MCP Office Excel

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65-tool Excel MCP server. Read, write, format, and export .xlsx files. Windows-first.

Install

Add this to your client's MCP configuration (Claude Desktop: claude_desktop_config.json; Cursor: .cursor/mcp.json; VS Code and others use the same "mcpServers" shape).

PYPI package mcp-office
Claude Code
claude mcp add mcp-office-excel -e 'EXCEL_ALLOWLIST_ROOTS=<EXCEL_ALLOWLIST_ROOTS>' -e 'EXCEL_ENABLE_WRITE=<EXCEL_ENABLE_WRITE>' -e 'EXCEL_ENABLE_COM=<EXCEL_ENABLE_COM>' -e 'EXCEL_MAX_ITEMS=<EXCEL_MAX_ITEMS>' -- uvx mcp-office==0.7.0
JSON configuration (Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code)
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "mcp-office-excel": {
            "command": "uvx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-office==0.7.0"
            ],
            "env": {
                "EXCEL_ALLOWLIST_ROOTS": "<EXCEL_ALLOWLIST_ROOTS>",
                "EXCEL_ENABLE_WRITE": "<EXCEL_ENABLE_WRITE>",
                "EXCEL_ENABLE_COM": "<EXCEL_ENABLE_COM>",
                "EXCEL_MAX_ITEMS": "<EXCEL_MAX_ITEMS>"
            }
        }
    }
}

Environment variables

  • EXCEL_ALLOWLIST_ROOTS required Comma-separated directory roots allowed for file access. Required — no files are accessible without this.
  • EXCEL_ENABLE_WRITE Set to 'true' to enable write operations (cell writes, sheet creation, formatting).
  • EXCEL_ENABLE_COM Set to 'true' to activate COM-backed tools: recalculate_workbook, export_as_pdf, hydrate_template, pivot_table, and evaluate_formula(live=True). Windows-only — requires pywin32 and Microsoft Excel.
  • EXCEL_MAX_ITEMS Maximum number of rows/items returned per call. Default: 50.

Documentation

From the project's README on GitHub, refreshed weekly. Links open on GitHub.

Contents
  1. MCP Office
  2. What is this?
  3. Packages
  4. Quick start
  5. Requirements
  6. Architecture
  7. Contributing
  8. License

MCP Office

Local-first, governed MCP servers for Microsoft Office — built for developers who want to treat Office files the way they treat code.


What is this?

MCP Office is a suite of Model Context Protocol servers that expose Microsoft Office capabilities as governed, deterministic tool calls. Each server runs locally on Windows, connects to your MCP client (Claude Desktop, VS Code Copilot, or any MCP-compatible client), and gives you structured control over Office files — without an in-app AI assistant.

This is not a Copilot replacement. It is a developer-first execution layer for Office automation.


Packages

✅ Available now
PackageWhat it doesInstallTools
excelmcpRead, write, style, validate, and export Excel workbookspip install mcp-office65
pptmcpBuild, edit, review, and export PowerPoint presentations. Output Contract framework for machine-verifiable slide specspip install mcp-office51
wordmcpTemplate assembly, tracked-changes support, and structural QA for Word documentspip install mcp-office50
🚧 Coming next
PackageStatus
mailmcpIntegrated into the current source distribution; Windows Outlook UAT and published-artifact verification pending

MailMCP is now included in the repository's single mcp-office source distribution, but the currently published PyPI artifact does not yet claim MailMCP availability. See mailmcp/README.md for source validation while Windows Outlook UAT and release verification remain open.

New packages are added as they complete their proof cycle. See ROADMAP.md.


Quick start

Prerequisites
  • Windows 10 or 11
  • Python 3.11 or later (python --version)
  • Claude Desktop or VS Code with GitHub Copilot
  • Microsoft Office (Excel / PowerPoint / Word) — required for COM-backed tools (styling, PDF export, tracked-changes)
  • Classic Microsoft Outlook desktop — required for MailMCP
Install

PyPI note: excelmcp on PyPI is an unrelated third-party package. Do not pip install excelmcp — that ships you a stranger's code. The published suite package is mcp-office.

pip install mcp-office

Or clone and install the consolidated suite from source (including MailMCP and Windows COM support):

git clone https://github.com/dosev-ai/mcp-office.git
cd mcp-office
python -m venv .venv
.venv\Scripts\activate
python -m pip install -e ".[com]"
Configure Claude Desktop

Open %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (create it if it doesn't exist) and add the servers you installed:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "excel-excelmcp": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "excelmcp.server"],
      "env": {
        "EXCEL_ALLOWLIST_ROOTS": "C:\\path\\to\\your\\files",
        "EXCEL_ENABLE_WRITE": "true"
      }
    },
    "powerpoint-pptmcp": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "pptmcp.server"],
      "env": {
        "PPT_ALLOWLIST_ROOTS": "C:\\path\\to\\your\\files",
        "PPT_ENABLE_WRITE": "true"
      }
    },
    "word-wordmcp": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "wordmcp.server"],
      "env": {
        "WORD_ALLOWLIST_ROOTS": "C:\\path\\to\\your\\files",
        "WORD_ENABLE_WRITE": "true"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace C:\\path\\to\\your\\files with the directory where your Office files live. Restart Claude Desktop after saving.

Verify

In Claude Desktop, send:

Call capabilities() on excel-excelmcp
Call capabilities() on powerpoint-pptmcp
Call capabilities() on word-wordmcp

Each should return a tool list (65 for Excel, 51 for PowerPoint, 50 for Word). If a server is missing, check that python resolves to the venv where you installed mcp-office.

Full per-package guides: excelmcp/README.md · pptmcp/README.md · wordmcp/README.md · mailmcp/README.md (source-integrated; release pending)

Detailed step-by-step: docs/quickstart.md


Requirements

RequirementNotes
Windows 10 or 11COM automation requires Windows
Python 3.11+python --version to confirm
Microsoft OfficeRequired for COM-dependent tools (styling, PDF export, tracked-changes). Read-only docx/xlsx/pptx tools work without Office.
Classic Outlook desktopRequired for MailMCP. MailMCP remains release-pending until Windows Outlook UAT and published-artifact verification pass.
MCP clientClaude Desktop or VS Code with Copilot

Architecture

Your MCP client (Claude Desktop / VS Code Copilot / other)
        │
        │  MCP stdio protocol
        ↓
  MCP Office servers (local Python processes)
   ├─ excelmcp    — Excel automation (live)
   ├─ pptmcp      — PowerPoint automation (live)
   ├─ wordmcp     — Word automation (live)
   └─ mailmcp     — Outlook automation (source-integrated; release pending)
        │
        │  COM / Outlook COM / openpyxl / python-pptx / python-docx
        ↓
  Microsoft Office (local installation)

Each server is a standalone local stdio MCP process. MCP Office does not add a hosted service; Microsoft Office and your MCP client/model may still have their own sync and data-handling boundaries.


Contributing

This project is in active development. The best way to contribute right now:

  1. Try any package (excelmcp, pptmcp, wordmcp) and open a First Run Report
  2. Report bugs via GitHub Issues
  3. Ask questions or share what you built in GitHub Discussions

See CONTRIBUTING.md for development guidelines.


License

MIT — see LICENSE.

Frequently asked questions

What is MCP Office Excel?

65-tool Excel MCP server. Read, write, format, and export .xlsx files. Windows-first.

How do I install MCP Office Excel?

It runs on your machine. In Claude Code: claude mcp add mcp-office-excel -e 'EXCEL_ALLOWLIST_ROOTS=<EXCEL_ALLOWLIST_ROOTS>' -e 'EXCEL_ENABLE_WRITE=<EXCEL_ENABLE_WRITE>' -e 'EXCEL_ENABLE_COM=<EXCEL_ENABLE_COM>' -e 'EXCEL_MAX_ITEMS=<EXCEL_MAX_ITEMS>' -- uvx mcp-office==0.7.0. For other clients, paste the JSON configuration from this page into their MCP settings.

Does MCP Office Excel need an API key?

Yes. It expects EXCEL_ALLOWLIST_ROOTS, which you set in its configuration.

Is MCP Office Excel open source?

Yes. Its code is on GitHub under the MIT license.

Who maintains MCP Office Excel?

It is published by dosev-ai. AI.tn lists it but does not maintain or endorse it.

From the official MCP Registry. Listing is not an endorsement: review a server's code and permissions before giving it access to your data.