Online xlsxwriter Compiler

Create Excel (.xlsx) files from Python in your browser, with formatting, formulas, charts and pandas DataFrames.

Python

import xlsxwriter

# Create an new Excel file and add a worksheet.
workbook = xlsxwriter.Workbook("demo.xlsx")
worksheet = workbook.add_worksheet()

# Widen the first column to make the text clearer.
worksheet.set_column("A:A", 20)

# Add a bold format to use to highlight cells.
bold = workbook.add_format({"bold": True})

# Write some simple text.
worksheet.write("A1", "Hello")

# Text with formatting.
worksheet.write("A2", "World", bold)

# Write some numbers, with row/column notation.
worksheet.write(2, 0, 123)
worksheet.write(3, 0, 123.456)

workbook.close()
print(f"Saved demo.xlsx with worksheet {worksheet.name!r}")

Click Run or press shift + ENTER to run code

Saved demo.xlsx with worksheet 'Sheet1'

XlsxWriter writes Excel .xlsx files from Python. It handles cell formatting, formulas, charts, conditional formatting, data validation and images, and it produces files that open cleanly in Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice. It only writes. To read or change a workbook that already exists, use openpyxl instead. This page is an online XlsxWriter compiler: the code runs in your browser, so you can try it without installing anything. Run the example first, then paste any snippet below into a new cell to try it.

What the example does

xlsxwriter.Workbook("demo.xlsx") starts a workbook and add_worksheet() adds a sheet named "Sheet1". set_column("A:A", 20) widens column A. add_format({"bold": True}) creates a format that any write() call can use. Cells can be addressed as "A1" or as (row, column), where both numbers start at zero, so write(2, 0, 123) fills A3. Nothing is written to disk until workbook.close().

Formulas

import xlsxwriter

with xlsxwriter.Workbook("totals.xlsx") as workbook:
    worksheet = workbook.add_worksheet()
    worksheet.write_column("A1", [120, 135, 150])
    worksheet.write_formula("A4", "=SUM(A1:A3)")

Using with closes the workbook for you. XlsxWriter does not calculate formulas: Excel does that when the file is opened. A program that reads the file without Excel sees 0 in A4 unless you pass the result yourself, as in write_formula("A4", "=SUM(A1:A3)", None, 405).

Add a chart

Charts are native Excel charts, so they stay editable:

import xlsxwriter

with xlsxwriter.Workbook("chart.xlsx") as workbook:
    worksheet = workbook.add_worksheet("Sales")
    worksheet.write_row("A1", ["Quarter", "Sales"])
    worksheet.write_column("A2", ["Q1", "Q2", "Q3"])
    worksheet.write_column("B2", [120, 135, 150])

    chart = workbook.add_chart({"type": "column"})
    chart.add_series({
        "name": "Sales",
        "categories": "=Sales!$A$2:$A$4",
        "values": "=Sales!$B$2:$B$4",
    })
    worksheet.insert_chart("D2", chart)

Write a pandas DataFrame

pandas can use XlsxWriter as its Excel engine, and you can still reach the worksheet to format it:

import pandas as pd

df = pd.DataFrame({"Quarter": ["Q1", "Q2", "Q3"], "Sales": [120, 135, 150]})

with pd.ExcelWriter("report.xlsx", engine="xlsxwriter") as writer:
    df.to_excel(writer, sheet_name="Sales", index=False)
    writer.sheets["Sales"].set_column("A:B", 14)

Highlight values

Conditional formats are kept as rules, so Excel updates the colours when the numbers change:

import xlsxwriter

with xlsxwriter.Workbook("scores.xlsx") as workbook:
    worksheet = workbook.add_worksheet()
    worksheet.write_column("A1", [45, 72, 88, 91, 60])
    worksheet.conditional_format("A1:A5", {"type": "3_color_scale"})

Getting the file

Files your code saves, like demo.xlsx, appear in the sidebar's Data tab. Running code and inspecting the result is free. Downloading the files requires a Premium plan.

Good to know

XlsxWriter cannot open an existing file. xlsxwriter.Workbook("demo.xlsx") on a file that exists starts an empty workbook, and closing it replaces the file.
Worksheet names can be at most 31 characters and cannot contain [ ] : * ? / \. XlsxWriter raises InvalidWorksheetName otherwise.
For very large sheets, xlsxwriter.Workbook("big.xlsx", {"constant_memory": True}) writes each row as soon as the next begins, which keeps memory flat. Rows then have to be written in order.