Fast XLSX Reader

1.1.3 · active · verified Thu Apr 16

Pyxlsx is a fast and memory-efficient Python library designed for reading data from XLSX (Excel) files. It focuses on parsing core data, shared strings, and basic styling, making it suitable for high-performance data extraction. The current stable version is 1.1.3, and releases are typically made for bug fixes and minor improvements as needed.

Common errors

```
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'lxml'
```
cause The essential `lxml` dependency was not installed correctly or is missing from your environment.

fix Run `pip install lxml` or `pip install pyxlsx` (which should pull `lxml`). If `lxml` installation fails, consult its documentation for system-specific prerequisites.
```
FileNotFoundError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: 'your_file.xlsx'
```
cause The path to the XLSX file provided to `pyxlsx.Reader` is incorrect or the file does not exist at the specified location.

fix Verify the file path is absolute or correct relative to your script's execution directory. Double-check the filename and extension.
```
ValueError: Invalid XML: missing required element 'worksheet'
```
cause The XLSX file is either corrupted, not a valid XLSX file, or encrypted/password-protected in a way `pyxlsx` cannot handle.

fix Ensure the `.xlsx` file is valid and can be opened in Excel or another spreadsheet program. Try opening and re-saving the file, or use a different file. `pyxlsx` does not support encrypted files.

Warnings

gotcha Pyxlsx is a reader-only library. It does not support writing, modifying, or creating XLSX files. Features like macros, charts, and complex formulas are also not parsed.
Fix: For writing or full manipulation, consider libraries like `openpyxl` or `xlsxwriter`.
gotcha The `lxml` dependency can sometimes be challenging to install, especially on systems without pre-compiled wheels or proper C compiler setup. It's crucial for `pyxlsx`'s performance.
Fix: Ensure `lxml` is installed successfully. On some systems, you might need to install development headers (e.g., `sudo apt-get install libxml2-dev libxslt1-dev` on Debian/Ubuntu, or `brew install libxml2 libxslt` on macOS) before `pip install lxml`.
gotcha Pyxlsx provides basic parsing of cell values. While it handles basic number and date formatting, complex date/time formats, custom number formats, or cells with errors might be returned as their raw underlying value or require additional post-processing.
Fix: Inspect output for specific cell types. For dates, consider using `datetime.datetime.fromtimestamp` or similar after parsing if the raw numeric value is returned.

Install

pip install pyxlsx Install stable version

Imports

Reader
```
from pyxlsx import Reader
```

Quickstart

This quickstart demonstrates how to create a simple XLSX file using `openpyxl` and then read its contents using `pyxlsx`. It shows basic row iteration and includes cleanup.

import openpyxl
import os
from pyxlsx import Reader

# Create a dummy XLSX file for demonstration
file_path = "example.xlsx"
workbook = openpyxl.Workbook()
sheet = workbook.active
sheet['A1'] = "Name"
sheet['B1'] = "Age"
sheet['A2'] = "Alice"
sheet['B2'] = 30
sheet['A3'] = "Bob"
sheet['B3'] = 24
workbook.save(file_path)

print(f"Created dummy file: {file_path}")

# Use pyxlsx to read the file
try:
    reader = Reader(file_path)
    # pyxlsx iterators are one-pass; convert to list if you need to iterate multiple times
    rows_data = list(reader.rows())
    
    if rows_data:
        print("Header row:", rows_data[0])
        print("Data rows:")
        for row in rows_data[1:]:
            print(row)
    else:
        print("No data found in the file.")

except FileNotFoundError:
    print(f"Error: The file {file_path} was not found. Please ensure it exists.")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"An unexpected error occurred: {e}")
finally:
    # Clean up the dummy file
    if os.path.exists(file_path):
        os.remove(file_path)
        print(f"Cleaned up dummy file: {file_path}")

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