Excel CLI discovery

The plugin does not place excelcli on PATH. Its launcher runs npx -y @sbroenne/excelcli@latest; do not assume a standalone executable is installed or restore the retired GitHub-release downloader.

For the plugin-bundled copy of this skill, ..\..\bin\start-cli.ps1 relative to the directory containing this SKILL.md locates the plugin launcher. Replace <plugin-root> below with that plugin's actual installed directory: Run these commands in PowerShell 7.4 or later (pwsh), not Windows PowerShell 5.1.

& "<plugin-root>\bin\start-cli.ps1" --help
& "<plugin-root>\bin\start-cli.ps1" session --help

Use the same full launcher path for subsequent commands, especially quoted JSON arguments. Discover exact command names, flags, defaults, and save/close behavior through native --help; do not invent syntax.

Inspect the existing workbook state relevant to the request. Preserve unrelated contents and save only the authorized result. If an operation fails, inspect its reported partial state rather than assuming rollback or automatically cleaning up. Before opening, run session discover to find an already-open workbook. Confirm the intended workbookId, then use session attach --workbook-id <ID> so the workbook is not reopened. Check discovery complete and errors; an incomplete scan cannot establish that a workbook is absent. Attach preserves unsaved edits and leaves the workbook open when the service exits. Its response reports the current AutoSave setting; open preserves it too. If enabled, Excel may save edits automatically. Normal service shutdown leaves unsaved owned workbooks open and visible without saving or discarding; save and close explicitly for completed jobs. If a wait expires, check session list for the operation's start time, pending work, and eventual outcome; do not automatically repeat it. Zero active requests does not mean Excel has finished. Inspect the workbook after completion. service status and service stop report recorded Excel copies from earlier services. Stopping an already-stopped service leaves those copies open, and they do not block a new service. service stop always stops the service; if a workbook was busy or its state could not be confirmed, that Excel copy is left as it is and reported in shutdownWarning. Use discovery and explicit attachment to inspect them; unknown or incomplete information is not permission to end Excel. For JSON errors, read errorMessage as the single error-text field; use errorCategory when present to guide recovery. Load excel-cli-report-formatting only for requested report presentation, not ordinary Excel reads or targeted updates.