macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install excel-comparelocal Homebrew formula metadata
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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
Additional install commands
overview
Package summary
Command-line tool (and API) for diffing Excel Workbooks
Project links
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.
Sources
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 bottle metadata was recorded.
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
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
excel_cmp | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
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 generated2026-08-03
manager version0.7.0
manager updated2026-06-22
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:excel-compare |
|---|---|
| Version | 0.7.0 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://github.com/na-ka-na/ExcelCompare |
| Repository | https://github.com/na-ka-na/ExcelCompare |
| Last updated | 2026-06-22T14:03:17-07:00 |
| Pulse | updated |
| Bottle | not recorded |
| Service | none declared |
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.
Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated package history
- pkg.so package database
- pkgdb category and tag curation