sheetjs-formula-recalc

Recalculate SheetJS / xlsx formula workbooks in Node.js without opening Excel, LibreOffice, or a browser.

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.

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 xlsx-formula-recalc, so teams searching for a SheetJS answer can find the right boundary directly.

Install

npm install sheetjs-formula-recalc

CLI

Run a self-contained proof first:

npx --package sheetjs-formula-recalc sheetjs-recalc --demo --json

For a real workbook:

npx --package 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 '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.

Related

• SheetJS formula result not updating in Node.js
• XLSX formula recalculation in Node.js
• SheetJS and ExcelJS boundary guide
• xlsx-formula-recalc
• @bilig/headless