python-excel/xlrd
Please use openpyxl where you can... observed · 2026-08-28
Health v2 · maintenance only
74/100
- Activity 92
- Release rhythm 35
- Longevity 100
Flags: no_releases no_license
How is this computed?
round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10) — computed 2026-09-02. Adoption (stars, forks) is never an input.
- gap_med: n/a
- age_days: 5292
- days_rel: n/a
- days_push: 49
- n_releases_24m: 0
Adoption not part of the score
2206 stars · 436 forks observed · 2026-08-28
What it is AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, 2026-08-30, confidence not recorded
xlrd is a Python library for reading data and formatting information from legacy Excel .xls files. It no longer supports .xlsx or other newer formats, for which openpyxl is recommended.
Use cases
- read data from old .xls files in python
- extract cell values from legacy excel spreadsheets
- parse xls worksheet names and dimensions
- read formatting information from excel 97-2003 files
- migrate data out of legacy xls spreadsheets
When to choose
- you need to read historical .xls (Excel 97-2003) files
- you only need cell data and basic formatting, not charts or macros
- you want a lightweight, pure-python reader without Excel installed
When to avoid
- you need to read or write .xlsx files - use openpyxl instead
- you need charts, macros, comments, hyperlinks, or formulas
- files are password-protected
- you need to write .xls files - xlwt is unmaintained
Facets
library · maturity maintenance
parser file-system spreadsheets files python cross-platform excel xls spreadsheet-reading legacy-formats data-engineering
2 sources
- readme: https://github.com/python-excel/xlrd · fetched 2026-08-28 · 4ec075eb3a9b
- homepage: http://www.python-excel.org/ · fetched 2026-08-29 · 804b4d9abbab
Member repositories
| Repository | Role | Health v2 |
|---|---|---|
| python-excel/xlrd | main | 74 |
For agents
markdown · JSON · MCP: product_card(name="python-excel/xlrd")
Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00 · Report a problem