# MCP Server for Excel MCP Server

Excel automation for AI - Sheets, Power Query, DAX, VBA, Tables, Ranges and more. Windows only.

**Publisher claimed.** No tool list reported, and Pod has not connected to this server.

## Status

Pod has not dialled MCP Server for Excel yet, so everything on this page is what its publisher reported rather than what we observed. Registries describe servers; they do not connect to them. Until a check runs, treat the tool list below as a claim.

## Connect

Published as `Sbroenne.ExcelMcp.McpServer` on nuget. Runs locally.

## Known issues

**43 problems reported by people outside the maintainer team.** Issues filed by the project's own owners, members and collaborators are excluded — those are release checklists and internal refactors, not things that will go wrong for you. Showing 12.

### Most discussed

### [BUG] screenshot capture/capture-sheet fails with COMException 0x800A03EC on a protected worksheet

## Bug Description

`screenshot capture` and `capture-sheet` fail with a bare `COMException: 0x800A03EC` when the target worksheet is protected. Unprotecting the sheet and repeating the same call succeeds — protection alone is the trigger, not the range, not the workbook, not whether Excel is visible.

v1.10.6 made this easy to reach by adding worksheet protection to the server. A caller can now protect a sheet and then be unable to capture it in the same session, with an error that doesn't expl

[Read the thread](https://github.com/sbroenne/mcp-server-excel/issues/777) · 2026-08-17 · open · external user · 6 comments

### JSON Schema array items format incompatible with Gemini API (400)

## Problem

When mcp-excel is enabled as an MCP server alongside the Gemini API, the server registers ~385 function declarations. Gemini's API rejects the request with HTTP 400 errors like:

`
GenerateContentRequest.tools[0].function_declarations[377].parameters.properties[formulas].items: field predicate failed:  == Type.ARRAY
GenerateContentRequest.tools[0].function_declarations[377].parameters.properties[formats].items: field predicate failed:  == Type.ARRAY
GenerateContentRequest.tools[0].fu

[Read the thread](https://github.com/sbroenne/mcp-server-excel/issues/672) · 2026-06-10 · closed · external user · 5 comments

### [MCP] namedrange list crashes session with "Connection closed"

## Issue Description

`namedrange` action `list` crashes the MCP session with `MCP error -32000: Connection closed`. Reproduced on v1.8.61 against two different .xlsx files in the same session. After the crash, the session is gone (subsequent calls return `Session '<sessionId>' not found`), and Excel.exe is left as an orphaned process holding an exclusive lock on the file — `file action=open` against the same file then fails with `Cannot open '...'. The file is already open in Excel or another p

[Read the thread](https://github.com/sbroenne/mcp-server-excel/issues/653) · 2026-05-17 · closed · external user · 9 comments

### Session open/create fails with Specified cast is not valid on Windows 11 + Office 365 Click-to-Run

# Bug: session open/create fails with `Specified cast is not valid`

## Environment

- Excel MCP extension: 1.8.32
- Server: `Sbroenne.ExcelMcp.McpServer.exe` 1.8.32.0
- Windows: Microsoft Windows 11 Home, build 26200, x64
- Office: Microsoft 365 Click-to-Run x64
- Office version: `16.0.19725.20190`

## Command used

Tested these MCP actions:

- `file(action: 'open')`
- `file(action: 'create')`
- `file(action: 'test')`

## Expected behavior

- `file open` should open a valid workbook and return 

[Read the thread](https://github.com/sbroenne/mcp-server-excel/issues/559) · 2026-03-22 · closed · external user · 15 comments

### [BUG] vba.run fails on existing .xlsm workbook while datamodel.evaluate and VBA project operations succeed

## Bug Description

On an existing `.xlsm` workbook, `vba.run` consistently fails with:

`InvalidOperationException: VBA trust access is not enabled. Enable 'Trust access to the VBA project object model' in Excel Trust Center settings.`

The error appears misleading. In the same healthy interactive service/session:

- `datamodel.evaluate` succeeds
- `vba.list` succeeds
- `vba.update` succeeds
- `vba.delete` succeeds
- `vba.import` succeeds

The failure appears isolated to `vba.run` on the existi

[Read the thread](https://github.com/sbroenne/mcp-server-excel/issues/558) · 2026-03-20 · closed · external user · 4 comments

### Most recent

### CLI: powerquery load-to accepts --timeout but ignores it

Reproduced on Windows 11, `excelcli.exe` **1.10.7** (standalone binary). Companion to the two-clock docs issue; this is the code side.

## Bug Description

`IPowerQueryCommands.LoadTo` has no `TimeSpan timeout`. Shared CLI settings still accept `--timeout` on `load-to`. The value is dropped. Load-to is capped by the **session** clock (default 120s) plus an internal `DataOperationTimeout` CTS (30 min), not by the flag the user passed.

## Component

- [x] **CLI**
- [x] **Core Library**

## Comman

[Read the thread](https://github.com/sbroenne/mcp-server-excel/issues/788) · 2026-08-19 · closed · external user · 2 comments

### CLI: powerquery list always includes full Formula (FormulaPreview already exists)

Using `excelcli.exe` **1.10.7** (standalone binary). Enhancement, not a local workaround in CLI flags.

## Is your feature request related to a problem?

`powerquery list` serializes the entire M formula for every query. Two medium queries can be tens of thousands of characters. Terminals truncate; coding-agent context fills. Live `powerquery list --help` has no names-only / `--formula-preview` switch. `view` is one query and still full M.

`PowerQueryInfo` already has both `Formula` (full) and 

[Read the thread](https://github.com/sbroenne/mcp-server-excel/issues/787) · 2026-08-19 · closed · external user · 2 comments

### CLI: powerquery evaluate cleanup misses Excel-named Connection / Connection1 leftovers

Reproduced on Windows 11, `excelcli.exe` **1.10.7** (standalone binary).

## Bug Description

`powerquery evaluate` is documented as testing M without a permanent query (“temporary objects auto-deleted”). Cleanup deletes connections whose **name contains** `__pq_eval_*`. Excel names `ListObjects.Add`-from-connection-string connections `Connection`, `Connection1`, … Those names do not contain the temp query id, so leftovers remain. A later `session close --save` writes them into the xlsx (`xl/con

[Read the thread](https://github.com/sbroenne/mcp-server-excel/issues/786) · 2026-08-19 · closed · external user · 2 comments

### CLI: service status / session list use a 2s pipe timeout; empty session list is not proof of no sessions

Reproduced on Windows 11, `excelcli.exe` **1.10.7** (standalone binary).

## Bug Description

`excelcli -q service start` returns `{"success":true,"message":"Service started."}`. Immediate `service status` / `session list` often return **Service connection timed out**. `session.open` on the same daemon can still work.

`session list` on a daemon that does not answer in 2s prints `{"sessions":[]}` with exit 0 — empty list is not proof there are no sessions.

There is no `--timeout` on `service st

[Read the thread](https://github.com/sbroenne/mcp-server-excel/issues/785) · 2026-08-19 · closed · external user · 2 comments

### Docs/skill: two timeout clocks; load-to --timeout is accepted and ignored

Using `excelcli.exe` **1.10.7** and the v1.10.7 excel-cli skill / `IPowerQueryCommands` XML.

## Bug Description

Timeout docs contradict each other, and `load-to` advertises a timeout it does not take.

Coding agents raise `--timeout` on `load-to` or pass `timeout: 0` expecting “wait forever,” then hit the **session** 120s cap (or think refresh’s 30 min clock applies to load-to).

## Component

- [x] **CLI**
- [x] **MCP Server** (same XML summary)

## Command/Usage

`session open --timeout` hel

[Read the thread](https://github.com/sbroenne/mcp-server-excel/issues/784) · 2026-08-19 · closed · external user · 2 comments

### CLI: batch JSON timeout as integer fails (CLI --timeout seconds works)

Reproduced on Windows 11, `excelcli.exe` **1.10.7** (standalone binary).

## Bug Description

CLI `--timeout 3600` is seconds (`ParseTimeSpanOrSeconds`, changelog 1.8.63 / #640). The same integer in batch JSON fails deserialization.

## Component

- [x] **CLI**
- [x] **Core Library** (batch/service args typed as `TimeSpan?`)

## Command/Usage

```json
[
  {"command": "session.open", "args": {"filePath": "C:\\tmp\\probe.xlsx"}},
  {"command": "powerquery.refresh", "args": {"queryName": "Probe", "

[Read the thread](https://github.com/sbroenne/mcp-server-excel/issues/783) · 2026-08-19 · closed · external user · 2 comments

### CLI: batch JSON ignores mCodeFile (CLI --m-code-file works)

Reproduced on Windows 11, `excelcli.exe` **1.10.7** (standalone binary).

## Bug Description

`excelcli batch` ignores `args.mCodeFile`. The same evaluate/create/update with CLI `--m-code-file` works. Batch requires inline `mCode`.

## Component

- [x] **CLI**
- [x] **Core Library** (generated `DispatchToCore` / service args)

## Command/Usage

```json
[
  {"command": "session.open", "args": {"filePath": "C:\\tmp\\probe.xlsx"}},
  {"command": "powerquery.evaluate", "args": {"mCodeFile": "C:\\tmp

[Read the thread](https://github.com/sbroenne/mcp-server-excel/issues/782) · 2026-08-19 · closed · external user · 2 comments

[See all 23 reports Pod holds for MCP Server for Excel](/mcp/mcp-server-for-excel/issues) — of 43 qualified upstream.

## Firsthand observations

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- 43 problems reported from outside the maintainer team
- No tool list published — Pod has not verified what it exposes
- If you use MCP Server for Excel, write down what actually happened so the next agent pays less

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