vba-extractor

A CLI tool to export and import VBA source code from Office files (.xlsm, etc.) without Excel. Manage VBA modules as plain text files under version control.

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Installation

npm install -g vba-extractor

Usage

export — Extract VBA source from an Office file

vba-extractor export <input.xlsm> [output-dir] [--encoding <cp>]

| Argument | Description | |---|---| | <input.xlsm> | Target Office file | | [output-dir] | Output directory (defaults to the same directory as the input file) | | --encoding <cp> | Explicit code page (e.g. cp932, cp1252). Defaults to the PROJECTCODEPAGE stored in the file |

# Export .bas / .cls files to the current directory
vba-extractor export MyBook.xlsm

# Export to a specific directory
vba-extractor export MyBook.xlsm src/vba

import — Write VBA source back into an Office file

vba-extractor import <input.xlsm> <source-dir> [output.xlsm] [--encoding <cp>] [--yes]

| Argument | Description | |---|---| | <input.xlsm> | Target Office file | | <source-dir> | Directory containing the .bas / .cls files to write back | | [output.xlsm] | Output file (overwrites the input file if omitted) | | --encoding <cp> | Explicit code page. Defaults to the PROJECTCODEPAGE stored in the file | | --yes, -y | Skip the confirmation prompt (Create a backup and run import? [y/N]). Useful for scripts/AI agents calling import repeatedly |

# Write edited .bas / .cls files back into the xlsm
vba-extractor import MyBook.xlsm src/vba

# Save to a new file, keeping the original intact
vba-extractor import MyBook.xlsm src/vba MyBook_updated.xlsm

# Skip the confirmation prompt (for automation)
vba-extractor import MyBook.xlsm src/vba --yes

Creating a new .xlsm from scratch (Windows + Excel)

import requires an existing .xlsm file - it cannot create one from nothing. If you're starting from .bas files only (e.g. AI-generated or written by hand, with no Excel workbook yet), use the bundled PowerShell script to bootstrap the first .xlsm via Excel COM automation, then import to sync in everything else (class modules, sheet code, etc.):

# Requires Windows + a locally installed Excel, and Excel's "Trust access to the
# VBA project object model" (AccessVBOM) setting enabled.
powershell -File node_modules/vba-extractor/scripts/Build-Xlsm.ps1 -SourceDir src/vba -OutputPath MyBook.xlsm

# Sync .cls files (and re-sync .bas) into the newly created workbook
vba-extractor import MyBook.xlsm src/vba

If -OutputPath is relative, the script resolves it to an absolute path (based on its own working directory) before calling Workbook.SaveAs — this avoids it being resolved against Excel's own default working folder instead, since Excel runs as a separate COM-automated process.

See the script's own Get-Help -Full (or its header comment) for details and caveats.

Output format

| Module type | Extension | |---|---| | Standard module | .bas | | Class module / Form / Sheet object | .cls |

Related packages

• vba-runner — Run and test VBA code without Excel