# excel_powerquery - Server Quirks
**Action disambiguation**:
- create: Import NEW query using inline `mCode` (FAILS if query already exists - use update instead)
- update: Update EXISTING query M code + refresh data (use this if query exists)
- load-to: Loads to worksheet or data model or both (not just config change) - CHECKS for sheet conflicts
- unload: Removes data from worksheet but keeps query definition (inverse of load-to)
**When to use create vs update**:
- Query doesn't exist? → Use create
- Query already exists? → Use update (create will error "already exists")
- Not sure? → Check with list action first, then use update if exists or create if new
**Inline M code**:
- Provide raw M code directly via `mCode`
- Keep `.pq` files only for GIT workflows
**Create/LoadTo with existing sheets**:
- Use `targetCellAddress` to place the table on an existing worksheet without deleting other content
- Applies to BOTH create and load-to
- If the worksheet already has data and you omit `targetCellAddress`, the tool returns guidance telling you to provide one
- Existing tables are refreshed in-place; specifying a different `targetCellAddress` requires unload + reload
- Worksheets that exist but are empty behave like new sheets (default destination = A1)
**Common mistakes**:
- Using create on existing query → ERROR "Query 'X' already exists" (should use update)
- Using update on new query → ERROR "Query 'X' not found" (should use create)
- Calling LoadTo without checking if sheet exists (will error if sheet exists)
**Server-specific quirks**:
- Validation = execution: M code only validated when data loads/refreshes
- connection-only queries: NOT validated until first execution
- refresh with loadDestination: Applies load config + refreshes (2-in-1)
- Single cell returns [[value]] not scalar
- refresh action REQUIRES `refreshTimeoutSeconds` between 60-600 seconds (1-10 minutes). If refresh needs more than 10 minutes, ask the user to run it manually in Excel—the server refuses longer windows and will not pick a default for you.
- load-to has a 5-minute guard. If Excel is blocked by privacy dialogs/credentials, you'll get `SuggestedNextActions` instead of a hang—surface them to the user before retrying.
