Agent-Skills.md

Agent Skills: OfficeCLI XLSX Skill

Use this skill any time a .xlsx file is involved -- as input, output, or both. This includes: creating spreadsheets, financial models, dashboards, or trackers; reading, parsing, or extracting data from any .xlsx file; editing, modifying, or updating existing workbooks; working with formulas, charts, pivot tables, or templates; importing CSV/TSV data into Excel format. Trigger whenever the user mentions 'spreadsheet', 'workbook', 'Excel', 'financial model', 'tracker', 'dashboard', or references a .xlsx/.csv filename.

UncategorizedID: iofficeai/aionui/officecli-xlsx

Repository

iofficeai/aionui
iOfficeAILicense: Apache-2.0
20,8511,680

Install this agent skill to your local

pnpm dlx add-skill https://github.com/iOfficeAI/AionUi/tree/HEAD/src/process/resources/skills/officecli-xlsx

Skill Files

Browse the full folder contents for officecli-xlsx.

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src/process/resources/skills/officecli-xlsx/SKILL.md

Skill Metadata

Name
officecli-xlsx
Description
"Use this skill any time a .xlsx file is involved -- as input, output, or both. This includes: creating spreadsheets, financial models, dashboards, or trackers; reading, parsing, or extracting data from any .xlsx file; editing, modifying, or updating existing workbooks; working with formulas, charts, pivot tables, or templates; importing CSV/TSV data into Excel format. Trigger whenever the user mentions 'spreadsheet', 'workbook', 'Excel', 'financial model', 'tracker', 'dashboard', or references a .xlsx/.csv filename."

OfficeCLI XLSX Skill

BEFORE YOU START (CRITICAL)

Every time before using officecli, run this check:

if ! command -v officecli &> /dev/null; then
    echo "Installing officecli..."
    curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/iOfficeAI/OfficeCli/main/install.sh | bash
    # Windows: irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/iOfficeAI/OfficeCli/main/install.ps1 | iex
else
    CURRENT=$(officecli --version 2>&1 | grep -oE '[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+' | head -1)
    LATEST=$(curl -fsSL https://api.github.com/repos/iOfficeAI/OfficeCLI/releases/latest | grep '"tag_name"' | sed -E 's/.*"v?([0-9.]+)".*/\1/')
    if [ "$CURRENT" != "$LATEST" ]; then
        echo "Upgrading officecli $CURRENT → $LATEST..."
        curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/iOfficeAI/OfficeCli/main/install.sh | bash
    else
        echo "officecli $CURRENT is up to date"
    fi
fi
officecli --version

Quick Reference

| Task | Action | | ---------------------- | ----------------------------------- | | Read / analyze content | Use view and get commands below | | Edit existing workbook | Read editing.md | | Create from scratch | Read creating.md |

Reading & Analyzing

Text Extraction

officecli view data.xlsx text
officecli view data.xlsx text --start 1 --end 50 --cols A,B,C

Plain text dump, tab-separated per row, with [/Sheet1/row[N]] prefixes. Flags: --mode, --start N, --end N, --max-lines N, --cols A,B,C.

Structure Overview

officecli view data.xlsx outline

Sheets with row/column counts and formula counts per sheet.

Detailed Inspection

officecli view data.xlsx annotated

Cell values with type/formula annotations, warnings for errors and empty cells.

Statistics

officecli view data.xlsx stats

Summary statistics across all sheets.

Issue Detection

officecli view data.xlsx issues

Empty sheets, broken formulas, missing references.

Element Inspection

# Workbook root (lists all sheets, doc properties)
officecli get data.xlsx /

# Sheet overview (freeze, autoFilter, zoom, tabColor)
officecli get data.xlsx "/Sheet1"

# Single cell (value, type, formula, font, fill, borders, numFmt)
officecli get data.xlsx "/Sheet1/A1"

# Cell range
officecli get data.xlsx "/Sheet1/A1:D10"

# Row properties
officecli get data.xlsx "/Sheet1/row[1]"

# Column properties
officecli get data.xlsx "/Sheet1/col[A]"

# Chart
officecli get data.xlsx "/Sheet1/chart[1]"

# Table (ListObject)
officecli get data.xlsx "/Sheet1/table[1]"

# Data validation rule
officecli get data.xlsx "/Sheet1/validation[1]"

# Conditional formatting rule
officecli get data.xlsx "/Sheet1/cf[1]"

# Comment
officecli get data.xlsx "/Sheet1/comment[1]"

# Named range
officecli get data.xlsx "/namedrange[1]"

Add --depth N to expand children, --json for structured output. Excel-native notation also supported: Sheet1!A1, Sheet1!A1:D10.

CSS-like Queries

# Cells with formulas
officecli query data.xlsx 'cell:has(formula)'

# Cells containing text
officecli query data.xlsx 'cell:contains("Revenue")'

# Empty cells
officecli query data.xlsx 'cell:empty'

# Cells by type
officecli query data.xlsx 'cell[type=Number]'

# Cells by formatting
officecli query data.xlsx 'cell[font.bold=true]'

# Column B non-zero
officecli query data.xlsx 'B[value!=0]'

# Sheet-scoped
officecli query data.xlsx 'Sheet1!cell[value="100"]'

# Find all charts
officecli query data.xlsx 'chart'

# Find all tables
officecli query data.xlsx 'table'

# Find all pivot tables
officecli query data.xlsx 'pivottable'

Operators: =, !=, ~= (contains), >=, <=, [attr] (exists).

Design Principles

Professional spreadsheets need clear structure, correct formulas, and intentional formatting.

Use Formulas, Not Hardcoded Values (MANDATORY)

This is the single most important principle. The spreadsheet must remain dynamic -- when source data changes, formulas recalculate automatically. Hardcoded values break this contract.

# WRONG -- hardcoded calculation result
officecli set data.xlsx "/Sheet1/B10" --prop value=5000

# CORRECT -- let Excel calculate
officecli set data.xlsx "/Sheet1/B10" --prop formula="SUM(B2:B9)"

Financial Model Color Coding

| Convention | Color | Use For | | ----------------- | ------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | | Blue text | font.color=0000FF | Hardcoded inputs, scenario-variable numbers | | Black text | font.color=000000 | ALL formulas and calculations | | Green text | font.color=008000 | Cross-sheet links within same workbook | | Red text | font.color=FF0000 | External references | | Yellow background | fill=FFFF00 | Key assumptions needing attention |

These are industry-standard financial modeling conventions. Apply when building financial models. For non-financial workbooks, use project-appropriate styling.

Number Format Strings

| Type | Format String | Example Output | Code | | --------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ | | Currency | $#,##0 | $1,234 | --prop numFmt='$#,##0' | | Currency (neg parens) | $#,##0;($#,##0);"-" | ($1,234) | --prop numFmt='$#,##0;($#,##0);"-"' | | Percentage | 0.0% | 12.5% | --prop numFmt="0.0%" | | Decimal | #,##0.00 | 1,234.56 | --prop numFmt="#,##0.00" | | Accounting | _($* #,##0_);_($* (#,##0);_($* "-"_);_(@_) | $ 1,234 | --prop numFmt='_($* #,##0_);_($* (#,##0);_($* "-"_);_(@_)' | | Date | yyyy-mm-dd | 2026-03-27 | --prop numFmt="yyyy-mm-dd" | | Date (long) | mmmm d, yyyy | March 27, 2026 | --prop numFmt="mmmm d, yyyy" | | Year as text | @ | 2026 (not 2,026) | --prop type=string | | Multiples | 0.0x | 12.5x | --prop numFmt="0.0x" | | Zeros as dash | #,##0;-#,##0;"-" | - | --prop numFmt='#,##0;-#,##0;"-"' |

Shell quoting: Number formats containing $ must use single quotes ('$#,##0') or heredoc in batch mode. Double quotes cause shell variable expansion.

Column Width and Row Height

# Set column width (character units, ~1 char = 7px)
officecli set data.xlsx "/Sheet1/col[A]" --prop width=15
officecli set data.xlsx "/Sheet1/col[B]" --prop width=12

# Set row height (points)
officecli set data.xlsx "/Sheet1/row[1]" --prop height=20

# Hide column/row
officecli set data.xlsx "/Sheet1/col[D]" --prop hidden=true
officecli set data.xlsx "/Sheet1/row[5]" --prop hidden=true

There is no auto-fit. Set column widths explicitly. Common widths: labels=20-25, numbers=12-15, dates=12, short codes=8-10.

Freeze Panes

# Freeze first row (headers)
officecli set data.xlsx "/Sheet1" --prop freeze=A2

# Freeze first column and first row
officecli set data.xlsx "/Sheet1" --prop freeze=B2

Print Area

# Set print area on a sheet
officecli set data.xlsx "/Sheet1" --prop printArea="A1:F20"

Data Validation for Input Cells

# Dropdown list
officecli add data.xlsx /Sheet1 --type validation --prop sqref="C2:C100" --prop type=list --prop formula1="Yes,No,Maybe" --prop showError=true --prop errorTitle="Invalid" --prop error="Select from list"

# Number range
officecli add data.xlsx /Sheet1 --type validation --prop sqref="D2:D100" --prop type=decimal --prop operator=between --prop formula1=0 --prop formula2=100 --prop showError=true --prop error="Enter 0-100"

Always add data validation on input cells in financial models and trackers. It prevents data entry errors.

Print Area and Page Setup

For print-ready workbooks, set appropriate column widths and row heights. Consider which sheets need headers repeated on each page.

QA (Required)

Assume there are problems. Your job is to find them.

Your first spreadsheet build is almost never correct. Approach QA as a bug hunt, not a confirmation step. If you found zero issues on first inspection, you were not looking hard enough.

Content QA

# Extract text, check for missing data
officecli view data.xlsx text

# Check structure
officecli view data.xlsx outline

# Check for issues (broken formulas, missing refs, empty sheets)
officecli view data.xlsx issues

# Verify formulas exist where expected
officecli query data.xlsx 'cell:has(formula)'

# Check for formula errors in cell values
officecli query data.xlsx 'cell:contains("#REF!")'
officecli query data.xlsx 'cell:contains("#DIV/0!")'
officecli query data.xlsx 'cell:contains("#VALUE!")'
officecli query data.xlsx 'cell:contains("#NAME?")'
officecli query data.xlsx 'cell:contains("#N/A")'

When editing templates, check for leftover placeholders:

officecli query data.xlsx 'cell:contains("{{")'
officecli query data.xlsx 'cell:contains("xxxx")'
officecli query data.xlsx 'cell:contains("placeholder")'

Formula Verification Checklist

  • [ ] Test 2-3 sample cell references: verify they pull correct values
  • [ ] Column mapping: confirm cell references point to intended columns
  • [ ] Row offsets: check formula ranges include all data rows
  • [ ] Division by zero: verify denominators are non-zero or wrapped in IFERROR
  • [ ] Cross-sheet references: use correct Sheet1!A1 format
  • [ ] Cross-sheet formula escaping: run officecli get on 2-3 cross-sheet formula cells and confirm no \! in the formula string. If \! is present, the formula is broken -- delete and re-set using batch/heredoc.
  • [ ] Named ranges: verify ref values match actual data locations
  • [ ] Edge cases: test with zero values, negative numbers, empty cells
  • [ ] Chart data vs formula results: for every chart with hardcoded/inline data, verify each data point matches the corresponding formula cell result. Use officecli get on the source cells and compare against chart series values. Mismatches here are silent data integrity bugs.

Validation

officecli validate data.xlsx

Pre-Delivery Checklist

  • [ ] Metadata set (title, author)
  • [ ] All formula cells contain formulas (not hardcoded values)
  • [ ] No formula error values (#REF!, #DIV/0!, #VALUE!, #NAME?, #N/A)
  • [ ] Number formats applied (currency, percentage, dates)
  • [ ] Column widths set explicitly (no default 8.43)
  • [ ] Header row styled (bold, fill, freeze panes)
  • [ ] Data validation on input cells
  • [ ] Charts have titles and readable axis labels
  • [ ] Chart data matches source cells -- charts with hardcoded/inline data can drift from formula results. For each chart, verify every data point against the corresponding cell value. Prefer cell-range references (series1.values="Sheet1!B2:B6") over inline data to avoid transcription errors.
  • [ ] Named ranges defined for key assumptions
  • [ ] Document validates with officecli validate
  • [ ] No placeholder text remaining
  • [ ] Comments on hardcoded assumption values documenting their source

NOTE: Unlike pptx (SVG/HTML), xlsx has no visual preview mode. Verification relies on view text, view annotated, view stats, view issues, validate, and formula queries. For visual verification, the user must open the file in Excel.

Verification Loop

  1. Generate workbook
  2. Run view issues + view annotated (sample ranges) + validate
  3. Run formula error queries (all 5 error types)
  4. List issues found (if none found, look again more critically)
  5. Fix issues
  6. Re-verify affected areas -- one fix often creates another problem
  7. Repeat until a full pass reveals no new issues

Do not declare success until you have completed at least one fix-and-verify cycle.

Common Pitfalls

| Pitfall | Correct Approach | | --------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | --name "foo" | Use --prop name="foo" -- all attributes go through --prop | | Guessing property names | Run officecli xlsx set cell to see exact names | | \n in shell strings | Use \\n for newlines in --prop text="line1\\nline2" | | Modifying an open file | Close the file in Excel first | | Hex colors with # | Use FF0000 not #FF0000 -- no hash prefix | | Paths are 1-based | "/Sheet1/row[1]", "/Sheet1/col[1]" -- XPath convention | | --index is 0-based | --index 0 = first position -- array convention | | Unquoted [N] in zsh/bash | Shell glob-expands /Sheet1/row[1] -- always quote paths: "/Sheet1/row[1]" | | Sheet names with spaces | Quote the full path: "/My Sheet/A1" | | Formula prefix = | OfficeCLI strips the = -- use formula="SUM(A1:A10)" not formula="=SUM(A1:A10)" | | Cross-sheet ! in formulas | CRITICAL: The ! in Sheet1!A1 can be corrupted by shell quoting. Use batch/heredoc for cross-sheet formulas, or double quotes: --prop "formula==Sheet1!A1". NEVER use single quotes for formulas containing !. After setting, verify with officecli get that the formula shows Sheet1!A1 (no backslash before !). | | Hardcoded calculated values | Use --prop formula="SUM(B2:B9)" not --prop value=5000 | | $ and ' in batch JSON | Use heredoc: cat <<'EOF' \| officecli batch -- single-quoted delimiter prevents shell expansion | | Number format with $ | Shell interprets $ -- use single quotes: numFmt='$#,##0' | | Year displayed as "2,026" | Set cell type to string: --prop type=string or use numFmt="@" |

Performance: Resident Mode

officecli open data.xlsx        # Keep in memory
officecli add data.xlsx ...
officecli set data.xlsx ...
officecli close data.xlsx       # Save and release

For multi-step workflows (3+ commands on the same file), use open/close.

Performance: Batch Mode

cat <<'EOF' | officecli batch data.xlsx
[
  {"command":"set","path":"/Sheet1/A1","props":{"value":"Revenue","bold":"true","fill":"1F4E79","font.color":"FFFFFF"}},
  {"command":"set","path":"/Sheet1/B1","props":{"value":"Q1","bold":"true","fill":"1F4E79","font.color":"FFFFFF"}}
]
EOF

Batch supports: add, set, get, query, remove, move, view, raw, raw-set, validate.

Batch fields: command, path, parent, type, from, to, index, props (dict), selector, mode, depth, part, xpath, action, xml.

parent = container to add into (for add). path = element to modify (for set, get, remove).

Batch mode is the default for multi-cell operations. A financial model with 50+ cells MUST use batch, not individual commands.

Known Issues

| Issue | Workaround | | ----------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Chart series cannot be added after creation | set --prop data= and set --prop seriesN= on an existing chart can only update existing series. To add series, delete and recreate: officecli remove data.xlsx "/Sheet1/chart[1]" then officecli add with all series. | | No visual preview | Unlike pptx (SVG/HTML), xlsx has no built-in rendering. Use view text/view annotated/view stats/view issues for verification. Users must open in Excel for visual check. | | Formula cached values for new formulas | OfficeCLI writes formula strings natively. For newly added formulas, the cached value may not update until the file is opened in Excel/LibreOffice. Existing formula cached values are preserved. | | No auto-fit column width | No "auto-fit" column width based on content. Set width explicitly on each column. | | Shell quoting in batch with echo | echo '...' \| officecli batch fails when JSON values contain apostrophes or $. Use heredoc: cat <<'EOF' \| officecli batch data.xlsx. | | Batch intermittent failure | Batch+resident mode has a high failure rate (up to 1-in-3 in some sessions). For maximum reliability: (1) prefer batch WITHOUT resident mode, (2) keep batches to 8-12 operations, (3) always check batch output for failures, (4) retry failed operations individually. For critical formulas (especially cross-sheet), consider using individual set commands which have 100% reliability. | | Data bar default min/max invalid | Creating a data bar without --prop min=N --prop max=N produces empty val attributes in cfvo elements, which may be rejected by strict XML validators or Excel. Always specify explicit min and max values. | | Cell protection requires sheet protection | locked and formulahidden properties only take effect when the sheet itself is protected. |

Help System

When unsure about property names, value formats, or command syntax, run help instead of guessing. One help query is faster than guess-fail-retry loops.

officecli xlsx set              # All settable elements and their properties
officecli xlsx set cell         # Cell properties in detail
officecli xlsx set cell.font    # Specific property format and examples
officecli xlsx add              # All addable element types
officecli xlsx view             # All view modes
officecli xlsx get              # All navigable paths
officecli xlsx query            # Query selector syntax