Microsoft Excel
Connect Microsoft Excel to read and update workbooks on OneDrive and SharePoint: cells, formulas, tables, charts, and Excel's own calculations.
You register an app in the Microsoft Entra admin center, copy its Application (client) ID and a client secret Value into PopMCP, then sign in with your work or school Microsoft account and approve access to your workbooks.
App review before this connector works
Microsoft reviews nothing: an app you register in the Microsoft Entra admin center can sign in straight away. Your organization is the gate. Workbooks on your own OneDrive need no administrator unless your organization only lets admins approve apps. SharePoint and files shared with me adds Files.Read.All and Files.ReadWrite.All, and since 2025 Microsoft's default consent settings make an administrator approve those once.
- Typical wait
- None for workbooks on your own OneDrive. SharePoint and files shared with me waits until a Microsoft 365 administrator approves the app once, unless your organization lets people approve these permissions.
- Cost
- Free. Registering an app and the calls PopMCP makes as you cost nothing. It needs a work or school account on Microsoft 365 with a license that includes OneDrive or SharePoint; Microsoft's Excel service does not open workbooks on personal OneDrive.
- Blocked until approved
- Only the extra option: Microsoft stops the whole sign-in with Need admin approval while SharePoint and files shared with me waits. Without that option everything works on your own OneDrive.
- Works meanwhile
- Register the app, add PopMCP's Redirect URI, create the client secret and connect without SharePoint and files shared with me. Reconnect with it ticked once the admin approves.
Where to apply: No application. An administrator of your organization (Global Administrator or Cloud Application Administrator) opens the app in the Microsoft Entra admin center (Entra ID, App registrations, your app, API permissions), adds the Microsoft Graph delegated permissions Files.Read.All and Files.ReadWrite.All and selects Grant admin consent. Or the administrator connects Microsoft Excel in PopMCP once with the option ticked and checks Consent on behalf of your organization, or approves your request under Enterprise apps, Admin consent requests when your organization uses that workflow.
- Microsoft's permissions list says Files.Read.All needs no admin consent, but the organization's consent settings decide, and Microsoft's default stops people approving it themselves. Do not trust the Admin consent required column alone.
- The connection acts as the signed-in person: approval lets the app ask, and each workbook's own sharing still decides what that person can open.
- Copy the client secret's Value, not its Secret ID. The Value is shown only once, right after you create the secret.
- Client secrets expire (24 months at most). When yours expires the connection stops: create a new secret and reconnect with it.
- Add the Redirect URI under Authentication as a Web platform, not as a Single-page application or Mobile and desktop one. An app registered as Single tenant only also needs its Directory (tenant) ID in the connect form.
- Setup time
- 5 min
- Auth
- OAuth authorization
- API base URL
- https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0
- Rate limits
- Microsoft publishes no fixed numbers for the Excel API: it throttles by workload, answers 429 with a wait time, and advises sending calls to one workbook one at a time. Files on OneDrive and SharePoint are also limited to about 3,000 requests per 5 minutes per user. PopMCP's own fair use holds a one-click connection to 300 requests a minute and an account to 600.
Before you begin
- A work or school Microsoft account on Microsoft 365 with a license that includes OneDrive or SharePoint. Personal Microsoft accounts do not work: Microsoft's Excel service does not open workbooks stored on personal OneDrive.
- Workbooks saved as .xlsx. Older .xls files must be saved as .xlsx first.
- A Microsoft Entra tenant you can register apps in: your organization's (members can register apps unless an admin turned that off, and the Application Developer role always can).
- PopMCP's Redirect URI from the connect form: https://app.popmcp.com/api/providers/microsoft/callback
- Only for workbooks in SharePoint, Teams or someone else's OneDrive: in most organizations an administrator approves the extra permission once. Your own OneDrive needs no administrator by Microsoft's rules.
Get your credentials
Open App registrations
Go to entra.microsoft.com and sign in. If you belong to several tenants, use the Settings icon in the top bar to switch to the one that should own the app. Open Entra ID > App registrations and select New registration.
App registrations
| Display name | Application (client) ID | Created on | Certificates & secrets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing siteSingle tenant only | 4c5d****-****-****-****-****8e21 | 3/14/2026 | Current |
Owned applications lists the apps you registered yourself.
Register the app
Enter a Name people will recognize, such as PopMCP: Microsoft shows it when asking for access. Under Supported account types pick Multiple Entra ID tenants, then select Register. Microsoft's Excel service works only with work or school accounts, so personal accounts are not needed. Single tenant only works too for your own organization, but then the app's Directory (tenant) ID goes into PopMCP as well.
Register an application
The user-facing display name for this application.
Add PopMCP's Redirect URI
On the new app, open Authentication under Manage. On the Redirect URI configuration tab select Add Redirect URI, choose the Web tile, enter https://app.popmcp.com/api/providers/microsoft/callback exactly as PopMCP shows it, and select Configure.
PopMCP | Authentication
Choose Web, not Single-page application or Mobile and desktop: the address must match character for character.
Create a client secret
Open Certificates & secrets, stay on Client secrets and select New client secret. Enter a description such as PopMCP, choose when it expires (24 months at most; Microsoft recommends less than 12) and select Add. Copy the Value column straight away: Microsoft never shows it again. The Secret ID beside it is not the secret.
PopMCP | Certificates & secrets
| Description | Expires | Value | Secret ID |
|---|---|---|---|
| PopMCP | 4/24/2027 | Kq8~****************************3fZaCopy this one | 7d1e****-****-****-****-****0b9c |
Copy the Application (client) ID
Open Overview and copy the Application (client) ID. You only need the Directory (tenant) ID if you chose Single tenant only.
PopMCP
Overview
- Display name
- PopMCP
- Application (client) ID
- 2f6c****-****-****-****-****a91d
- Directory (tenant) ID
- 72f9****-****-****-****-****1db4
- Client credentials
- 0 certificate, 1 secret
- Redirect URIs
- 1 web, 0 spa, 0 public client
The Application (client) ID is a GUID. A value with a tilde in it is a client secret.
Get an administrator's approval (only for SharePoint)
Workbooks on your own OneDrive need no administrator, so skip this step if that is where yours are. SharePoint and files shared with me adds Files.Read.All and Files.ReadWrite.All, and since 2025 Microsoft's default consent settings make an administrator approve those two in most organizations. An administrator (Global Administrator or Cloud Application Administrator) opens API permissions on the app, selects Add a permission > Microsoft Graph > Delegated permissions, adds both and selects Grant admin consent for the organization.
PopMCP | API permissions
| API / Permissions name | Type | Admin consent required | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft GraphUser.Read | Delegated | No | Granted for Contoso |
| Microsoft GraphFiles.Read.All | Delegated | No | Not granted for Contoso |
| Microsoft GraphFiles.ReadWrite.All | Delegated | No | Not granted for Contoso |
Admin consent required shows Microsoft's rule. Its default consent settings still send these two permissions to an administrator in most organizations.
Fill in PopMCP and sign in
In PopMCP put the ID in Application (client) ID and the secret's Value in Client secret Value (the Directory (tenant) ID under More options only for a Single tenant only app). For workbooks in SharePoint or Teams, tick SharePoint and files shared with me under More options. Select Sign in with Microsoft, pick your work or school account and select Accept. If Microsoft says Need admin approval, untick that option and sign in again, or ask your administrator first.
Connect in PopMCP
Open your workspace, choose Microsoft Excel in the marketplace, and fill in the connect dialog:
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Application (client) IDtext | Only for your own app. In the Microsoft Entra admin center (entra.microsoft.com) open Entra ID, App registrations, New registration, pick Multiple Entra ID tenants under Supported account types (or Single tenant only, and fill in the Directory (tenant) ID below) and select Register, then copy the Application (client) ID from Overview. |
| Client secret Valuesecret | In the app registration open Certificates & secrets, Client secrets, New client secret, then Add, and copy the Value column right away (it is shown once). Stored encrypted and used only on our server.Encrypted with AES-256-GCM on save and never shown again. |
| Directory (tenant) IDtext | Only for an app registered as Single tenant only. Copy it from the app's Overview page. |
| Extra accesschecklist | — |
https://app.popmcp.com/api/providers/microsoft/callbackIn your app registration open Authentication, select Add Redirect URI, choose Web, enter this exact URL and select Configure. It must match exactly, or Microsoft refuses the sign-in. Every Microsoft connector uses this same URL.
PopMCP verifies the credential against Microsoft Excel immediately. On success the connection flips to Verified and its MCP tools are provisioned.
Permissions to request
PopMCP asks Microsoft Excel for exactly the permissions you tick in the connect form. Unticked permissions leave their tools listed but failing, so keep the defaults unless you have a reason to narrow them.
Microsoft Excel grants exactly what you tick. 0 of 1 are on by default.
Other
all_filesSharePoint and files shared with meAlso open workbooks in SharePoint and Teams, and ones other people shared with you. In many organizations an administrator must approve this once.
Verify it worked
PopMCP shows Microsoft Excel as Connected under your sign-in address, and excel_find_workbooks lists your .xlsx files.
Troubleshooting
"The app's redirect URI does not match"
Why: Microsoft answered AADSTS50011: PopMCP's callback is not registered as a Web redirect URI on the app, or differs by a character.
Fix: Open **Authentication**, select **Add Redirect URI**, choose **Web**, enter `https://app.popmcp.com/api/providers/microsoft/callback` and select **Configure**, then connect again.
"Microsoft did not accept the app's client secret"
Why: The **Secret ID** was pasted instead of the secret's **Value** (AADSTS7000215), or the Value was cut short when copying.
Fix: Under **Certificates & secrets** create a new client secret, copy its **Value** right away and paste it into PopMCP.
"The app's client secret has expired"
Why: Client secrets last at most 24 months (AADSTS7000222).
Fix: Create a new client secret under **Certificates & secrets** and reconnect Microsoft Excel with its Value.
"Your app is registered for one organization only"
Why: A Single tenant only app was used without its tenant (AADSTS50194).
Fix: Copy the **Directory (tenant) ID** from the app's **Overview**, enter it under **More options** in PopMCP and connect again.
"Microsoft Excel works with work or school accounts only"
Why: You signed in with a personal Microsoft account (Outlook.com, Hotmail, Live). Microsoft's Excel service does not open workbooks on personal OneDrive.
Fix: Connect again and sign in with a work or school account. To read a personal file, the OneDrive connector can return its text.
"This account has no OneDrive yet"
Why: A work account's OneDrive does not exist until it is opened once, or the account has no license that includes it.
Fix: Open **office.com** and select **OneDrive** once, then connect again. If your workbooks are only in SharePoint, connect with **SharePoint and files shared with me** ticked.
Microsoft says **Need admin approval**
Why: **SharePoint and files shared with me** asks for permissions most organizations reserve for administrators, or your organization lets only admins approve apps.
Fix: Untick that option and connect again for your own OneDrive, or ask an administrator to select **Grant admin consent** on the app.
"Microsoft could not open this file as a workbook"
Why: The file is not .xlsx, is damaged, or has a feature Microsoft's Excel service does not support.
Fix: Open it in Excel for the web. Save an old .xls file as .xlsx, then try again.
"Another person or app has this workbook locked"
Why: Someone or something is editing the workbook in a way that conflicts with the request.
Fix: Wait a moment and try again. Close other tools that write to the same workbook.
A workbook in SharePoint is not found
Why: The connection reaches only your own OneDrive until the extra access is approved.
Fix: Reconnect with **SharePoint and files shared with me** ticked under **More options**, then search again with excel_find_workbooks.
429 Too Many Requests
Why: Microsoft limits requests by how much work they cause in the workbook, and calls sent side by side are the usual reason.
Fix: Wait as long as the answer says, then send one call at a time. For several calls on one workbook, start a session with excel_create_session.
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