read_excel
Extract data from Excel files by specifying file path, sheet name, row limits, and header configuration to convert spreadsheet content into readable text format.
Instructions
Read an Excel file and return its contents as a string.
Args:
file_path: Path to the Excel file
sheet_name: Name of the sheet to read (only for .xlsx, .xls)
nrows: Maximum number of rows to read
header: Row to use as header (0-indexed)
Returns:
String representation of the Excel dataInput Schema
TableJSON Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| file_path | Yes | ||
| sheet_name | No | ||
| nrows | No | ||
| header | No |
Implementation Reference
- mcp_excel_server/server.py:175-210 (handler)The @mcp.tool() decorated function that implements the 'read_excel' tool. It reads Excel (.xlsx, .xls, .xlsm), CSV, TSV, or JSON files using pandas and returns the DataFrame as a formatted string. Supports sheet selection, row limits, and custom headers. The decorator registers it as an MCP tool, and the docstring/signature provide the schema.
@mcp.tool() def read_excel(file_path: str, sheet_name: Optional[str] = None, nrows: Optional[int] = None, header: Optional[int] = 0) -> str: """ Read an Excel file and return its contents as a string. Args: file_path: Path to the Excel file sheet_name: Name of the sheet to read (only for .xlsx, .xls) nrows: Maximum number of rows to read header: Row to use as header (0-indexed) Returns: String representation of the Excel data """ _, ext = os.path.splitext(file_path) ext = ext.lower() read_params = {"header": header} if nrows is not None: read_params["nrows"] = nrows if ext in ['.xlsx', '.xls', '.xlsm']: if sheet_name is not None: read_params["sheet_name"] = sheet_name df = pd.read_excel(file_path, **read_params) elif ext == '.csv': df = pd.read_csv(file_path, **read_params) elif ext == '.tsv': df = pd.read_csv(file_path, sep='\t', **read_params) elif ext == '.json': df = pd.read_json(file_path) else: return f"Unsupported file extension: {ext}" return df.to_string(index=False)