---
id: pyexcel-xls
version: "0.7.1"
license: New BSD
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: aging
---

# pyexcel-xls — A wrapper library to read, manipulate and write data in xls format. Itreads xlsx and xlsm format

License: permissive · Maintenance: aging · Downloads: 1.8M/mo

## What it is and what it does

pyexcel-xls is a lightweight wrapper around xlrd and xlwt that abstracts away the details of reading and writing xls files. It lets you work with spreadsheet data as Python dictionaries and lists, handling the format conversion transparently. You can read from or write to files on disk or in memory, and it integrates with pyexcel to provide a higher-level interface if you want it.

The package supports xls natively and can read xlsx and xlsm files, though xlsx support is conditional on your xlrd version—if xlrd >= 2 is installed, you'll need pyexcel-xlsx for xlsx files instead. It includes pagination features to read partial data (by row or column range) and options to detect merged cells or skip hidden rows and columns, though these may slow performance. Fonts, colors, charts, and password protection are not supported.

Use it for:

- Programmatically generate xls reports from Python data structures for download or archival
- Read xls files uploaded by users and parse them into dictionaries for processing
- Extract a subset of rows or columns from a large xls file without loading the entire sheet
- Integrate xls file handling into a pyexcel workflow for multi-format spreadsheet support
- Convert data between xls and other formats via pyexcel's plugin ecosystem

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Reads, manipulates, and writes data in xls format; also reads xlsx and xlsm files. Works as a standalone library or as a plugin for pyexcel.

Yes, if you need to read or write xls files and can work within its constraints (65k row limit, no formatting support, xlrd version dependency for xlsx). The low install friction, permissive license, and stable API make it a straightforward choice for basic xls I/O. The aging maintenance status is a minor concern but not a blocker—the package is mature and the repository is not archived.

## Install

pip install pyexcel-xls
uv add pyexcel-xls
poetry add pyexcel-xls

## Installing pyexcel-xls

Before you install: Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel. Maintenance status is aging—last release was in March 2025, with no commits since April 2025, though the repository remains active and unarchived.

License in practice: Licensed under New BSD (permissive), so you can use, modify, and distribute the package freely in commercial and private projects with minimal restrictions.

Quickstart:

pip install pyexcel-xls

from pyexcel_xls import get_data, save_data
from collections import OrderedDict

data = OrderedDict()
data.update({"Sheet 1": [[1, 2, 3], [4, 5, 6]]})
save_data("file.xls", data)

read_data = get_data("file.xls")

xls files cannot contain more than 65,000 rows. xlsx support depends on the installed version of xlrd: xlrd >= 2 will not read xlsx format; use pyexcel-xlsx for xlsx if xlrd >= 2 is installed.

Verify before relying:

- Whether datetime.timedelta round-trip behavior (written as timedelta, read back as datetime) is acceptable for your use case
- Performance impact of detect_merged_cells and skip_hidden_row_and_column options on large files
- Whether the package's lack of support for fonts, colors, charts, and password-protected files meets your requirements

## Package facts

- License: New BSD (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: aging
- Downloads: 1.8M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

read write xls files, excel spreadsheet manipulation, xls xlsx xlsm parser, python excel data handling, xls format wrapper library, spreadsheet-io, xls-xlsx-xlsm

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/pyexcel-xls) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/pyexcel-xls/)