XLSX
AnthropicOfficialPublished by Anthropic
- Skill
- Tool integration
- Documents and content
- Apache-2.0
- Low risk
- Has scripts
AutoGineer summary
Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author
This skill provides a structured approach to managing spreadsheet files (.xlsx, .xlsm, .xltx, .csv, .tsv) by leveraging openpyxl, pandas, and markitdown. It emphasizes professional formatting, formula integrity, and strict adherence to user specifications. The skill includes mandatory recalculation procedures to ensure formula accuracy and provides specific guidelines for financial modeling, including color-coding conventions and numerical formatting standards.
What it does
- Creates new spreadsheets or modifies existing files with formulas and formatting.
- Performs bulk data operations using pandas for efficient input and output.
- Validates formula accuracy and integrity using a dedicated recalculation script.
- Provides guidelines for financial modeling, including cell styling and assumption documentation.
- Converts between various tabular file formats while maintaining data structure.
- Cleans and restructures messy or malformed tabular data into professional spreadsheets.
When to use it
- When you need to read, edit, or fix existing spreadsheet files.
- When creating a new spreadsheet from scratch or from external data sources.
- When you need to ensure formulas in a spreadsheet are accurate and error-free.
- When you are building financial models that require specific formatting and documentation.
- When you need to clean up messy or malformed tabular data files.
Advantages
- Ensures formula reliability through automated recalculation checks.
- Maintains professional standards for financial models and data presentation.
- Provides clear conventions for handling complex spreadsheet tasks like merged cells and cross-sheet references.
- Supports a wide range of file formats including .xlsx, .xlsm, and .csv.
- Reduces errors by enforcing strict documentation of assumptions and hardcoded values.
Usage examples
- “Create a budget spreadsheet for Q3 with columns for Category, Budgeted, and Actual.”
- A new .xlsx file is generated with the specified headers, professional formatting, and formulas to calculate variances.
- “Fix the formulas in my sales_data.xlsx file and add a summary sheet.”
- The agent opens the file, corrects the formulas, adds a summary sheet with appropriate calculations, and verifies the output with the recalculation tool.
- “Convert this messy CSV file into a clean, formatted Excel workbook.”
- The agent parses the CSV, cleans the data, applies consistent formatting, and saves the result as a structured .xlsx file.
- “Update the revenue projections in the financial model using the new growth rate in cell B5.”
- The agent modifies the input cell, ensures all dependent formulas are updated, and validates the integrity of the model.
Install
Download the skill as a ZIP:
https://autogineer.com/agent-skills/anthropics/xlsx/downloadUnzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:
mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip xlsx.zip -d .agents/skills
Documentation by Anthropic
XLSX creation, editing, and analysis
| Task | Approach |
|---|---|
| Create or edit with formulas/formatting | openpyxl — see gotchas below |
| Bulk data in or out | pandas (read_excel, to_excel) |
| Quick look at a sheet | markitdown file.xlsx — ## SheetName per sheet; reads .xlsm too. No cell coordinates, so don't plan edits from it |
| Read a model (formulas and values) | two load_workbook passes — see gotchas |
openpyxl,pandas, andmarkitdownare preinstalled — do not runpip installfirst; write the script and import directly. Only if an import fails (or themarkitdowncommand is missing):pip installthe missing package.
Script paths below are relative to this skill's directory.
Requirements for every output
Professional font (Arial, Times New Roman) throughout, unless the user says otherwise.
Zero formula errors. Never ship while
recalc.pyreportserrors_found. If you think an error predates you, prove it: load the original withdata_only=Trueand look at that cell. An error you introduced looks exactly like one you inherited.Use formulas, never hardcoded results. Write
sheet['B10'] = '=SUM(B2:B9)', not the Python-computed total. The sheet must recalculate when its inputs change.Follow the user's spec literally. Exact tab names, exact column headers, and the formula they spelled out. A redesign that computes something else fails, however elegant.
Document every assumption and hardcoded number where the reader will see it — a cell comment, or an adjacent cell at a table's end. Cite a real source when one exists (
Source: Company 10-K, FY2024, Page 45, Revenue Note, [SEC EDGAR URL]); when the number came from the user, say so plainly.A workbook you create for someone to fill in needs a short legend naming which cells to edit, and one example row of realistic values showing the expected format. Never add such a row to a file you were asked to edit.
Editing an existing file: match its conventions exactly. They override every guideline here. Find its designated input cells first — a distinct font color, fill, or shading marks them — write only there, and leave every existing formula untouched.
Recalculate (mandatory whenever the file contains formulas)
openpyxl writes formulas as strings with no cached values. Until you recalculate, every
formula cell reads back as None to anything reading cached values — pandas,
load_workbook(data_only=True), and most previewers.
python scripts/recalc.py output.xlsx [timeout_seconds] # default 30LibreOffice computes every formula, the file is rewritten in place, and you get JSON:
status (success | errors_found), total_formulas, total_errors, and an
error_summary naming up to 100 cells per error type (locations_truncated says how many it
withheld — trust total_errors, not the length of the list). Fix what it names and run it
again. JSON with an error key instead of a status means nothing was recalculated, and
only that case exits non-zero — errors_found exits 0, so never treat a clean exit as a clean
workbook.
A green recalc proves your formulas evaluate, not that they are right. An off-by-one range or a reference to the wrong row yields a clean, error-free file with wrong numbers. Write 2–3 formulas first and check they pull the values you expect, before building out a grid.
A workbook that links to another file loses those links if you re-save it with openpyxl and
then recalculate. Such a formula reads ='[1]Returns Analysis'!$B$2 — the [1] is an index
into the workbook's external-reference list, naming a separate file on disk, not a sheet.
That file is rarely present here, so the cell's cached value is the only thing holding its
data. openpyxl strips that value on save; LibreOffice then has to resolve the reference for
real, fails, writes #NAME?, and deletes every link. recalc.py refuses to run in that state
— copy those cells' values out of the original before you save over them (--force overrides,
and accepts the loss).
Choosing formulas that survive verification
LibreOffice implements fewer functions than Excel, and one it cannot evaluate becomes a
literal #NAME? baked into the file you deliver.
Prefer Excel-2007-era functions —
SUMIFS,INDEX,MATCH,IFERROR,SUMPRODUCT— which need no prefix.Six post-2007 functions work, but only with an
_xlfn.prefix, because openpyxl writes your formula into the XML verbatim and Excel stores post-2007 names prefixed (its UI hides the prefix):_xlfn.TEXTJOIN,_xlfn.CONCAT,_xlfn.IFS,_xlfn.SWITCH,_xlfn.MAXIFS,_xlfn.MINIFS. Written bare, each yields#NAME?.Never use
XLOOKUP,XMATCH,SORT,FILTER,UNIQUE, orSEQUENCE. The runtime's LibreOffice cannot evaluate them under any prefix. Newer builds do evaluate them, but they are spilling array functions and an openpyxl-written file has no spill metadata, so only the top-left cell of the range gets a value — andrecalc.pyreportstotal_errors: 0on the truncated result. UseINDEX/MATCHfor lookups, and sort, filter, and de-duplicate in Python before writing the cells.A formula LibreOffice could not parse is written back lowercased — a quick tell beside a
#NAME?.
openpyxl gotchas
Reading a model takes two loads.
data_only=Trueyields cached values with the formulas gone; the default yields formula strings with no values. One pass cannot give you both.data_only=Trueis destructive if you save. That workbook has no formulas left, so saving replaces every one with a literal — permanently.data_only=Trueon a file openpyxl just wrote returnsNoneeverywhere — runrecalc.pyfirst. (A formula whose result is""also reads back asNone.)Merged cells: write the top-left anchor only. Every other cell in the range is a
MergedCellwhose.valueis read-only..xlsmloses its macros unless you passkeep_vba=Truetoload_workbook.A sheet name containing a space must be quoted in a cross-sheet reference:
='Assumptions Inputs'!$B$5. Unquoted, it evaluates to#VALUE!.
Financial models
Unless the user says otherwise, or the existing file already does something else.
Color: blue text (0,0,255) for hardcoded inputs and scenario levers · black for formulas ·
green (0,128,0) for links to another sheet · red (255,0,0) for links to another file ·
yellow fill (255,255,0) for key assumptions and cells the user should fill in.
Numbers: currency $#,##0, with the unit named in the header (Revenue ($mm)) · zeros
render as -, including in percentages ($#,##0;($#,##0);-) · negatives in parentheses ·
percentages 0.0%, stored as fractions (0.15 renders 15.0%; storing 15 renders
1500.0%) · valuation multiples 0.0x · years as text ("2024", never 2,024).
Structure: every assumption in its own labeled cell, referenced by the formulas that use it
(=B5*(1+$B$6), never =B5*1.05) · formulas consistent across every projection period, since a
lone edited cell mid-row is the commonest silent error · guard denominators that can be zero.
Dependencies
openpyxl, pandas, markitdown (pip, preinstalled — install only if an import fails or the command is missing) · LibreOffice (soffice, auto-configured for sandboxed environments via scripts/office/soffice.py)
Files
- ATTRIBUTION.mdAdded by AutoGineer837 B
- LICENSE.txt11.1 KiB
- SKILL.md8.4 KiB
- scripts/office/helpers/__init__.pyScript3.3 KiB
- scripts/office/helpers/pptx_chart.pyScript5.7 KiB
- scripts/office/helpers/pptx_slide.pyScript1.6 KiB
- scripts/office/helpers/pptx_theme.pyScript3.4 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/ISO-IEC29500-4_2016/dml-chart.xsd73.2 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/ISO-IEC29500-4_2016/dml-chartDrawing.xsd6.8 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/ISO-IEC29500-4_2016/dml-diagram.xsd50.1 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/ISO-IEC29500-4_2016/dml-lockedCanvas.xsd624 B
- scripts/office/schemas/ISO-IEC29500-4_2016/dml-main.xsd148.5 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/ISO-IEC29500-4_2016/dml-picture.xsd1.2 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/ISO-IEC29500-4_2016/dml-spreadsheetDrawing.xsd8.7 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/ISO-IEC29500-4_2016/dml-wordprocessingDrawing.xsd14.4 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/ISO-IEC29500-4_2016/pml.xsd81.7 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/ISO-IEC29500-4_2016/shared-additionalCharacteristics.xsd1.2 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/ISO-IEC29500-4_2016/shared-bibliography.xsd7.2 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/ISO-IEC29500-4_2016/shared-commonSimpleTypes.xsd6.2 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/ISO-IEC29500-4_2016/shared-customXmlDataProperties.xsd1.2 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/ISO-IEC29500-4_2016/shared-customXmlSchemaProperties.xsd880 B
- scripts/office/schemas/ISO-IEC29500-4_2016/shared-documentPropertiesCustom.xsd2.5 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/ISO-IEC29500-4_2016/shared-documentPropertiesExtended.xsd3.4 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/ISO-IEC29500-4_2016/shared-documentPropertiesVariantTypes.xsd7.3 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/ISO-IEC29500-4_2016/shared-math.xsd22.8 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/ISO-IEC29500-4_2016/shared-relationshipReference.xsd1.3 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/ISO-IEC29500-4_2016/sml.xsd236.6 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/ISO-IEC29500-4_2016/vml-main.xsd25.5 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/ISO-IEC29500-4_2016/vml-officeDrawing.xsd24.7 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/ISO-IEC29500-4_2016/vml-presentationDrawing.xsd535 B
- scripts/office/schemas/ISO-IEC29500-4_2016/vml-spreadsheetDrawing.xsd5.6 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/ISO-IEC29500-4_2016/vml-wordprocessingDrawing.xsd3.9 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/ISO-IEC29500-4_2016/wml.xsd167.4 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/ISO-IEC29500-4_2016/xml.xsd4.5 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/ecma/fouth-edition/opc-contentTypes.xsd1.9 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/ecma/fouth-edition/opc-coreProperties.xsd2.5 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/ecma/fouth-edition/opc-digSig.xsd2.8 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/ecma/fouth-edition/opc-relationships.xsd1.3 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/mce/mc.xsd3.1 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/microsoft/wml-2010.xsd25.9 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/microsoft/wml-2012.xsd3.7 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/microsoft/wml-2018.xsd901 B
- scripts/office/schemas/microsoft/wml-cex-2018.xsd1.7 KiB
- scripts/office/schemas/microsoft/wml-cid-2016.xsd1002 B
- scripts/office/schemas/microsoft/wml-sdtdatahash-2020.xsd600 B
- scripts/office/schemas/microsoft/wml-symex-2015.xsd745 B
- scripts/office/soffice.pyScript5.8 KiB
- scripts/office/validate.pyScript6.0 KiB
- scripts/office/validators/__init__.pyScript336 B
- scripts/office/validators/base.pyScript33.0 KiB
- scripts/office/validators/docx.pyScript17.1 KiB
- scripts/office/validators/pptx.pyScript15.6 KiB
- scripts/office/validators/redlining.pyScript11.0 KiB
- scripts/recalc.pyScript10.4 KiB
scripts/office/validators/redlining.py
"""
Validator for tracked changes in Word documents.
Detects untracked edits in word/document.xml: text that differs from the
original without a <w:ins>/<w:del> wrapper recording it. The tracked changes
that are new relative to the original are undone, and the result is compared
against the original; whatever text still differs was edited without being
tracked.
Only the document body is compared. Headers, footers, footnotes and endnotes
are separate parts and are not checked.
"""
import subprocess
import tempfile
import zipfile
from pathlib import Path
import defusedxml.ElementTree as ET
from defusedxml.common import DefusedXmlException
from helpers import rendered_text, safe_extract
class RedliningValidator:
def __init__(self, unpacked_dir, original_docx, verbose=False):
self.unpacked_dir = Path(unpacked_dir)
self.original_docx = Path(original_docx)
self.verbose = verbose
self.namespaces = {
"w": "http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/wordprocessingml/2006/main"
}
def repair(self) -> int:
return 0
def validate(self):
modified_file = self.unpacked_dir / "word" / "document.xml"
if not modified_file.exists():
print(f"FAILED - Modified document.xml not found at {modified_file}")
return False
with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as temp_dir:
temp_path = Path(temp_dir)
try:
with zipfile.ZipFile(self.original_docx, "r") as zip_ref:
safe_extract(zip_ref, temp_path)
except Exception as e:
print(f"FAILED - Error unpacking original docx: {e}")
return False
original_file = temp_path / "word" / "document.xml"
if not original_file.exists():
print(
f"FAILED - Original document.xml not found in {self.original_docx}"
)
return False
try:
modified_tree = ET.parse(modified_file)
modified_root = modified_tree.getroot()
original_tree = ET.parse(original_file)
original_root = original_tree.getroot()
except (ET.ParseError, DefusedXmlException) as e:
print(f"FAILED - Error parsing XML files: {e}")
return False
new_changes = self._new_tracked_changes(original_root, modified_root)
self._remove_tracked_changes(modified_root, new_changes)
modified_text = self._extract_text_content(modified_root)
original_text = self._extract_text_content(original_root)
if modified_text != original_text:
error_message = self._generate_detailed_diff(
original_text, modified_text
)
print(error_message)
return False
if self.verbose:
print(
f"PASSED - All {len(new_changes)} change(s) against the original "
"are properly tracked"
)
return True
def _tracked_change_elements(self, root):
ins_tag = f"{{{self.namespaces['w']}}}ins"
del_tag = f"{{{self.namespaces['w']}}}del"
return [elem for elem in root.iter() if elem.tag in (ins_tag, del_tag)]
def _rendered_text(self, elem):
preserve = elem.get("{http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace}space") == "preserve"
return rendered_text(elem.text or "", preserve)
def _text_elements(self, elem):
w = self.namespaces["w"]
return [
node
for node in elem.iter()
if node.tag in (f"{{{w}}}t", f"{{{w}}}delText")
]
def _tracked_change_key(self, elem):
w = self.namespaces["w"]
text = "".join(self._rendered_text(node) for node in self._text_elements(elem))
return (elem.tag, elem.get(f"{{{w}}}author"), elem.get(f"{{{w}}}date"), text)
def _new_tracked_changes(self, original_root, modified_root):
original = self._tracked_change_elements(original_root)
modified = self._tracked_change_elements(modified_root)
pool = {}
for elem in original:
pool.setdefault(self._tracked_change_key(elem), []).append(elem)
matched, leftover = set(), []
for elem in modified:
bucket = pool.get(self._tracked_change_key(elem))
if bucket:
matched.add(bucket.pop())
else:
leftover.append(elem)
def group(elem):
return self._tracked_change_key(elem)[:3]
def text_of(elems):
return "".join(self._tracked_change_key(e)[3] for e in elems)
unmatched_original = {}
for elem in original:
if elem not in matched:
unmatched_original.setdefault(group(elem), []).append(elem)
by_group = {}
for elem in leftover:
by_group.setdefault(group(elem), []).append(elem)
new = set()
for key, elems in by_group.items():
rebuilt = text_of(elems)
if rebuilt and rebuilt == text_of(unmatched_original.get(key, [])):
continue
new.update(elems)
return new
def _generate_detailed_diff(self, original_text, modified_text):
error_parts = [
"FAILED - Document text doesn't match after removing the tracked changes",
"",
"Likely causes:",
" 1. Modified text inside another author's <w:ins> or <w:del> tags",
" 2. Made edits without proper tracked changes",
" 3. Didn't nest <w:del> inside <w:ins> when deleting another's insertion",
" 4. Rewrote another author's <w:ins>/<w:del> and changed its text on",
" the way. A tracked change from the original is recognised by its",
" author, date and text; anything that doesn't reproduce one exactly",
" reads as new, and the text it carried is reported missing.",
"",
"For pre-redlined documents, use correct patterns:",
" - To reject another's INSERTION: Nest <w:del> inside their <w:ins>",
" - To reject PART of one: nest <w:del> around only the runs you reject.",
" Their <w:ins> may be split around it, so long as the pieces keep",
" their author and date and still spell out the same text.",
" - To restore another's DELETION: Add new <w:ins> AFTER their <w:del>",
"",
]
git_diff = self._get_git_word_diff(original_text, modified_text)
if git_diff:
error_parts.extend(["Differences:", "============", git_diff])
else:
error_parts.append("Unable to generate word diff (git not available)")
return "\n".join(error_parts)
def _get_git_word_diff(self, original_text, modified_text):
try:
with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as temp_dir:
temp_path = Path(temp_dir)
original_file = temp_path / "original.txt"
modified_file = temp_path / "modified.txt"
original_file.write_text(original_text, encoding="utf-8")
modified_file.write_text(modified_text, encoding="utf-8")
result = subprocess.run(
[
"git",
"diff",
"--word-diff=plain",
"--word-diff-regex=.",
"-U0",
"--no-index",
str(original_file),
str(modified_file),
],
capture_output=True,
text=True,
)
if result.stdout.strip():
lines = result.stdout.split("\n")
content_lines = []
in_content = False
for line in lines:
if line.startswith("@@"):
in_content = True
continue
if in_content and line.strip():
content_lines.append(line)
if content_lines:
return "\n".join(content_lines)
result = subprocess.run(
[
"git",
"diff",
"--word-diff=plain",
"-U0",
"--no-index",
str(original_file),
str(modified_file),
],
capture_output=True,
text=True,
)
if result.stdout.strip():
lines = result.stdout.split("\n")
content_lines = []
in_content = False
for line in lines:
if line.startswith("@@"):
in_content = True
continue
if in_content and line.strip():
content_lines.append(line)
return "\n".join(content_lines)
except (subprocess.CalledProcessError, FileNotFoundError, Exception):
pass
return None
def _remove_tracked_changes(self, root, targets):
ins_tag = f"{{{self.namespaces['w']}}}ins"
del_tag = f"{{{self.namespaces['w']}}}del"
for parent in root.iter():
to_remove = []
for child in parent:
if child.tag == ins_tag and child in targets:
to_remove.append(child)
for elem in to_remove:
parent.remove(elem)
deltext_tag = f"{{{self.namespaces['w']}}}delText"
t_tag = f"{{{self.namespaces['w']}}}t"
for parent in root.iter():
to_process = []
for child in parent:
if child.tag == del_tag and child in targets:
to_process.append((child, list(parent).index(child)))
for del_elem, del_index in reversed(to_process):
for elem in del_elem.iter():
if elem.tag == deltext_tag:
elem.tag = t_tag
for child in reversed(list(del_elem)):
parent.insert(del_index, child)
parent.remove(del_elem)
def _extract_text_content(self, root):
p_tag = f"{{{self.namespaces['w']}}}p"
t_tag = f"{{{self.namespaces['w']}}}t"
paragraphs = []
for p_elem in root.findall(f".//{p_tag}"):
text_parts = []
for t_elem in p_elem.findall(f".//{t_tag}"):
text_parts.append(self._rendered_text(t_elem))
paragraph_text = "".join(text_parts)
if paragraph_text:
paragraphs.append(paragraph_text)
return "\n".join(paragraphs)
if __name__ == "__main__":
raise RuntimeError("This module should not be run directly.")
Requirements and compatibility
Written for: Claude Code, Claude apps
Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta
“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.
Needs: Needs Python
Security
What our scanner noticed· Low risk
- Instructions that use the network
- Scripts that your agent may run
This skill includes scripts that your agent may run. Read them before you use it.
A static scan is not a guarantee. Skills are third-party content: review a skill before you let an agent use it.
Attribution and licence
- Published by
- Anthropic
- Publisher
- Anthropic (Official)
- Source
- anthropics/skills · skills/xlsx · commit 2c5958e
- Licence
- Apache License 2.0 (redistribution allowed)
- ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
- Synced
AutoGineer is not affiliated with or endorsed by Anthropic or Anthropic.
Download ZIP
The ZIP holds the skill’s files, its licence files and an ATTRIBUTION.md. Download xlsx.zip