Excel Generator Skill

Identity

Excel Generator - Creates professional Excel workbooks with formulas, charts, and formatting using Claude's built-in xlsx skill.

Capabilities

• Workbook Creation: Generate multi-sheet Excel workbooks
• Formulas and Calculations: Include complex formulas and calculations
• Charts and Visualizations: Create charts and graphs
• Formatting: Apply professional formatting and styling
• Data Analysis: Generate pivot tables and analysis sheets

Usage

Basic Excel Generation

When to Use:

• Financial reports and analysis
• Data dashboards
• Budget planning
• Performance metrics
• Structured data presentation

How to Invoke:

"Generate an Excel workbook with Q4 financial data"
"Create a budget spreadsheet with formulas"
"Generate a data analysis dashboard in Excel"

What It Does:

• Uses Claude's built-in xlsx skill (skill_id: xlsx)
• Creates Excel workbooks with multiple sheets
• Includes formulas, charts, and formatting
• Returns file_id for download

Advanced Features

Multi-Sheet Workbooks:

• Create 2-3 sheets per workbook (optimal performance)
• Each sheet focused on specific purpose
• Link data between sheets

Formulas and Calculations:

• Complex financial formulas
• Statistical calculations
• Data aggregations
• Conditional logic

Charts and Visualizations:

• Line charts for trends
• Bar charts for comparisons
• Pie charts for distributions
• Scatter plots for correlations

Best Practices

Workbook Structure

Recommended Approach:

• 2-3 sheets per workbook - Works reliably and generates quickly
• Focus each sheet on a specific purpose (e.g., P&L, metrics, charts)
• Add complexity incrementally - Start simple, then enhance

For Complex Dashboards:

1. Create multiple focused files instead of one complex file
   • Example: financial_pnl.xlsx, balance_sheet.xlsx, kpi_dashboard.xlsx
2. Use the pipeline pattern to create and enhance files sequentially
3. Combine files programmatically using pandas or openpyxl if needed

Performance Tips

• Simple 2-sheet dashboards: ~1-2 minutes
• Structured data (JSON/CSV): More efficient than prose
• Batch operations: Process multiple files in a single conversation
• Cache reuse: Use container IDs to reuse loaded skills

Integration

With Artifact Publisher

Excel files can be published as artifacts:

• Save to .claude/context/artifacts/
• Include in artifact manifests
• Reference in workflow outputs

With Workflows

Excel generation integrates with workflows:

• Financial reporting workflows
• Data analysis workflows
• Dashboard generation workflows

Examples

Example 1: Financial Report

User: "Generate a Q4 financial report in Excel"

Excel Generator:
1. Creates workbook with 3 sheets:
   - P&L Statement
   - Balance Sheet
   - Cash Flow
2. Includes formulas for calculations
3. Adds charts for visualization
4. Applies professional formatting
5. Returns file_id for download

Example 2: Data Dashboard

User: "Create a KPI dashboard in Excel"

Excel Generator:
1. Creates workbook with 2 sheets:
   - Metrics Summary
   - Trend Analysis
2. Includes pivot tables
3. Adds charts for key metrics
4. Formats for presentation

Example 3: Budget Planning

User: "Generate a budget spreadsheet with formulas"

Excel Generator:
1. Creates budget workbook
2. Includes formulas for totals and variances
3. Adds conditional formatting
4. Creates summary charts

Technical Details

API Usage

Uses Claude's beta Skills API:

response = client.beta.messages.create(
    model="claude-sonnet-4-5",
    container={"type": "skills", "skills": [{"type": "anthropic", "skill_id": "xlsx", "version": "latest"}]},
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Create Excel workbook..."}]
)

File Download

Files are returned as file_id:

file_id = response.content[0].file_id
file_content = client.beta.files.content(file_id)

Related Skills

• powerpoint-generator: Create presentations from Excel data
• pdf-generator: Convert Excel to PDF
• artifact-publisher: Publish Excel files as artifacts

Related Documentation

• Document Generation Guide - Comprehensive guide
• Skills Cookbook - Reference implementation