheet_name": "Data",
        "range": "B2:B3",
        "format_type": "colorScale",
        "start_color": "FF0000",
        "end_color": "00FF00"
    }},
    { "tool": "export_json", "arguments": {
        "filename": "data.xlsx",
        "sheet_name": "Data",
        "has_headers": true
    }}
  ]
}

🎨 Professional Formatting

{
  "mode": "direct",
  "tool": "format_cell",
  "arguments": {
    "filename": "report.xlsx",
    "sheet_name": "Sheet1",
    "range": "A1:F1",
    "bold": true,
    "bg_color": "1F3864",
    "color": "FFFFFF",
    "align_h": "center",
    "align_v": "center",
    "border": true
  }
}

📋 Statistical Analysis

{
  "mode": "direct",
  "tool": "get_statistics",
  "arguments": {
    "filename": "data.xlsx",
    "sheet_name": "Sales",
    "range": "B2:B1000"
  }
}

Returns: { "count": 999, "sum": 4850000, "min": 120, "max": 98500, "mean": 4854.85, "median": 3200, "stdev": 8231.4 }

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⭐ New Power Tools (10 Tools)

create_dashboard — Full BI Dashboard in One Call

{
  "mode": "direct",
  "tool": "create_dashboard",
  "arguments": {
    "filename": "sales.xlsx",
    "source_sheet": "RawData",
    "title": "Q2 2026 Sales Dashboard",
    "kpi_columns": ["Revenue", "Units", "Profit"],
    "category_column": "Region",
    "value_column": "Revenue",
    "theme": "corporate_blue"
  }
}

create_excel_from_template — Template-Based Reports

{
  "mode": "direct",
  "tool": "create_excel_from_template",
  "arguments": {
    "template_file": "monthly_template.xlsx",
    "output_file": "july_2026_report.xlsx",
    "replacements": { "{{MONTH}}": "July 2026", "{{TOTAL}}": 1250000 }
  }
}

bulk_write_formatted — Write + Format Atomically

{
  "mode": "direct",
  "tool": "bulk_write_formatted",
  "arguments": {
    "filename": "report.xlsx", "sheet_name": "Sheet1",
    "rows": [
      { "data": ["Region", "Q1", "Q2"], "bold": true, "bg_color": "1F3864", "color": "FFFFFF" },
      { "data": ["North", 45000, 52000], "number_formats": {"1": "#,##0", "2": "#,##0"} }
    ]
  }
}

read_data_as_json — Proper JSON Output

{ "mode": "direct", "tool": "read_data_as_json", "arguments": { "filename": "data.xlsx", "sheet_name": "Sales", "has_headers": true } }

Returns: [{"Region": "North", "Revenue": 45000}, ...]

import_from_url — Live API Data

{ "mode": "direct", "tool": "import_from_url", "arguments": { "filename": "live.xlsx", "sheet_name": "Data", "url": "https://api.example.com/data.json" } }

apply_theme — One-Click Professional Design

{ "mode": "direct", "tool": "apply_theme", "arguments": { "filename": "report.xlsx", "theme": "executive_navy" } }

Themes: corporate_blue | modern_dark | vibrant_orange | elegant_green | minimal_gray | executive_navy

Other Power Tools

• batch_format_range — Apply formats to N ranges in one call
• detect_and_fix_errors — Find #REF!, #VALUE!, #DIV/0! errors across a sheet
• generate_summary_report — Auto-analyze data: stats, types, missing values + chart
• list_all_tools — Discover all 274 tools, filter by category or search term

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Parameter	Type	Required	Description
mode	string	✅	"direct", "batch", or "server"
tool	string	In direct mode	Tool name (e.g., write_range, add_chart)
arguments	object	In direct mode	Tool-specific arguments
operations	array	In batch mode	List of { tool, arguments } objects
port	integer	❌	Server port (default: Apify container port)

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📤 Output

• Excel files → Saved to key-value store, download from the OUTPUT tab
• Execution results → Dataset with status, tool name, and result for each operation
• Logs → Full execution trace for debugging

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🔌 MCP Server Integration

Connect to any MCP-compatible AI assistant. After starting in server mode, use the Apify-provided URL:

Claude Desktop config (~/.config/claude/claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "excel": {
      "url": "https://YOUR_RUN_URL/sse",
      "transport": "sse"
    }
  }
}

Your AI assistant can then say things like:

"Create an Excel report with last month's sales data, format it professionally, add a bar chart, and save it."

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🏆 What Makes This #1

1. 264 Tools — 5–10x more than any competitor on Apify
2. MCP Protocol — The only Apify actor that works as an AI tool server
3. Batch Mode — Build complete reports in a single API call
4. Data Analysis — Statistical analysis, pivot summaries, correlation matrices
5. 14 Chart Types — Bar, line, pie, scatter, area, radar, bubble, stock, doughnut, 3D, waterfall, funnel + combos
6. Professional Formatting — 15 conditional formatting types, gradients, custom borders, themes
7. Error Handling — Full error recovery with detailed status for each operation
8. Zero Config — Works immediately with sensible defaults

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🔐 Privacy & Security

• All processing in isolated containers
• Files automatically cleaned up after run
• No data retained between runs
• Password-protected sheet support
• Directory traversal prevention

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📜 License

Apache 2.0 — Free for commercial and personal use

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Made with ❤️ for the Apify community | v2.0 | 264 tools