The Excel node's create and write operations let you generate new spreadsheet files and populate them with data from your automation — whether you are building a report from scratch, filling a blank workbook, or writing a JSON array into an existing file. Output files are returned as file objects that can be passed to subsequent nodes for storage, conversion, or further processing.
Overview
Use the create and write operations when your automation needs to produce or update an Excel workbook. Create a new Excel file initialises a blank workbook in a chosen format. Write data to New Excel file populates that new workbook with structured row data. Write JSON array to existing Excel file writes a JSON array of objects into a sheet of an already-existing workbook, using the object keys as column headers. All three operations support the XLSX, XLS, and XLSB formats.
Excel Create and Write node interface
Operations
Operation | Description | Key inputs |
|---|---|---|
Create a new Excel file | Initialises a blank Excel workbook and returns it as a file object. No data is written; use a subsequent Write operation to populate it. | File name, File format (XLSX / XLS / XLSB) |
Write data to New Excel file | Writes structured row-and-column data to a sheet in a newly created Excel workbook. The data is provided as an array of rows, each row being an array of cell values. | File reference, Sheet name, Data (array of rows), Start row, Start column |
Write JSON array to existing Excel file | Writes a JSON array of objects into a sheet of an existing workbook. Object keys become column headers in the first row; subsequent rows contain the corresponding values. | File reference, Sheet name, JSON array, Start row, Include headers |
Input
Field | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
File name | String | Yes — Create | Name for the new workbook, without extension. The chosen format determines the extension. |
File format | Enum | Yes — Create | Target format for the new file: XLSX, XLS, or XLSB. |
File | File reference | Yes — Write ops | The Excel file to write into. For Write to New, pass the output of a Create operation. For Write JSON, pass a reference to an existing file. |
Sheet name | String | Yes | Name of the sheet to write data into. If the sheet does not exist, it is created. |
Data | Array of arrays | Yes — Write data | Rows of cell values to write. Each inner array represents one row; each element is a cell value. |
JSON array | Array of objects | Yes — Write JSON | Array of JSON objects to write. Keys are used as column headers; values populate the corresponding cells. |
Start row | Integer | No | Row index (1-based) at which writing begins. Defaults to 1. |
Start column | Integer | No | Column index (1-based) at which writing begins. Defaults to 1 (column A). |
Include headers | Boolean | No | When writing a JSON array, controls whether object keys are written as a header row. Defaults to true. |
Excel Create Write node Input tab showing file name, format, sheet name, and data fields configured
Output
All three operations return a file object representing the resulting Excel workbook. Pass this file object to a storage node, a conversion node, or another Excel operation in the same automation.
Create a new Excel file — returns the blank workbook as a file object.
Write data to New Excel file — returns the populated workbook as a file object.
Write JSON array to existing Excel file — returns the updated workbook as a file object.
Excel Create Write node Output tab showing the returned Excel file object
Notes
Supported file formats are XLSX, XLS, and XLSB. Choose XLSX for maximum compatibility with downstream tools.
When writing a JSON array, all objects in the array should share the same keys for consistent column alignment. Objects with missing keys produce empty cells in those columns.
Writing begins at the specified start row and column; any existing data in cells at or after that position is overwritten.
To build a complete workbook in one automation, chain Create → Write data or Create → Write JSON array. The file object flows between nodes as a reference.
For workbooks that will be read back by the Excel node, prefer XLSX to ensure formula evaluation and sheet features are fully supported.