excel_copy_sheet
Copy existing sheet to a new sheet
LABSCO SUMMARY
The spreadsheet is edited in place, not described back to you.
Reads are paged by default, which is what keeps a wide sheet from swallowing the context, and writes go into the file on disk. Creating a table and formatting the range are what turn the result into something a colleague can open without noticing a machine made it.
What it is
A server over Excel files on disk. It lists a workbook's sheets, reads cell ranges with pagination, writes values and formulas back, creates tables, formats cells and copies sheets — addressing the file by absolute path, so what changes is the workbook itself.
What you get
- Every sheet in the file described before anything is read, so a call targets a range that exists
- Cell ranges read with pagination, optionally showing the formula behind a value or the style information on it, rather than pulling a whole sheet into the conversation
- Values written into an existing sheet or into a new one created on the spot, with anything starting = written as a formula
- A named table created over a range, so filtering and structured references work the way Excel expects
- Cells formatted from a style array — borders, font, fill, custom number formats and decimal places — one entry per cell in the range
- A sheet copied to a new name inside the same workbook
- On Windows only, live editing and a screenshot of a sheet range, for checking what it actually looks like
Requirements
Node.js 20.x or later, run over stdio from npm as @negokaz/excel-mcp-server. The workbook is addressed by absolute path on the machine running the server, and the formats it handles are xlsx, xlsm, xltx and xltm. EXCEL_MCP_PAGING_CELLS_LIMIT sets how many cells one paged read returns, 4000 by default. Live editing and sheet screenshots are Windows-only.
Setup effort
One command — npx --yes @negokaz/excel-mcp-server
USE CASES
01
Getting your bearings in a workbook you did not build
List the sheets and what is in them, then read only the range that answers the question.
02
Checking the formula rather than the number
Read the same range showing formulas instead of values, which is how you find the cell that is wrong.
03
Filling in a sheet from data you have
Write the values — or formulas — into the target range, creating the sheet if it is not there yet.
04
Making the output presentable
Apply borders, fonts, fills and number formats cell by cell over the range so the result reads as a finished sheet.
05
Producing this month's version of last month's sheet
Copy the existing sheet under a new name, then write the new numbers into the copy and leave the original alone.
6 tools
Counted once with only startup setup. Other versions, modes or optional credentials may expose a different list.
excel_create_table
Create a table in the Excel sheet
excel_describe_sheets
List all sheet information of specified Excel file
excel_format_range
Format cells in the Excel sheet with style information
excel_read_sheet
Read values from Excel sheet with pagination.
excel_write_to_sheet
Write values to the Excel sheet
BEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Tools you get
6 tools when we connected; the project documents 7. The seventh documented tool, excel_screen_capture, registers only on Windows.
Requires
Node.js 20.x or later
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
Add the block to your client, or run the command directly.
Server setup
Configuration file
JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"excel-mcp-server": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"--yes",
"@negokaz/excel-mcp-server"
]
}
}
}npx
TERMINAL
npx --yes @negokaz/excel-mcp-server
