XlsxWriter

3.2.9 · active · verified Sat Mar 28

XlsxWriter is a Python module for creating Excel XLSX files. It supports Python 3.8+ and PyPy3 and uses standard libraries only. It offers comprehensive features for writing, formatting, and customizing Excel spreadsheets, including charts, formulas, data validation, and images. It is actively maintained with regular releases.

Warnings

breaking XlsxWriter dropped support for Python 2 after release 2.0. Versions 3.0 and later are exclusively for Python 3.8+.
Fix: Ensure you are using Python 3.8 or newer for XlsxWriter versions > 2.0.
gotcha XlsxWriter is primarily for *creating* new XLSX files. It cannot read or modify existing Excel files directly. For modifying existing files, users often need to read with a different library (e.g., openpyxl) and then use XlsxWriter to write new content or use it as an engine with pandas.ExcelWriter for appending data.
Fix: If modification of existing files is required, consider using `openpyxl` for read/write operations or combine `pandas.ExcelWriter` with `openpyxl` as the engine for appending.
gotcha Failing to call `workbook.close()` will result in an unsaved or corrupted Excel file.
Fix: Always ensure `workbook.close()` is called after all write operations are complete, typically as the last step in your script. Using a `with` statement with `pandas.ExcelWriter` (which uses XlsxWriter as an engine) handles this automatically.
gotcha XlsxWriter uses zero-indexed rows and columns (e.g., `(0, 0)` for 'A1'), which can be confusing for users accustomed to 1-indexed Excel notation or A1-style strings. However, `worksheet.write()` also accepts A1-style notation.
Fix: Be mindful of zero-indexing when using `(row, col)` coordinates. If preferred, use A1-style cell notation (e.g., `'A1'`) with methods like `write()`.
gotcha When integrating with Pandas, `XlsxWriter` is typically specified as the engine for `pd.ExcelWriter(..., engine='xlsxwriter')`. In this scenario, you usually don't need to explicitly import `xlsxwriter` at the top of your script for basic dataframe output.
Fix: Understand that `pandas.ExcelWriter` handles the interaction with XlsxWriter when `engine='xlsxwriter'` is set. Direct `xlsxwriter` imports are primarily for standalone use or for advanced customizations that require direct access to XlsxWriter objects (like `workbook = writer.book`).

Install

pip install XlsxWriter Install XlsxWriter

Imports

xlsxwriter
```
import xlsxwriter
```
While you can import specific classes like Workbook, the standard and most common pattern is to import the top-level 'xlsxwriter' module and access classes via 'xlsxwriter.Workbook', 'xlsxwriter.Worksheet', etc.

Quickstart

This quickstart creates a new Excel file named `hello.xlsx`, adds a single worksheet, writes 'Hello XlsxWriter!' to cell A1, and saves the file.

import xlsxwriter

# Create a new Excel file and add a worksheet.
workbook = xlsxwriter.Workbook('hello.xlsx')
worksheet = workbook.add_worksheet()

# Write a simple string to cell A1.
worksheet.write('A1', 'Hello XlsxWriter!')

# Close the workbook to save the file.
workbook.close()
print("Created hello.xlsx")

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