Excel Power Query Editor

A modern, reliable VS Code extension for editing Power Query M code from Excel files

� Installation

From VS Code Marketplace (Recommended)

1. VS Code Extensions View:

   • Open VS Code → Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X)
   • Search for "Excel Power Query Editor"
   • Click Install

2. Command Line:

   code --install-extension ewc3labs.excel-power-query-editor
   

3. Direct Link: Install from Marketplace

Alternative: From VSIX File

Download and install a specific version manually:

code --install-extension excel-power-query-editor-[version].vsix

🚨 IMPORTANT: Required Extension

This extension requires the Microsoft Power Query / M Language extension for proper syntax highlighting and IntelliSense:

powerquery.vscode-powerquery

The Power Query extension will be automatically installed when you install this extension (via Extension Pack).

📚 Complete Documentation

• 📖 Complete User Guide - Detailed usage instructions, features, and troubleshooting
• ⚙️ Configuration Guide - Quick reference for all settings
• 📝 Changelog - Version history and updates

⚡ Quick Start

1. Install: Search "Excel Power Query Editor" in Extensions view
2. Open Excel file: Right-click .xlsx/.xlsm → "Extract Power Query from Excel"
3. Edit: Modify the generated .m file with full VS Code features
4. Auto-Sync: Right-click .m file → "Toggle Watch" for automatic sync on save
5. Enjoy: Modern Power Query development workflow! 🎉

Why This Extension?

Excel's Power Query editor is painful to use. This extension brings the power of VS Code to Power Query development:

• 🚀 Modern Architecture: No COM/ActiveX dependencies that break with VS Code updates
• 🔧 Reliable: Direct Excel file parsing - no Excel installation required
• 🌐 Cross-Platform: Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux
• ⚡ Fast: Instant startup, no waiting for COM objects
• 🎨 Beautiful: Syntax highlighting, IntelliSense, and proper formatting

The Problem This Solves

Original EditExcelPQM extension (and Excel's built-in editor) suffer from:

• ❌ Breaks with every VS Code update (COM/ActiveX issues)
• ❌ Windows-only, requires Excel installed
• ❌ Leaves Excel zombie processes
• ❌ Unreliable startup (popup dependencies)
• ❌ Terrible editing experience

This extension provides:

• ✅ Update-resistant architecture
• ✅ Works without Excel installed
• ✅ Clean, reliable operation
• ✅ Cross-platform compatibility
• ✅ Modern VS Code integration

Features

• Extract Power Query from Excel: Right-click on .xlsx or .xlsm files to extract Power Query definitions to .m files
• Edit with Syntax Highlighting: Full Power Query M language support with syntax highlighting
• Auto-Sync: Watch .m files for changes and automatically sync back to Excel
• No COM Dependencies: Works without Excel installed, uses direct file parsing
• Cross-Platform: Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux

Usage

Extract Power Query from Excel

1. Right-click on an Excel file (.xlsx or .xlsm) in the Explorer
2. Select "Extract Power Query from Excel"
3. The extension will create .m files in a new folder next to your Excel file
4. Open the .m files to edit your Power Query code

Edit Power Query Code

• .m files have full syntax highlighting for Power Query M language
• IntelliSense support for Power Query functions and keywords
• Proper indentation and bracket matching

Sync Changes Back to Excel

1. Open a .m file
2. Right-click in the editor and select "Sync Power Query to Excel"
3. Or use the sync button in the editor toolbar
4. The extension will update the corresponding Excel file

Auto-Watch for Changes

1. Open a .m file
2. Right-click and select "Watch Power Query File"
3. The extension will automatically sync changes to Excel when you save
4. A status bar indicator shows the watching status

Commands

• Excel Power Query: Extract from Excel - Extract Power Query definitions from Excel file (creates filename_PowerQuery.m in same folder)
• Excel Power Query: Sync to Excel - Sync current .m file back to Excel
• Excel Power Query: Sync & Delete - Sync .m file to Excel and delete the .m file (with confirmation)
• Excel Power Query: Watch File - Start watching current .m file for automatic sync on save
• Excel Power Query: Stop Watching - Stop watching current file
• Excel Power Query: Raw Extraction (Debug) - Extract all Excel content for debugging

Requirements

• VS Code 1.96.0 or later
• No Excel installation required (uses direct file parsing)

Known Limitations

• Currently supports basic Power Query extraction (advanced features coming soon)
• Excel file backup is created automatically before modifications
• Some complex Power Query features may not be fully supported yet

Development

This extension is built with:

• TypeScript
• xlsx library for Excel file parsing
• chokidar for file watching
• esbuild for bundling

Building from Source

npm install
npm run compile

Testing

npm test

Acknowledgments

Inspired by the original EditExcelPQM by Alexander Malanov, but completely rewritten with modern architecture to solve reliability issues.

⚙️ Settings

The extension provides comprehensive settings for customizing your workflow. Access via File > Preferences > Settings > search "Excel Power Query":

Watch & Auto-Sync Settings

Backup & Safety Settings

User Experience Settings

Example Workflows

🔄 Active Development Setup:

{
  "excel-power-query-editor.watchAlways": true,
  "excel-power-query-editor.verboseMode": true,
  "excel-power-query-editor.maxBackups": 10
}

🛡️ Conservative/Production Setup:

{
  "excel-power-query-editor.watchAlways": false,
  "excel-power-query-editor.maxBackups": 3,
  "excel-power-query-editor.backupLocation": "custom",
  "excel-power-query-editor.customBackupPath": "./excel-backups"
}

⚡ Speed/Minimal Setup:

{
  "excel-power-query-editor.autoBackupBeforeSync": false,
  "excel-power-query-editor.syncDeleteAlwaysConfirm": false,
  "excel-power-query-editor.showStatusBarInfo": false
}

Accessing Verbose Output

When Verbose Mode is enabled:

1. Go to View > Output
2. Select "Excel Power Query Editor" from the dropdown
3. See detailed logs of all operations, watch events, and errors

💖 Support This Project

If this extension saves you time and makes your Power Query development more enjoyable, consider supporting its development:

Your support helps:

• 🛠️ Continue development and add new features
• 🐛 Fix bugs and improve reliability
• 📚 Maintain documentation and user guides
• 💡 Respond to feature requests from the community

Even a small contribution makes a big difference!

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! This extension is built to serve the Power Query community.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Made with ❤️ for the Power Query community by EWC3 Labs

Because editing Power Query in Excel shouldn't be painful.

☕ Enjoying this extension? Buy me a coffee to support continued development!

Credits and Attribution

This extension uses the excellent excel-datamashup library by Vladinator for robust Excel Power Query extraction. The excel-datamashup library is licensed under GPL-3.0 and provides the core functionality for parsing Excel DataMashup binary formats.

Special thanks to:

• Vladinator for creating the excel-datamashup library that makes reliable Power Query extraction possible
• The Power Query community for feedback and inspiration

This VS Code extension adds the user interface, file management, and editing workflow on top of the excel-datamashup parsing engine.

🤝 Recommended Extensions

This extension works best with these companion extensions:

powerquery.vscode-powerquery,grapecity.gc-excelviewer

• Power Query / M Language (Required) - Provides syntax highlighting and IntelliSense for .m files
• Excel Viewer by GrapeCity (Optional) - View Excel files directly in VS Code for seamless workflow

The Power Query extension is automatically installed via Extension Pack when you install this extension.