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MCP Spreadsheet in Cline

Read, query, edit and convert xlsx and csv files safely. It opens xlsx, xlsm, xlsb, ods, csv and tsv, guesses the header row on a messy export, and queries with an expression language that has no eval.

Leave sheet_write and sheet_add_column out of the autoApprove array. Reads are safe to approve automatically; anything that writes a file next to your original is worth one click.

What you get in Cline

You say	Tool
Open sales.xlsx and tell me what's in it.	`sheet_info`
Which rep sold the most units in the North region? Top 5 with totals.	`sheet_query`
Add a Revenue column that's Units times Unit Price, save it as a CSV next to the original.	`sheet_add_column`

The group-by ranking above used to cost five tool calls and 71 seconds via a python fallback. It is one sheet_query call here.

Install it in Cline

The file is mcp.json, and the key inside it is mcpServers.

Scope	Path
Cline CLI	`~/.cline/mcp.json`
The editor extension	`opened from the Cline panel, not by path; the documentation deliberately calls it the MCP settings JSON used by the extension`

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "spreadsheet": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@theluckystrike/mcp-spreadsheet"],
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": []
    }
  }
}

No full-app restart. The MCP settings actions include restarting an unresponsive server if its tools do not appear.

The npm publish of @theluckystrike/mcp-spreadsheet is pending; until then use the .mcpb bundle or a clone and build from the latest release.

No install: the hosted endpoint

The same server runs at https://mcp.zovo.one/mcp/spreadsheet over MCP streamable HTTP, no install. Mint a free token with curl https://mcp.zovo.one/mcp/token, or use a Pro key. It has no filesystem, so a file comes back as a one-hour download link.

Write the transport in. Omitting type falls back to the legacy sse transport, which will not talk to this endpoint:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "spreadsheet": {
      "type": "streamableHttp",
      "url": "https://mcp.zovo.one/mcp/spreadsheet",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer <token>" }
    }
  }
}

Cline notes worth knowing first

Cline is the one client here with an unsafe transport default. `type` selects it, and omitting `type` falls back to the legacy sse transport, so a streamable HTTP endpoint needs it written in or you will debug a server that is fine. Local entries carry "disabled" and an "autoApprove" array.

Free: read, query, stats and find up to 5,000 rows; writes up to 500 rows, never partial. Pro is $19 once, verified offline.

Questions

Where does the config live?

The CLI reads ~/.cline/mcp.json. For the extension, do not hunt for a path: MCP Servers icon, Configure tab, Configure MCP Servers. cline mcp opens a wizard, and cline config mcp --json is the non-interactive form.

The hosted endpoint will not connect.

Set the transport explicitly. Omitting type falls back to the legacy sse transport, so streamable HTTP needs "type": "streamableHttp" written in. It is the one default here that sends you debugging a server that works.

Should I auto-approve MCP Spreadsheet's tools?

Approve the read-only ones and leave the writing ones behind a click: each entry carries an autoApprove array and a disabled flag.

MCP Spreadsheet in detail · The same server in Windsurf and Claude Desktop · Every server in Cline · Guides · Cline docs