Getting Started

##Getting Started with Aspose.Cells FOSS for Python

Welcome to the Aspose.Cells FOSS for Python Getting Started Guide! This introduction will help you install the library, verify your environment, and start creating and exporting Excel spreadsheets in minutes.

System Requirements

Ensure your environment meets the minimum requirements before installing.

Supported Python Versions

  • Python 3.7 or later (Python 3.9–3.13 recommended)

Supported Operating Systems

  • Windows (x86, x64)
  • Linux (Ubuntu, CentOS, OpenSUSE, and others)
  • macOS (x64, ARM64)

No Additional Dependencies

Aspose.Cells FOSS for Python depends only on pycryptodome>=3.15.0 and olefile>=0.46, both installed automatically by pip. No Microsoft Office, Excel, or native library is required.

Installation

Install via pip (recommended) 

pip install aspose-cells-foss

Verify the installation:

from aspose.cells_foss import Workbook
print("Aspose.Cells FOSS for Python is ready.")

For more details see the Installation Guide.

What You Can Do with Aspose.Cells FOSS for Python

Out-of-the-box spreadsheet processing features include:

  • Create new workbooks and worksheets from scratch
  • Load and save XLSX and CSV files
  • Read and write individual cells by address (ws.cells["A1"].value = "x")
  • Apply cell styles: font name, size, color (AARRGGBB hex), bold, italic, underline, strikethrough
  • Set cell background fill colors
  • Build column, line, bar, and pie charts with named data series
  • Enter Excel-compatible formula strings (cell.formula = "=SUM(A1:A5)")
  • Export to XLSX, CSV, TSV, Markdown, and JSON

Export scope: Aspose.Cells FOSS exports to XLSX, CSV, TSV, Markdown, and JSON only. PDF, HTML, PNG, and image formats require the commercial aspose-cells-python package.

Basic Example

Here is a simple example that creates a workbook, writes data, and saves it as both XLSX and Markdown:

from aspose.cells_foss import Workbook, Cell

##Create a new workbook
workbook = Workbook()
ws = workbook.worksheets[0]
ws.name = "Sales"

##Write headers
ws.cells["A1"].value = "Product"
ws.cells["B1"].value = "Revenue"

##Write data
ws.cells["A2"].value = "Widget A"
ws.cells["B2"].value = 12500
ws.cells["A3"].value = "Widget B"
ws.cells["B3"].value = 8750

##Save as Excel
workbook.save("sales.xlsx")

##Export as Markdown (tables)
workbook.save_as_markdown("sales.md")

print("Files saved successfully.")

Next Steps

Continue learning with these resources: