n8n-nodes-xlsx

Community node for n8n that replicates the functionality of the Google Sheets node, but working on xlsx files passed in and returned as binary data ($binary), entirely in memory. No reading or writing to disk: the file comes in as a Buffer, is modified with exceljs and comes out as a Buffer ready to be saved.

• Binary in → Binary out: if you pass an existing xlsx it modifies it, otherwise it creates a new one.
• Data operations Google Sheets style: Append, Upsert, Update, Read, Clear, Delete, Create/List Sheet.
• Two-level styling: Simple mode (everything from the interface, without writing code) and Advanced (exceljs-compatible JSON for complex cases).
• Multi-sheet: every operation has a Sheet Name parameter.
• Zero Google/OAuth dependencies.

Installation

From the n8n interface (recommended)

1. In n8n go to Settings → Community Nodes.
2. Click Install and enter the package name:

   n8n-nodes-xlsx

3. Confirm. After installation the XLSX node appears in the node palette.

Manual (self-hosted / development)

# in your n8n custom nodes folder (~/.n8n/custom or the project folder)
npm install n8n-nodes-xlsx
# or, locally from source:
git clone <repo> && cd n8n-nodes-xlsx
npm install
npm run build

Then restart n8n. For development you can link the package with npm link.

Requirements

• Node.js ≥ 18.10
• n8n ≥ 1.x (community node API version 1)
• No credentials: the node does not connect to external services.

Operations overview

| Operation | What it is for | Modifies the binary? | Output | |---|---|---|---| | Append | Adds rows at the bottom of the sheet | Yes | Updated binary | | Append or Update (Upsert) | Updates the rows with a matching key, adds the others | Yes | Updated binary | | Update | Updates only the rows with a matching key | Yes | Updated binary | | Read Rows | Reads the rows as JSON (with optional filters) | No (unchanged) | JSON items + unchanged binary | | Clear | Empties a range or all the sheet data | Yes | Updated binary | | Delete Rows | Deletes rows and shifts the following ones up | Yes | Updated binary | | Delete Columns | Deletes columns and shifts the following ones left | Yes | Updated binary | | Create Sheet | Adds a new sheet to the workbook | Yes | Updated binary | | List Sheets | Returns the sheet names as JSON | No | JSON items (one per sheet) |

Parameter details, input/output examples and the schema of the fields visible in the UI: 👉 docs/operations.md

Complete styling guide (Simple presets + copyable Advanced examples): 👉 docs/styling.md

End-to-end example workflows: 👉 docs/recipes.md

How the binary works (important)

These three settings live under Options in the node panel (click Add Option). The defaults work out of the box, so most workflows never need to touch them.

• Input Binary Field (default data): name of the binary field that contains the incoming xlsx. The node looks for the first input item that has this field and uses it as the starting workbook. If no item has that binary, a new workbook is created from scratch.
• Output Binary Field (default data): name of the outgoing binary field that carries the resulting xlsx.
• Output File Name (default spreadsheet.xlsx): file name attached to the output binary.

JSON data convention

The data follows the n8n convention: an array of objects, where the keys = column names (first row of the sheet) and the values = cells. Example:

[
  { "id": 1, "name": "Ada",   "role": "engineer" },
  { "id": 2, "name": "Grace", "role": "admiral"  }
]

Becomes:

| id | name  | role     |
|----|-------|----------|
| 1  | Ada   | engineer |
| 2  | Grace | admiral  |

Development

npm install          # install the dependencies
npm run build        # compile TypeScript into dist/ and copy the assets (icon, metadata)
npm test             # run the jest suite (operations + styling)
npm run lint         # type-check without emitting files

Bonus: migration from Google Sheets

The convertGoogleSheetsConfig function (in nodes/Xlsx/lib/convert.ts) translates the configuration of the native Google Sheets node into the equivalent parameters of this node (maps operation, sheetName, columnToMatchOn, range). Useful for migrating existing workflows.

License

MIT