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MCP Spreadsheet in VS Code

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.

The generated CSV appears in the Explorer as soon as it is written, so agent mode plus this server is the shortest path from an xlsx export to a file you can commit.

What you get in VS Code

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 VS Code

The file is .vscode/mcp.json, and the key inside it is servers.

Scope	Path
This workspace	`<workspace>/.vscode/mcp.json`
Every workspace	`the user profile mcp.json, opened by the MCP: Open User Configuration command`

If you also run Claude Desktop, the shortest path there is one click: spreadsheet.mcpb from the bundle catalog opens as an extension, with no JSON and no terminal. VS Code reads its own config, so here it is:

// .vscode/mcp.json  (the key is "servers")
{
  "servers": {
    "spreadsheet": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/mcp-servers/servers/spreadsheet/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Or from a terminal:

code --add-mcp '{"name":"spreadsheet","command":"node","args":["/absolute/path/to/mcp-servers/servers/spreadsheet/dist/index.js"]}'

The node command above wants a built file. From a clone, once:

git clone https://github.com/theluckystrike/mcp-servers.git
cd mcp-servers && npm install
npm run build -w packages/mcp-license -w servers/spreadsheet

That writes servers/spreadsheet/dist/index.js, and its absolute path is the one argument the config needs.

The npm packages are not published yet, so the form below returns a 404 today. It is here because it is what the entry becomes the day the publish lands, with nothing else changed:

code --add-mcp '{"name":"spreadsheet","command":"npx","args":["-y","@theluckystrike/mcp-spreadsheet"]}'

VS Code asks you to confirm you trust the server and its capabilities before it starts. Nothing runs until you answer.

Nothing is published to npm yet, so the working install paths are the ones above: the .mcpb bundle from the bundle catalog, a clone and build, or the hosted URL.

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.

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

VS Code notes worth knowing first

The top-level key is "servers", not "mcpServers". A config pasted from a Claude Desktop or Cursor README parses cleanly, contributes no servers, and gives you no error to read, which makes it the most expensive one-word mistake here. Alongside it an "inputs" array holds secrets. The newer Agent Host reads a workspace .mcp.json instead.

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

Why does my mcp.json do nothing?

The key is servers, not mcpServers. A config copied from a Claude Desktop README parses cleanly and contributes nothing. Rename it. On the newer Agent Host, use a workspace .mcp.json instead.

Do I have to edit the file at all?

No. code --add-mcp takes the server object on the command line, and MCP: Add Server in the palette asks whether the target is Workspace or Global.

Where do the MCP Spreadsheet tools show up?

In Chat, behind the tools picker, once the server has started. Adding or changing one raises a prompt asking you to confirm you trust it; if the picker is empty, that prompt is usually still waiting.

MCP Spreadsheet in detail · The same server in Cursor and Windsurf · Every server in VS Code · Guides · VS Code docs · Buy Pro

Related guides & tools

Ask questions about an Excel or CSV file from Cursor or Claude · Converting CSV to xlsx and back without opening Excel · Asking a spreadsheet questions in plain language · Ask questions about a spreadsheet in chat, no formulas needed