Excel Tools — Create, read & modify Excel

Tools / Excel Tools

Create Spreadsheet

Build a complete Excel workbook in one call — multiple sheets, headers, formulas, rich formatting, merged cells, data validations, conditional formatting, hyperlinks, comments, named ranges, tables, pivot tables, sheet protection, freeze panes, and print setup. Returns a .xlsx file.

Returns: A downloadable .xlsx file with all sheets, data, formatting, validations, and formulas applied

Parameters

sheets *arrayArray of sheet definitions with data and settings.

formulasarrayFormulas to apply. Each: {sheet?, cell, formula}.

formattingarrayFormatting rules. Each object needs a range and optional style properties (bold, italic, font_size, colors, alignment, etc.).

mergesarrayCell ranges to merge.

data_validationsarrayData validation rules. Types: list (dropdowns), whole/decimal (number ranges), date, textLength, custom (formula-based).

conditional_formatsarrayConditional formatting rules. rule_type: cellIs, containsText, colorScale, dataBar, iconSet, top10, aboveAverage, expression.

hyperlinksarrayHyperlinks to add.

commentsarrayCell comments/notes.

named_rangesarrayNamed ranges (defined names).

tablesarrayExcel tables to create from existing data ranges.

pivot_tablesarrayPivot tables to compute from data. Creates a new sheet with aggregated results.

filenamestringOutput filename (default: spreadsheet.xlsx)

Example

Sales report with formatting and formulas

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOOLROUTER_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
  "tool": "excel-tools",
  "skill": "create_spreadsheet",
  "input": {
    "sheets": [
      {
        "name": "Sales",
        "headers": [
          "Product",
          "Q1",
          "Q2",
          "Q3",
          "Q4"
        ],
        "rows": [
          [
            "Widget A",
            1500,
            2300,
            1800,
            2100
          ],
          [
            "Widget B",
            900,
            1100,
            1300,
            1500
          ]
        ]
      }
    ],
    "formulas": [
      {
        "cell": "F1",
        "formula": "\"Total\""
      },
      {
        "cell": "F2",
        "formula": "SUM(B2:E2)"
      },
      {
        "cell": "F3",
        "formula": "SUM(B3:E3)"
      }
    ],
    "formatting": [
      {
        "range": "B2:F3",
        "number_format": "$#,##0"
      }
    ],
    "filename": "sales-report.xlsx"
  }
}' \
  https://api.toolrouter.com/v1/tools/call

Read Spreadsheet

Download an Excel file from a URL and extract all data as structured JSON — sheet names, headers, cell values, merged cells, tables, and print settings. Optionally includes formulas, comments, hyperlinks, data validations, and per-cell formatting. Use this to inspect a file before modifying it.

Returns: Structured JSON with all sheet data, cell values, and optional deep metadata (formulas, comments, hyperlinks, validations, formatting)

Parameters

url *stringURL of the .xlsx file to read. The tool server CAN fetch any public URL — always pass it.

sheet_namestringRead only this sheet (omit to read all)

start_cellstringStart reading from this cell (default: A1)

end_cellstringStop reading at this cell (omit to read all data)

include_formulasbooleanReturn raw formula strings per cell (default: false)

include_commentsbooleanReturn cell comments/notes (default: false)

include_hyperlinksbooleanReturn hyperlink URLs per cell (default: false)

include_data_validationsbooleanReturn data validation rules per cell (default: false)

include_formattingbooleanReturn font, color, border, number format per cell (default: false)

include_metadatabooleanReturn merged cells, freeze panes, tables, print setup, defined names (default: false)

Example

Read all data from a spreadsheet

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOOLROUTER_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
  "tool": "excel-tools",
  "skill": "read_spreadsheet",
  "input": {
    "url": "https://example.com/report.xlsx"
  }
}' \
  https://api.toolrouter.com/v1/tools/call

Modify Spreadsheet

Apply 30+ batch operations to an existing Excel file: write data, formulas, formatting, merges, sheets, rows/cols, tables, pivots, validations, conditional formats, hyperlinks, comments, protection, and print setup. Returns the modified .xlsx file.

Returns: The modified .xlsx file with a summary of all operations applied

Parameters

url *stringURL of the .xlsx file to modify. The tool server CAN fetch any public URL — always pass it.

operations *arrayOperations to apply in order. Each has an "action" field plus action-specific params. Optional "sheet" targets a specific sheet.

filenamestringOutput filename (default: modified.xlsx)

Example

Add formulas, conditional formatting, and a pivot table

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOOLROUTER_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
  "tool": "excel-tools",
  "skill": "modify_spreadsheet",
  "input": {
    "url": "https://example.com/data.xlsx",
    "operations": [
      {
        "action": "add_formula",
        "cell": "E2",
        "formula": "SUM(B2:D2)"
      },
      {
        "action": "add_conditional_format",
        "range": "E2:E100",
        "rule_type": "colorScale",
        "color_min": "F8696B",
        "color_max": "63BE7B"
      },
      {
        "action": "create_pivot_table",
        "data_range": "A1:E50",
        "target_sheet": "Summary",
        "rows": [
          "Category"
        ],
        "values": [
          "Amount"
        ],
        "agg_func": "sum"
      }
    ]
  }
}' \
  https://api.toolrouter.com/v1/tools/call

Quick Start

MCP (Claude Code)

claude mcp add --transport stdio \
  --env TOOLROUTER_API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY \
  toolrouter -- npx -y toolrouter-mcp

REST API

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOOLROUTER_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"tool":"excel-tools","skill":"create_spreadsheet","input":{}}' \
  https://api.toolrouter.com/v1/tools/call

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I build a workbook from scratch?

Yes. `create_spreadsheet` can generate a complete .xlsx file with multiple sheets, formulas, formatting, validations, pivot tables, merged cells, and print setup.

Can I read an existing spreadsheet into JSON?

`read_spreadsheet` extracts sheet data, cell values, and optional metadata such as formulas, comments, hyperlinks, validations, formatting, merged cells, and defined names.

Can I modify a workbook without recreating it?

Yes. `modify_spreadsheet` applies batch edits to an existing file URL, including formulas, formatting, tables, pivots, comments, protection, and print settings.

What Excel features are supported?

The tool covers the common power-user pieces: dropdown validations, conditional formatting, named ranges, freeze panes, tab colors, sheet protection, and structured tables.