How do I use Excel Explorer?

1. Click on "Install Server". 2. Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state. 3. In the chat, type @ followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@Excel Explorer load sales_data.xlsx and show me the first few rows" That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed. Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.

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📊 Excel MCP Server

What is this project?

Excel MCP Server is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows Large Language Models (like Claude) to read, explore, and analyze Excel files. It provides tools for:

📂 File Operations: Load Excel files, list sheets, get metadata
🔍 Data Discovery: Analyze schemas, sample data, get column statistics
📊 Analysis: Comprehensive dataset summaries and data quality reports

Built with FastMCP and pandas, it transforms your Excel files into interactive datasets that AI can understand and query.

Related MCP server: Excel Reader Server

Install Dependencies

# Set up environment (optional) source activate-pipx.sh # Install dependencies uv sync

Requirements:

Python >=3.13
fastmcp >=2.10.6
pandas >=2.3.1
openpyxl >=3.1.5
xlrd >=2.0.2
pytest >=8.4.1

Start the MCP Server

python main.py

fastmcp run main.py:mcp --transport http --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8000 --path /mcp

The server will start and listen for MCP connections. You'll see output confirming the server is running.

Testing

# Run all tests python -m pytest tests/ -v # Run specific test files python -m pytest tests/test_file_operations.py -v python -m pytest tests/test_data_discovery.py -v # With coverage python -m pytest tests/ --cov=src --cov-report=html

Integrate with Claude

1. Claude Desktop Integration

Add to your Claude Desktop config file (claude_desktop_config.json):

{ "mcpServers": { "excel-explorer": { "command": "python", "args": ["/path/to/excel-mcp/main.py"], "env": {} } } }

{ "excelExplorer": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "mcp-remote", "http://127.0.0.1:8000/mcp" ], "env": { "MCP_TRANSPORT_STRATEGY": "http-only" } } }

2. Available Tools

Once connected, Claude can use these tools:

File Operations:

load_excel(file_path, sheet_name) - Load Excel file
list_sheets(file_path) - List all sheets
get_file_info(file_path) - File metadata
clear_cache() - Clear memory

Data Discovery:

get_schema(file_path, sheet_name) - Column types and stats
get_sample_data(file_path, rows=5, sample_type="head") - Sample data
get_column_info(file_path, column_name) - Column analysis
get_dimensions(file_path) - Dataset size and memory
describe_dataset(file_path, include_all=False) - Statistical summary

3. Example Usage with Claude

You: "Load the file data/dataset.xlsx and tell me about its structure" Claude will use: 1. load_excel("data/dataset.xlsx") 2. get_schema("data/dataset.xlsx") 3. get_dimensions("data/dataset.xlsx") 4. describe_dataset("data/dataset.xlsx") Then provide insights about your data!

Ready to explore your Excel data with AI! 🚀📊

Excel Explorer

📊 Excel MCP Server

What is this project?

Install Dependencies

Start the MCP Server

Testing

Integrate with Claude

1. Claude Desktop Integration

2. Available Tools

3. Example Usage with Claude

Resources

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