---
id: xlutils
version: "2.0.0"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: abandoned
---

# xlutils — Utilities for working with Excel files that require both xlrd and xlwt

License: permissive · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 1.0M/mo

## What it is and what it does

xlutils is a collection of utilities that work with Excel files by combining functionality from xlrd and xlwt. It provides modules for copying Excel workbooks, displaying spreadsheet information, filtering and splitting files, detecting data margins, saving modified workbooks, and manipulating cell styles. The package acts as a bridge between xlrd and xlwt, which were designed separately and do not directly interoperate.

The package is mature but abandoned, with its last release in 2016-06-09. It supports Python 2 and early Python 3 versions according to classifiers. While it has no known security vulnerabilities, its age raises questions about compatibility with modern Python versions and current Excel formats.

Use it for:

- Read an Excel file with xlrd, modify its content, and write it back using xlutils.copy and xlutils.save.
- Filter or split large Excel files into smaller workbooks based on row or column criteria using xlutils.filter.
- Determine how much of an Excel file contains actual data versus empty cells using xlutils.margins.
- Copy formatting and styles from one Excel workbook to another using xlutils.styles.

## Worth the install?

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

xlutils provides utilities for reading, writing, copying, and filtering Excel files by bridging xlrd and xlwt packages.

No—not for new projects. The package is abandoned (last release 2016-06-09) and receives no active maintenance. Only consider xlutils if you must maintain legacy code that already depends on it.

## Install

pip install xlutils
uv add xlutils
poetry add xlutils

## Installing xlutils

Before you install: Low install friction with only two runtime dependencies (xlrd and xlwt). However, the package is abandoned—last release was 2016-06-09, over 3718 days ago. No active maintenance or security updates.

License in practice: MIT license is permissive and poses no restrictions on use, modification, or distribution in commercial or private projects.

Quickstart:

pip install xlutils

from xlrd import open_workbook
from xlutils.copy import copy
from xlutils.save import save

rb = open_workbook('input.xls')
wb = copy(rb)
save(wb, 'output.xls')

Verify before relying:

- Whether xlrd and xlwt dependencies remain compatible with current Python versions given xlutils' age.
- Whether the package works reliably with modern Excel file formats or is limited to legacy .xls.
- Active community support or maintained alternatives for Excel manipulation.

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 1.0M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

excel file utilities, xlrd xlwt bridge, copy excel workbooks, filter excel files, excel spreadsheet tools, excel-legacy, abandoned

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