MCPInstall

sheets-terminal-spreadsheet

Terminal-based spreadsheet TUI tool written in Go for editing CSV files in the terminal with vim-like keybindings

Installs
727
Last 24h
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Trending rank
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Security
Not audited

Install

Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.

npx skills add https://github.com/reason-machines/trending-skills --skill sheets-terminal-spreadsheet
  1. 01

    Install

    Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.

  2. 02

    Describe the task

    Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads sheets-terminal-spreadsheet automatically when relevant.

  3. 03

    Review the result

    The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.

SKILL.md

The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.

Sheets Terminal Spreadsheet

Skill by ara.so — Daily 2026 Skills collection.

Sheets is a terminal-based spreadsheet TUI (Terminal User Interface) for viewing and editing CSV files directly in your terminal. It features vim-style navigation, formula support, visual selection, search, undo/redo, and a command mode — all without leaving the terminal.


Installation

Using Go

go install github.com/maaslalani/sheets@main

Download Binary

Download a prebuilt binary from GitHub Releases.

Verify Installation

sheets --help

CLI Usage

Launch the TUI

sheets budget.csv

Read from stdin

sheets <<< "ID,Name,Age
1,Alice,24
2,Bob,32
3,Charlie,26"

Or pipe from another command:

cat data.csv | sheets

Read a Specific Cell

sheets budget.csv B9
# Output: 2760

Read a Cell Range

sheets budget.csv B1:B3
# Output:
# 1200
# 950
# 810

Modify Cells (Non-Interactive)

# Set one cell
sheets budget.csv B7=10

# Set multiple cells
sheets budget.csv B7=10 B8=20

Navigation Keybindings

Basic Movement

KeyAction
h, j, k, lMove left, down, up, right
ggJump to top
GJump to bottom
5GJump to row 5
gB9Jump to cell B9
0Jump to first column
^Jump to first non-empty column in row
$Jump to last non-empty column in row
H / M / LJump to top / middle / bottom visible row
ctrl+u / ctrl+dMove half page up / down

View Alignment

KeyAction
ztAlign current row to top of window
zzAlign current row to middle of window
zbAlign current row to bottom of window

Search

KeyAction
/Search forward
?Search backward
nRepeat last search (forward)
NRepeat last search (backward)

Marks & Jump List

KeyAction
maSet mark a at current cell
'aJump to mark a
ctrl+oMove backward through jump list
ctrl+iMove forward through jump list

Editing Keybindings

Insert Mode

KeyAction
iEdit current cell
IEdit from start of cell
cClear cell and start editing
ESCLeave insert / visual / command mode
enterCommit and move down
tabCommit and move right
shift+tabCommit and move left
ctrl+nCommit and move down
ctrl+pCommit and move up

Row Operations

KeyAction
oInsert row below and start editing
OInsert row above and start editing
ddDelete current row

Copy / Cut / Paste

KeyAction
yYank (copy) current cell
yyYank current row(s)
xCut current cell or selection
pPaste current register

Undo / Redo

KeyAction
uUndo
ctrl+rRedo
UUndo all changes
.Repeat last change

Visual Mode

Enter visual mode with v (cell selection) or V (row selection).

KeyAction
vStart visual cell selection
VStart visual row selection
=Insert formula after selected range (e.g., =|(B1:B8))

Command Mode

Press : to open the command prompt.

CommandAction
:wSave file
:w path.csvSave to a new file
:e path.csvOpen another CSV file
:qQuit
:wqSave and quit
:goto B9Jump to cell B9
:B9Jump to cell B9 (shorthand)

Common Patterns

Create a New CSV and Edit It

# Create a CSV with headers
echo "Name,Amount,Category" > budget.csv
sheets budget.csv

Pipe CSV Data and Edit

# Generate CSV from a database query and edit in sheets
psql -c "COPY (SELECT * FROM sales) TO STDOUT WITH CSV HEADER" | sheets

Script: Update a Cell Programmatically

#!/bin/bash
# Update Q4 value in financial report
sheets report.csv D4=95000 D5=102000 D6=88000
echo "Updated Q4 values in report.csv"

Script: Extract a Range for Processing

#!/bin/bash
# Extract column B rows 1-10 and sum them in bash
values=$(sheets data.csv B1:B10)
total=0
while IFS= read -r line; do
    total=$((total + line))
done <<< "$values"
echo "Total: $total"

Script: Read a Specific Cell in a Shell Script

#!/bin/bash
# Get current budget total from spreadsheet
budget_total=$(sheets budget.csv C15)
if [ "$budget_total" -gt 10000 ]; then
    echo "Budget exceeded!"
fi

Go Integration Example

If building a Go application that generates CSV for use with sheets:

package main

import (
    "encoding/csv"
    "fmt"
    "os"
    "os/exec"
)

func createAndOpenSpreadsheet(data [][]string, filename string) error {
    // Write CSV data
    f, err := os.Create(filename)
    if err != nil {
        return fmt.Errorf("creating file: %w", err)
    }
    defer f.Close()

    w := csv.NewWriter(f)
    if err := w.WriteAll(data); err != nil {
        return fmt.Errorf("writing CSV: %w", err)
    }
    w.Flush()

    // Open in sheets TUI
    cmd := exec.Command("sheets", filename)
    cmd.Stdin = os.Stdin
    cmd.Stdout = os.Stdout
    cmd.Stderr = os.Stderr
    return cmd.Run()
}

func main() {
    data := [][]string{
        {"Month", "Revenue", "Expenses", "Profit"},
        {"January", "12000", "8500", "3500"},
        {"February", "13500", "9200", "4300"},
        {"March", "11800", "8900", "2900"},
    }

    if err := createAndOpenSpreadsheet(data, "monthly_report.csv"); err != nil {
        fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error: %v\n", err)
        os.Exit(1)
    }
}

Go: Read a Cell Non-Interactively

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "os/exec"
    "strings"
)

func readCell(csvFile, cell string) (string, error) {
    out, err := exec.Command("sheets", csvFile, cell).Output()
    if err != nil {
        return "", fmt.Errorf("reading cell %s: %w", cell, err)
    }
    return strings.TrimSpace(string(out)), nil
}

func readRange(csvFile, cellRange string) ([]string, error) {
    out, err := exec.Command("sheets", csvFile, cellRange).Output()
    if err != nil {
        return nil, fmt.Errorf("reading range %s: %w", cellRange, err)
    }
    lines := strings.Split(strings.TrimSpace(string(out)), "\n")
    return lines, nil
}

func main() {
    total, err := readCell("budget.csv", "B9")
    if err != nil {
        fmt.Println("Error:", err)
        return
    }
    fmt.Println("Budget total:", total)

    values, err := readRange("budget.csv", "B1:B6")
    if err != nil {
        fmt.Println("Error:", err)
        return
    }
    fmt.Println("Monthly values:", values)
}

Tips for AI Agents

Suggesting Sheets for CSV Tasks

When a user wants to view or edit CSV files in the terminal, suggest sheets:

# Instead of cat data.csv
sheets data.csv

# Instead of awk/sed edits for simple changes
sheets data.csv B3=new_value

Formula Insertion Workflow

  1. Navigate to the column where you want the formula
  2. Enter visual mode with v
  3. Select the range (e.g., B1:B8)
  4. Press = to insert formula after the selection: =|(B1:B8)

Efficient Navigation (Vim Users)

Sheets uses vim-style navigation — users familiar with vim can be productive immediately:

  • gg/G for top/bottom
  • hjkl for movement
  • i/c for insert modes
  • dd to delete rows
  • u/ctrl+r for undo/redo
  • / for search

Troubleshooting

sheets command not found

# Ensure Go bin directory is in PATH
export PATH=$PATH:$(go env GOPATH)/bin

# Or install again and verify
go install github.com/maaslalani/sheets@main
which sheets

File Not Saved After Editing

Use :w in command mode to save, or :wq to save and quit. Just pressing q or ctrl+c quits without saving.

TUI Rendering Issues

Sheets relies on terminal capabilities. If the display looks broken:

  • Ensure your terminal supports 256 colors or truecolor
  • Try a different terminal emulator (iTerm2, Alacritty, Ghostty, WezTerm)
  • Check TERM environment variable: echo $TERM

Reading Non-CSV Files

Sheets is designed for CSV format. Convert other formats first:

# Excel to CSV (using Python)
python3 -c "import pandas as pd; pd.read_excel('data.xlsx').to_csv('data.csv', index=False)"
sheets data.csv

Large Files Performance

For very large CSV files, navigate directly to specific cells rather than scrolling:

:goto A1000

or press 5G to jump to row 5 directly.

FAQ

What does the sheets-terminal-spreadsheet skill do?

Terminal-based spreadsheet TUI tool written in Go for editing CSV files in the terminal with vim-like keybindings

How do I install sheets-terminal-spreadsheet?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/reason-machines/trending-skills --skill sheets-terminal-spreadsheet in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/sheets-terminal-spreadsheet/ (personal) or .claude/skills/sheets-terminal-spreadsheet/ (project).

Which AI agents can use sheets-terminal-spreadsheet?

Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.

Is sheets-terminal-spreadsheet safe to install?

No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.

Who maintains sheets-terminal-spreadsheet?

It is published by reason-machines in reason-machines/trending-skills. It has 727 recorded installs.

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