Most spreadsheet work does not start in Excel. It starts in messy PDFs, statements, exports, agreements, and support folders.

AgentXL is built for that workflow:

• point to a local folder of source documents
• ask a question or give an instruction
• let the agent search the evidence and read the right files
• map the grounded result into Excel with traceability

Built for audit and diligence workflows first — useful anywhere document-heavy work ends in spreadsheets.

Quick Start

3 commands. That's it.

npm install -g agentxl
agentxl install
agentxl start

• npm install -g agentxl — installs AgentXL globally
• agentxl install — sets up HTTPS certificates and registers the add-in with Excel (one-time)
• agentxl start — starts the server and asks you to sign in with your AI provider

Then open Excel → AgentXL appears on the Home ribbon.

No Trust Center. No sideloading. No manifest files. Just agentxl start.

Windows — no coding required

1. Download the latest .zip from GitHub Releases
2. Extract to a folder (e.g. Desktop\AgentXL)
3. Double-click AgentXL.vbs
4. If sign-in is needed, run AgentXL Login.vbs first
5. Excel opens with AgentXL in the Home ribbon

The release ZIP is self-contained — bundled Node.js, no system install required.

AI provider

On first run, agentxl start asks how to connect:

| If you have... | Pick | Why | |---------------|------|-----| | Claude Pro/Max subscription | Option 1 — sign in with browser | Best quality, no extra cost | | ChatGPT Plus/Pro subscription | Option 2 — sign in with browser | If you already pay for ChatGPT | | GitHub Copilot subscription | Option 3 — sign in with browser | If you already have Copilot | | An API key | Option 5 — paste your key | Direct access, pay-per-use | | Nothing yet | Get a free OpenRouter key | Free models, no credit card |

Already use Pi? AgentXL shares credentials from ~/.pi/agent/auth.json. No extra login needed.

Use it

1. Open Excel → click AgentXL on the Home ribbon
2. Link a local folder containing your source documents
3. Ask a question — the agent searches the folder, reads the files, returns grounded answers

Example prompts:

• "Extract the relevant values from the source documents and map them into Excel."
• "Compare this trial balance folder to the lead sheet and flag mismatches."
• "Pull lease terms from these agreements into the lease schedule."
• "Show me which workbook cells came from which source files."

Don't see AgentXL in the ribbon?

After agentxl start says "✅ Add-in registered with Excel", restart Excel and check:

• Home ribbon → look for AgentXL
• Or: Insert → My Add-ins → SHARED FOLDER → AgentXL → Add

What AgentXL Is

AgentXL is not an Excel chatbot.

It is a document-to-Excel agent for evidence-heavy work.

The source of truth lives in documents. The final output lives in Excel. AgentXL sits in between:

• searching through local files
• reading the relevant documents
• extracting grounded facts
• reconciling across sources
• mapping outputs into workpapers
• preserving source traceability

This makes it a fit for:

• audit
• due diligence
• transaction support
• compliance reviews
• finance ops
• any workflow where messy documents become structured spreadsheets

What AgentXL Is Not

• Not classic RAG. No need to start with embeddings, vector DBs, and a retrieval stack.
• Not generic spreadsheet chat. The primary action is not "ask Excel a question."
• Not automation theater. The goal is reviewable outputs with sources, not flashy demos.
• Not a 36-tool architecture diagram. One parser, one model, direct file search, and an eval loop beat unnecessary layers.

The Method

AgentXL follows a simple method:

1. Parse the files — PDFs, Excel files, CSVs, statements, agreements
2. Search the folder agentically — inspect filenames, structure, metadata, and contents
3. Ask the model to extract or answer — one grounded task at a time
4. Map the result into Excel — workpapers, schedules, exception lists
5. Measure whether it was right — evals, failure analysis, correction loops
6. Improve the system — fix repeated failure patterns, then measure again

The core loop

Parse → Search → Ask → Evaluate → Fix → Repeat

How It Works

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                        YOUR MACHINE                         │
│                                                             │
│  Local document folder                                      │
│  PDFs / statements / CSVs / agreements / support files      │
│              │                                              │
│              ▼                                              │
│  ┌─────────────────┐        ┌───────────────────────────┐   │
│  │      Excel      │ HTTPS  │     AgentXL Server        │   │
│  │                 │◄──────►│     localhost:3001         │   │
│  │  Taskpane UI    │        │                           │   │
│  │  Office.js      │        │  agentic file search      │   │
│  │                 │        │  selective file reading    │   │
│  └─────────────────┘        │  model prompt + response   │   │
│                              │  SSE event streaming       │   │
│                              └──────────────┬────────────┘   │
│                                             │                │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┼────────────────┘
                                              │ model API
                                              ▼
                                 ┌──────────────────────────┐
                                 │ Anthropic / OpenAI /     │
                                 │ OpenRouter / Azure /     │
                                 │ Google / Copilot         │
                                 └──────────────────────────┘

Supported Providers

Subscriptions (sign in with your browser)

| Provider | What You Need | Best for | |----------|---------------|----------| | Anthropic | Claude Pro or Max ($20/mo) | Best quality | | OpenAI Codex | ChatGPT Plus or Pro ($20/mo) | Already paying for ChatGPT | | GitHub Copilot | Copilot Individual or Business | Already have Copilot | | Google | Cloud Code Assist (Gemini CLI) | Google Cloud users |

API Keys (paste your key)

| Provider | Models | Best for | |----------|--------|----------| | Anthropic | Claude Sonnet, Opus | Direct API access | | OpenAI | GPT-4o, GPT-4 Turbo | Direct API access | | OpenRouter | 100+ models | Cheapest — free models available |

Cheapest: OpenRouter has free-tier models. No credit card needed.

Switch anytime: agentxl login

Privacy & Security

• Local-only server. Binds to 127.0.0.1 — not accessible from your network.
• No telemetry. No analytics. No data collection. No phone-home.
• No account required. No sign-up with us. Ever.
• Your API key stays local. Stored in ~/.pi/agent/auth.json on your machine.
• Open source. Read every line of code. MIT license.

When you ask the agent about your documents, the relevant content is sent to your chosen model provider as part of the prompt. This is the only external communication.

CLI Reference

agentxl start [--port 3001] [--verbose]    Start the server
agentxl install [--open]                    Register add-in with Excel (one-time)
agentxl login                               Set up or change authentication
agentxl --version                           Print version
agentxl --help                              Show help

Troubleshooting

Taskpane is blank or won't load

1. Is the server running? Check for ✅ Server running in your terminal.
2. Does it work in the browser? Open https://localhost:3001/taskpane/
3. Certificate not trusted? Run agentxl install to re-trust certs, or: npx office-addin-dev-certs install

Add-in doesn't appear in Excel

agentxl start registers the add-in automatically on first run. If it still doesn't show:

1. Restart Excel
2. Check Insert → My Add-ins → SHARED FOLDER → AgentXL
3. Or run agentxl install manually to re-register

Port 3001 already in use

agentxl start --port 3002

"No model available"

agentxl login

Building the Windows release

npm run prepare:release:win

Creates a self-contained ZIP in release/windows/dist/ — portable Node.js + app + launchers. GitHub Actions builds this automatically on tagged releases.

Requirements

• Node.js 20+
• Microsoft Excel desktop (Windows or Mac)
• An AI provider — subscription or API key

Development

git clone https://github.com/satish860/agentxl.git
cd agentxl
npm install
npm run build
npm test
node bin/agentxl.js start

Roadmap

| Module | What | Status | |--------|------|--------| | Module 1 | Local taskpane shell, auth, and streaming chat | ✅ Done | | Module 2 | Folder-first workflow: link folders, scan files, agent reads documents | ✅ Done | | Module 3 | Source extraction, traceable citations, and Excel mapping | 🔜 Next | | Module 4 | Eval loop, failure analysis, and workflow hardening | Planned |

License

MIT — DeltaXY

Built with Pi Coding Agent SDK.