docs.sheetjs.com/docz/docs/03-demos/20-cli/03-nexe.md

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Spreadsheet Tools with Nexe	nexe	demos/desktop/index	demos/data/index	summary Prebuilt NodeJS packages

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nexe¹ is a tool for generating command-line tools that embed scripts.

SheetJS is a JavaScript library for reading and writing data from spreadsheets.

This demo uses nexe and SheetJS to create a standalone CLI tool for parsing spreadsheets and converting to other formats.

:::info pass

The latest prebuilt package matches NodeJS version 14.15.3.

nexe can build the required packages for newer NodeJS versions.

:::

:::note Tested Deployments

This demo was tested in the following deployments:

Architecture	Version	NodeJS	Source	Date
darwin-x64	4.0.0-rc.6	14.15.3	Pre-built	2025-01-19
darwin-arm	4.0.0-rc.6	22.14.0	Compiled	2025-04-03
win11-x64	4.0.0-rc.6	14.15.3	Pre-built	2024-12-19
win11-arm	4.0.0-rc.6	22.14.0	Compiled	2025-02-23
linux-x64	4.0.0-rc.6	14.15.3	Pre-built	2024-12-31
linux-arm	4.0.0-rc.6	22.13.0	Compiled	2025-02-15

:::

Integration Details

The SheetJS NodeJS module can be required from scripts. nexe will automatically handle packaging.

Script Requirements

Scripts that exclusively use SheetJS libraries and NodeJS built-in modules can be bundled using nexe.

The demo script xlsx-cli.js runs in NodeJS. It is a simple command-line tool for reading and writing spreadsheets.

Complete Example

0. Download the test file https://docs.sheetjs.com/pres.numbers:

curl -o pres.numbers https://docs.sheetjs.com/pres.numbers

1. Download xlsx-cli.js

curl -o xlsx-cli.js https://docs.sheetjs.com/cli/xlsx-cli.js

2. Install the dependencies:

{`\ npm i --save https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/xlsx-${current}.tgz exit-on-epipe commander@2`} {`\ pnpm install --save https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/xlsx-${current}.tgz exit-on-epipe commander@2`} {`\ yarn add https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/xlsx-${current}.tgz exit-on-epipe commander@2`}

3. Create the standalone program:

npx -y nexe -t 14.15.3 xlsx-cli.js

Building from source (click to hide)

When the demo was tested on ARM targets, the Nexe pre-built packages were missing. For unsupported NodeJS versions, packages must be built from source:

npx -y nexe xlsx-cli.js --build --python=$(which python3) --make="-j8"

On Windows x64, the --build flag suffices:

npx -y nexe xlsx-cli.js --build --make="-j8"

On Windows ARM, the target windows-arm64-22.14.0 must be specified and the command must be run in a "Native Tools Command Prompt":

npx -y nexe xlsx-cli.js --build --make="-j8" --target=windows-arm64-22.14.0

vcbuild.bat issues

The Windows ARM build may fail with a vcbuild.bat error:

Error: vcbuild.bat nosign release arm64 exited with code: 1

Pass the --verbose flag for more details:

npx -y nexe xlsx-cli.js --build --make="-j8" --target=windows-arm64-22.14.0 --verbose

Common error messages:

"Python was not found"

Python was not found; run without arguments to install from the Microsoft Store, or disable this shortcut from Settings > Manage App Execution Aliases.

Out of the box, Windows 11 will alias python, redirecting unsuspecting users to the App Installer. This redirect must be disabled:

Type alias in the search bar and select "Manage app execution aliases", In the settings pane, scroll down and turn off the alias for python.exe.

"Could not find Python"

Could not find Python.

After installing Python using the official installer, the command should be run in a new terminal window.

Python version mismatch ("Please use")

Node.js configure: found Python 2.7.18
Please use python3.11 or python3.10 or python3.9 or python3.8 or python3.7 or python3.6

The resolved version of Python can be found with

where python

In some tests, a Python 2 version appeared first. This was fixed by finding the Python 3 location and prepending it to PATH:

set PATH="C:\correct\path\to\python\three";%PATH%

This generates xlsx-cli or xlsx-cli.exe depending on platform.

5. Run the generated program, passing pres.numbers as the argument:

./xlsx-cli pres.numbers

.\xlsx-cli.exe pres.numbers

The program should display CSV contents from the first sheet:

Name,Index
Bill Clinton,42
GeorgeW Bush,43
Barack Obama,44
Donald Trump,45
Joseph Biden,46

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1. The project does not have a website. The source repository is publicly available. ↩︎