---
title: Command-Line Tools
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sidebar_custom_props:
  cli: true
---

import current from '/version.js';
import Tabs from '@theme/Tabs';
import TabItem from '@theme/TabItem';

With the availability of JS engines and the success of server-side platforms,
it is feasible to build command-line tools for various workflows.

This demo covers a number of strategies for building standalone processors. The
goal is to generate CSV output from an arbitrary spreadsheet file.

## Deno

`deno compile` generates a standalone executable that includes the entire JS
runtime as well as user JS code.

When compiling, the `--allow-read` option must be specified to allow the script
to read files from the filesystem with `Deno.readFileSync`.

<https://docs.sheetjs.com/cli/sheet2csv.ts> can be compiled and run from Deno:

0) Download the test file <https://sheetjs.com/pres.numbers>:

```bash
curl -LO https://sheetjs.com/pres.numbers
```

1) Test the script with `deno run`:

```bash
deno run -r --allow-read https://docs.sheetjs.com/cli/sheet2csv.ts pres.numbers
```

If this worked, the program will print a CSV of the first worksheet.

2) Compile and run `sheet2csv`:

```bash
deno compile -r --allow-read https://docs.sheetjs.com/cli/sheet2csv.ts
./sheet2csv pres.numbers
```

## NodeJS

There are a few popular tools for compiling NodeJS scripts to CLI programs.

The demo script presents a friendly command line interface including flags:

```bash
$ ./xlsx-cli -h
Usage: xlsx-cli [options] <file> [sheetname]

Options:
  -V, --version            output the version number
  -f, --file <file>        use specified workbook
  -s, --sheet <sheet>      print specified sheet (default first sheet)
...
```

1) Download [`xlsx-cli.js`](pathname:///cli/xlsx-cli.js)

2) Install the dependencies:

<Tabs>
  <TabItem value="npm" label="npm">
<pre><code parentName="pre" {...{"className": "language-bash"}}>{`\
npm i --save https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/xlsx-${current}.tgz exit-on-epipe commander@2`}
</code></pre>
  </TabItem>
  <TabItem value="pnpm" label="pnpm">
<pre><code parentName="pre" {...{"className": "language-bash"}}>{`\
pnpm install https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/xlsx-${current}.tgz exit-on-epipe commander@2`}
</code></pre>
  </TabItem>
  <TabItem value="yarn" label="Yarn" default>
<pre><code parentName="pre" {...{"className": "language-bash"}}>{`\
yarn add https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/xlsx-${current}.tgz exit-on-epipe commander@2`}
</code></pre>
  </TabItem>
</Tabs>

3) Follow tooling steps:

<Tabs>
  <TabItem value="nexe" label="Nexe">

Run `nexe` and manually specify NodeJS version 14.15.3

```bash
npx nexe -t 14.15.3 xlsx-cli.js
```

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

  </TabItem>
  <TabItem value="pkg" label="pkg">

Run `pkg`:

```bash
npx pkg xlsx-cli.js
```

This generates `xlsx-cli-linux`, `xlsx-cli-macos`, and `xlsx-cli-win.exe` .

  </TabItem>
</Tabs>