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Install excel-compare with Homebrew

Command-line tool (and API) for diffing Excel Workbooks. Version 0.7.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-22.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install excel-compare

local Homebrew formula metadata

overview

Package summary

Command-line tool (and API) for diffing Excel Workbooks

Commands and aliases

  • excel_cmp

history

Project history and usage

ExcelCompare is a Java command-line tool and API-oriented project for diffing Excel and OpenDocument spreadsheets.

Project history

The GitHub repository was created on 2012-06-30, and release 0.3 was published on 2013-12-13. The README describes it as a CLI for diffing Excel and ODS workbooks, built on Apache POI and OdfToolkit.

Adoption history

ExcelCompare found a practical niche among developers who need spreadsheet diffs in shells, scripts, and version-control workflows. The README explicitly documents macOS installation via Homebrew and notes packaged shell and batch scripts.

The project has remained recognizable enough for Homebrew packaging and GitHub issue-based maintenance, even though the core use case is narrow.

How it is used

The excel_cmp command compares two workbook files and exits 0 when workbooks match or 1 when they differ. It reports differing and extra cells, supports xls, xlsx, xlsm, and ods files, and can ignore sheets, rows, columns, or cell ranges independently for each input.

The README also documents unified-diff output and using /dev/null or Windows NUL as an empty file, which makes the tool suitable for git diff-style workflows over spreadsheets.

Why package nerds care

ExcelCompare packages a messy office-document problem into a scriptable Unix-style CLI with deterministic exit codes. That makes it useful in CI and review workflows where binary spreadsheet files otherwise resist normal diff tools.

Timeline

  • 2012: GitHub repository created.
  • 2013: Release 0.3 published.
  • Later README versions: Homebrew installation, ODS support, ignore rules, and unified-diff output documented.

Related projects

  • The README cites Apache POI for Excel parsing and OdfToolkit for OpenDocument spreadsheet parsing.

security posture

Risk level: green

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

Risk classifier

green risk · low confidence · appliance

Why

  • narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

Signals

  • metadata:no-higher-risk-signals

Install behavior

  • No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
  • Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 1 platform targets.
  • Installs with 1 runtime dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

executables

Installed executables

CommandKindExposureNote
excel_cmpcliglobal executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08
manager version0.7.0
manager updated2026-06-22
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected

https://github.com/na-ka-na/ExcelCompare

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:excel-compare
Version0.7.0
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/excel-compare
Homepagehttps://github.com/na-ka-na/ExcelCompare
Repositoryhttps://github.com/na-ka-na/ExcelCompare
Upstream docshttps://github.com/na-ka-na/ExcelCompare#readme
LicenseMIT
Source archivehttps://github.com/na-ka-na/ExcelCompare/releases/download/0.7.0/ExcelCompare-0.7.0.zip
Last updated2026-06-22T14:03:17-07:00
Pulseupdated
Dependenciesopenjdk
Bottleavailable (on all)
Homebrew post-installnot defined
Servicenone declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source DatabaseHomebrew formula API
Taphomebrew/core
Full Nameexcel-compare
Version Scheme0
Revision0
Bottle Stable Root URLhttps://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecatedno
Disabledno
Keg Onlyno
URL Keys
  • stable

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

Related tools

  • openjdkRuntime dependency declared by Homebrew.

Same workflow

  • sheetsShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, productivity, spreadsheet.
  • gnumericShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, productivity, spreadsheet.
  • latexdiffShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, diff, productivity.
  • sc-imShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, productivity, spreadsheet.
  • xleakShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, excel, productivity.
  • a2psShares av.db curated category or tags: cli, productivity.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Used sources

  • Geiger risk classifier
  • Nucleus package database
  • av.db category and tag curation
  • cross-ecosystem install command graph
  • curated package history
  • package relationship graph
  • package version freshness
  • package-page enrichment