pyexcel
A wrapper library that provides one API to read, manipulate and writedata in different excel formats
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. pyexcel is actively maintained, has low install friction, carries a permissive license, and solves a real problem—unifying access to multiple spreadsheet formats. It is well-suited for data extraction, format conversion, and tabular data handling. Install it if you work with multiple file formats and want to avoid format-specific boilerplate; skip it if you only need to work with a single format or require advanced formatting preservation.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.6 or later.
- Fonts, colors, charts, and password-protected XLS/XLSX/ODS files are not supported.
- Low friction installation with three lightweight runtime dependencies (lml, pyexcel-io, texttable).
License · maintenance · safety
New BSD (permissive) — Licensed under New BSD (permissive), allowing commercial and private use with minimal restrictions beyond attribution and liability disclaimers.
last release 2026-06-29 (46 days) · last repo commit 2026-07-01 · 1,293 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 2,264,211 downloads/mo, #3,181 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install pyexcel
import pyexcel as p
records = p.get_records(file_name="data.xls")
for row in records:
print(row)- Whether streaming APIs (iget_records, iget_array, isave_as, isave_book_as) are production-ready for large datasets
- Performance characteristics and memory usage for files with thousands of rows
- Compatibility with recent Excel versions and edge cases in XLSX/XLSM handling
What it is and what it does
pyexcel abstracts away the complexity of working with different spreadsheet and tabular file formats by providing a unified Python API. Instead of learning separate libraries for CSV, Excel, ODS, and JSON, you work with a single set of functions that handle reading, writing, and converting between formats transparently. The package supports multiple data sources—physical files, in-memory data, SQLAlchemy tables, Django models, and Python data structures—and can return results as dictionaries, arrays, or records.
The library is designed for developers who need to move data between formats or extract tabular information without worrying about format-specific quirks. It supports streaming for large datasets through generator-based APIs and handles multiple sheets in workbooks. However, it does not preserve formatting (fonts, colors, charts) or read password-protected files, so it is best suited for data extraction and transformation rather than document preservation.
Use it for
- Extract data from an Excel file and convert it to CSV or JSON for processing or sharing
- Read multiple sheets from a workbook into Python dictionaries or arrays for analysis
- Batch convert a folder of XLS files to XLSX or other formats using a single API
- Load tabular data from various sources (CSV, ODS, JSON) into a consistent in-memory structure
- Stream large spreadsheets as generators to avoid loading entire files into memory
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
pyexcel is actively maintained, has low install friction, carries a permissive license, and solves a real problem—unifying access to multiple spreadsheet formats. It is well-suited for data extraction, format conversion, and tabular data handling. Install it if you work with multiple file formats and want to avoid format-specific boilerplate; skip it if you only need to work with a single format or require advanced formatting preservation.
Install
pyexcel on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction installation with three lightweight runtime dependencies (lml, pyexcel-io, texttable). The package is actively maintained with a recent release and 1293 repository stars, indicating stable ongoing support.
Requires Python 3.6 or later. Fonts, colors, charts, and password-protected XLS/XLSX/ODS files are not supported.
License in practice
Licensed under New BSD (permissive), allowing commercial and private use with minimal restrictions beyond attribution and liability disclaimers.
Quickstart
pip install pyexcel
import pyexcel as p
records = p.get_records(file_name="data.xls")
for row in records:
print(row)Verify before relying
- Whether streaming APIs (iget_records, iget_array, isave_as, isave_book_as) are production-ready for large datasets
- Performance characteristics and memory usage for files with thousands of rows
- Compatibility with recent Excel versions and edge cases in XLSX/XLSM handling
Package facts
| License | New BSD permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.6 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 3 packageslmlpyexcel-iotexttable |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 46 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 2,264,211 / month, #3,181 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 3 - AlphaIntended Audience :: DevelopersProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3 :: OnlyProgramming Language :: Python :: 3.6Programming Language :: Python :: 3.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Topic :: Software Development :: Libraries |
Evidence: pyexcel-0.7.6-py2.py3-none-any.whl
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See also pyexcel-io · pyexcel-webio · pyexcel-xls · tablib · pyexcel-ods3 · pyexcel-xlsx · EbookLib · pyexcel-ezodf · parquet · linear-tsv