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xlsx

@lanej/dotfiles
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Use xlsx binary for Excel file manipulation including viewing, SQL-like filtering, cell editing, conversion to/from CSV, and data analysis operations.

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SKILL.md

name xlsx
description Use xlsx binary for Excel file manipulation including viewing, SQL-like filtering, cell editing, conversion to/from CSV, and data analysis operations.

XLSX Skill - Excel File Manipulation

You are an Excel file manipulation specialist using the xlsx command-line tool. This skill enables you to read, write, edit, query, and analyze .xlsx files without requiring Python or Node.js libraries.

Core Capabilities

The xlsx binary provides comprehensive Excel file manipulation:

  1. Reading & Viewing: view, headers, sheets, select, slice
  2. Searching & Filtering: search, filter (SQL-like queries)
  3. Editing: set (cell values), insert (rows/columns), delete (rows/columns), copy
  4. Conversion: to-csv, from-csv
  5. Analysis: stats, count
  6. Formulas: get-formula, eval
  7. Advanced: format, validate, names (named ranges), pivot, chart

Common Operations

1. Viewing Data

List all sheets:

xlsx sheets file.xlsx

View sheet contents:

xlsx view file.xlsx
xlsx view file.xlsx --sheet "Sheet2"
xlsx view file.xlsx --sheet "Sheet2" --limit 50
xlsx view file.xlsx --format json
xlsx view file.xlsx --format csv

Show headers:

xlsx headers file.xlsx
xlsx headers file.xlsx --sheet "Sales Data"

Select specific columns:

xlsx select file.xlsx "A,C,E"
xlsx select file.xlsx "A-E" --sheet "Data"

Slice rows:

xlsx slice file.xlsx 10 20  # rows 10-20

2. Searching Data

Basic search:

xlsx search file.xlsx "pattern"
xlsx search file.xlsx "pattern" --ignore-case
xlsx search file.xlsx "pattern" --regex --sheet "Sheet1"

SQL-like filtering (powerful):

# Basic comparison
xlsx filter file.xlsx --where "Status = 'Active'"
xlsx filter file.xlsx --where "Age > 30"

# Pattern matching
xlsx filter file.xlsx --where "Email LIKE '%@example.com'"

# Multiple conditions
xlsx filter file.xlsx --where "Department = 'Sales' AND Active = TRUE"
xlsx filter file.xlsx --where "(Status = 'Active' OR Status = 'Pending') AND Age > 25"

# Column names with spaces (use brackets)
xlsx filter file.xlsx --where "[First Name] = 'John'"
xlsx filter file.xlsx --where "[Job Title] LIKE '%Engineer%'"

# Membership testing
xlsx filter file.xlsx --where "Status IN ('Active', 'Pending', 'Review')"

# Range testing
xlsx filter file.xlsx --where "Age BETWEEN 25 AND 35"

# Null checks
xlsx filter file.xlsx --where "Manager IS NULL"
xlsx filter file.xlsx --where "Email IS NOT NULL"

# Output formatting and column selection
xlsx filter file.xlsx --where "Department = 'Sales'" --columns "Name,Email,Phone"
xlsx filter file.xlsx --where "Age > 30" --format csv --output results.csv
xlsx filter file.xlsx --where "Active = TRUE" --format json

3. Editing Data

Set cell value:

xlsx set file.xlsx A1 "Hello"
xlsx set file.xlsx B5 42 --value-type number
xlsx set file.xlsx C1 "2025-01-15" --value-type date
xlsx set file.xlsx D1 "=SUM(A1:A10)" --value-type formula

# Set range of cells
xlsx set file.xlsx B5:B10 "Same Value"

Insert rows/columns:

xlsx insert file.xlsx row 5
xlsx insert file.xlsx column C --sheet "Sheet1"

Delete rows/columns:

xlsx delete file.xlsx row 5
xlsx delete file.xlsx row 5:10  # delete rows 5-10
xlsx delete file.xlsx column C
xlsx delete file.xlsx column C:E  # delete columns C through E

4. Conversion

Convert XLSX to CSV:

xlsx to-csv input.xlsx output.csv
xlsx to-csv input.xlsx output.csv --sheet "Data"
xlsx to-csv input.xlsx output.csv --date-format iso8601

Convert CSV to XLSX:

xlsx from-csv input.csv output.xlsx
xlsx from-csv input.csv output.xlsx --sheet "ImportedData"

5. Analysis

Count rows and columns:

xlsx count file.xlsx
xlsx count file.xlsx --sheet "Sheet2"

Calculate statistics:

xlsx stats file.xlsx
xlsx stats file.xlsx --sheet "Data"

6. Formulas

Get cell formula:

xlsx get-formula file.xlsx A1
xlsx get-formula file.xlsx C10 --sheet "Calculations"

Evaluate formula:

xlsx eval "=SUM(1,2,3)"
xlsx eval "=IF(A1>10, 'High', 'Low')"

Date Formatting

All commands support --date-format for consistent date handling:

Presets:

  • iso8601 (default): 2025-01-15T10:30:00
  • mdy or us: 1/15/2025
  • us-padded: 01/15/2025
  • us-time: 1/15/2025 10:30 AM
  • unix: Unix timestamp
  • excel-serial: Excel serial number
  • excel: Excel date format

Custom format:

xlsx view file.xlsx --date-format "%Y-%m-%d"
xlsx to-csv file.xlsx output.csv --date-format "%m/%d/%Y %H:%M"

Backup Protection

By default, xlsx creates backups before editing operations. Use --no-backup to skip:

xlsx set file.xlsx A1 "value" --no-backup

Common Workflows

Workflow 1: Extract specific data to CSV

# Filter data and export to CSV
xlsx filter data.xlsx --where "Status = 'Active'" --columns "Name,Email,Department" --format csv --output active_users.csv

Workflow 2: Update multiple cells

# Set header values
xlsx set report.xlsx A1 "Name"
xlsx set report.xlsx B1 "Email"
xlsx set report.xlsx C1 "Status"

# Set data values
xlsx set report.xlsx A2 "John Doe"
xlsx set report.xlsx B2 "john@example.com"
xlsx set report.xlsx C2 "Active"

Workflow 3: Search and analyze

# Find all instances of a pattern
xlsx search data.xlsx "error" --ignore-case

# Get statistics on the data
xlsx stats data.xlsx --sheet "Results"

# Count total rows
xlsx count data.xlsx

Workflow 4: Convert and process

# Convert XLSX to CSV for processing
xlsx to-csv input.xlsx temp.csv

# Process the CSV (using other tools)
# ... do work ...

# Convert back to XLSX
xlsx from-csv processed.csv output.xlsx --sheet "Results"

Workflow 5: Read and display data

# Quick view of first 20 rows
xlsx view data.xlsx --limit 20

# View specific sheet as JSON for processing
xlsx view data.xlsx --sheet "Orders" --format json

# Get column headers to understand structure
xlsx headers data.xlsx

Best Practices

  1. Always check sheet names first: Use xlsx sheets file.xlsx to see available sheets
  2. View headers before filtering: Use xlsx headers file.xlsx to know column names
  3. Use --limit for large files: Prevent overwhelming output with --limit N
  4. Quote column names with spaces: Use brackets: [First Name] not First Name
  5. Use appropriate output formats:
    • --format table for human viewing (default)
    • --format json for programmatic processing
    • --format csv for data export
  6. Test filters first: Use --limit 10 when testing filter expressions
  7. Backups are your friend: Don't use --no-backup unless you're sure

Important Notes

  • All xlsx commands modify files in-place for editing operations (with backup unless --no-backup)
  • Row numbers are 1-based (first row is 1)
  • Column letters are A-Z, AA-ZZ, etc.
  • Sheet names are case-sensitive
  • Default sheet is always the first sheet if --sheet is not specified
  • Filter WHERE clauses are case-insensitive by default (use --case-sensitive to change)

Error Handling

When operations fail:

  1. File not found: Verify the file path is correct
  2. Sheet not found: Use xlsx sheets file.xlsx to list available sheets
  3. Invalid cell reference: Check that cell/range format is correct (e.g., A1, B5:B10)
  4. Permission denied: Ensure the file is not open in Excel or locked

Examples by Use Case

Data Analysis

# Find all high-value transactions
xlsx filter sales.xlsx --where "Amount > 1000" --format table

# Get statistics on revenue
xlsx stats sales.xlsx --sheet "Revenue"

# Count records by criteria
xlsx filter customers.xlsx --where "Status = 'Active'" | wc -l

Data Cleaning

# Find null emails
xlsx filter users.xlsx --where "Email IS NULL"

# Search for invalid data
xlsx search data.xlsx "ERROR" --ignore-case

# View problematic rows
xlsx filter data.xlsx --where "Age < 0 OR Age > 150"

Reporting

# Extract executive summary data
xlsx select report.xlsx "A,E,F" --limit 10

# Convert to CSV for email
xlsx to-csv monthly_report.xlsx summary.csv --sheet "Summary"

# Get formatted view
xlsx view report.xlsx --sheet "Dashboard" --limit 50

Bulk Operations

# Set header row
xlsx set data.xlsx A1:E1 "ID,Name,Email,Status,Date"

# Insert calculated column
xlsx insert data.xlsx column F
xlsx set data.xlsx F1 "Total" --value-type string
xlsx set data.xlsx F2 "=SUM(D2:E2)" --value-type formula

Integration with Other Tools

The xlsx tool works well with standard Unix tools:

# Count matching rows
xlsx filter data.xlsx --where "Status = 'Active'" --format csv | wc -l

# Process with jq
xlsx view data.xlsx --format json | jq '.[] | select(.age > 30)'

# Chain operations
xlsx to-csv input.xlsx - | grep "pattern" | xlsx from-csv - output.xlsx

When to Use Each Command

  • view: Quick inspection, data exploration, exporting to different formats
  • filter: Complex queries, SQL-like data extraction, conditional exports
  • search: Finding text patterns, debugging data issues
  • set: Updating cell values, bulk updates, formula insertion
  • to-csv/from-csv: Integration with other tools, data exchange
  • headers: Understanding data structure before operations
  • sheets: Multi-sheet workbook navigation
  • select: Column-focused extraction
  • stats/count: Quick data analysis and validation

Quick Reference

# View
xlsx sheets <file>                    # list sheets
xlsx view <file>                      # view data
xlsx headers <file>                   # show headers

# Search
xlsx search <file> <pattern>          # search
xlsx filter <file> --where <expr>     # SQL-like filter

# Edit
xlsx set <file> <cell> <value>        # set cell
xlsx insert <file> row <n>            # insert row
xlsx delete <file> row <n>            # delete row

# Convert
xlsx to-csv <xlsx> <csv>              # to CSV
xlsx from-csv <csv> <xlsx>            # from CSV

# Analyze
xlsx count <file>                     # count rows/cols
xlsx stats <file>                     # statistics