@bilig/sheetjs-formula-recalc

Scoped SheetJS formula recalculation package for Node.js without Excel, LibreOffice, or browser automation.

Use this package when the rest of your pipeline already uses SheetJS or the xlsx package for workbook file I/O, but a backend job needs fresh formula readback after changing inputs.

The unscoped sheetjs-formula-recalc package remains published as a compatibility and search alias.

If You Arrived From a SheetJS Formula Issue

SheetJS is good at reading and writing spreadsheet files. The common production gap is different:

• SheetJS formula result not updating
• xlsx formula value stale after edit
• js-xlsx recalculate formulas
• refresh formula cells in xlsx node

Formula cells can carry cached results. When a Node process edits Inputs!B2, the cached value in Summary!B7 is not automatically recalculated inside that process.

Use this package at the file boundary:

1. let SheetJS produce or update XLSX bytes;
2. call recalculateSheetjsWorkbook(...);
3. read proof cells from result.reads;
4. write result.xlsx if the updated artifact is needed.

This package is a SheetJS-named bridge over @bilig/xlsx-formula-recalc, so teams searching for a SheetJS answer can find the right boundary directly.

Install

npm install @bilig/sheetjs-formula-recalc

CLI

Run a self-contained proof first:

npx --package @bilig/sheetjs-formula-recalc sheetjs-recalc --demo --json

For a real workbook:

npx --package @bilig/sheetjs-formula-recalc sheetjs-recalc quote.xlsx \
  --set Inputs!B2=48 \
  --set Inputs!B3=1500 \
  --read Summary!B7 \
  --out quote.recalculated.xlsx \
  --json

The command writes the recalculated XLSX and prints the requested read cells.

TypeScript

import { readFile, writeFile } from 'node:fs/promises'
import { recalculateSheetjsWorkbook } from '@bilig/sheetjs-formula-recalc'

const result = recalculateSheetjsWorkbook(await readFile('quote.xlsx'), {
  fileName: 'quote.xlsx',
  edits: [
    { target: 'Inputs!B2', value: 48 },
    { target: 'Inputs!B3', value: 1500 },
  ],
  reads: ['Summary!B7'],
})

await writeFile('quote.recalculated.xlsx', result.xlsx)

console.log({
  value: result.reads['Summary!B7'],
  warnings: result.warnings,
})

Proof Against SheetJS, xlsx-populate, and ExcelJS

The repository includes a cross-library proof:

git clone https://github.com/proompteng/bilig.git
cd bilig
npm --prefix examples/recalc-bridge-workflows install
npm --prefix examples/recalc-bridge-workflows run smoke

It edits the same workbook through SheetJS/xlsx, xlsx-populate, and ExcelJS, then verifies that Bilig refreshes the stale 48000 result to 72000.

What This Is Not

This is not a full Excel clone and not a replacement for SheetJS file I/O. Keep SheetJS where it is strongest: parsing, writing, and transforming workbook files. Add this package only where the Node process must own recalculated formula readback before accepting, rejecting, returning, or persisting a workflow.

Review result.warnings and keep fixtures for unsupported functions, external workbook links, macros, volatile functions, and customer-critical templates.

Full docs: https://proompteng.github.io/bilig/sheetjs-formula-result-not-updating-node.html