ExcelDumperTool

ExcelDumperTool is a lightweight C# console application designed to read Excel (.xlsx) files and dump the contents of a specific worksheet to the console (or a text file) in a structured, plain-text format.

This tool is particularly useful for AI agents or automated pipelines that need to read and parse Excel files without requiring complex programmatic interactions with Excel interop or UI applications.

Prerequisites

• .NET SDK (Version 8.0 or compatible)

How to Run

You can run this tool using the .NET CLI. The tool requires two arguments:

1. Absolute path to the Excel file.
2. Sheet identifier, which can be either the Index (0-based) or a Keyword/Name contained within the sheet's name.

Syntax

dotnet run --project "<ABSOLUTE_PATH_TO_EXCEL_DUMPER_TOOL>" -- <path_to_excel_file> <sheet_index_or_keyword>

---

Examples

Assuming your terminal is working within the ExcelDumperTool directory:

1. Run by Sheet Keyword/Name

To read a sheet that contains the name "Thêm nhóm hàng hóa" (Add Product Group), pass a keyword:

dotnet run -- product-group-management.xlsx "Thêm nhóm"

2. Run by Sheet Index

To read a specific sheet by its 0-based index instead of its name:

# Read the first sheet
dotnet run -- product-group-management.xlsx 0

# Read the second sheet
dotnet run -- product-group-management.xlsx 1

3. Run All Sheets (NEW)

To automatically iterate through and dump all sheets in the Excel file, use the keyword all:

dotnet run -- product-group-management.xlsx all

Note: The output of each sheet will be separated by the header --- DUMPING SHEET: Sheet Name --- for easier AI parsing.

4. Export Output to a Text File

If you want to save the dumped data into a text file instead of printing it to the console, use the > redirect operator:

dotnet run -- "D:\path\to\your\file.xlsx" 0 > output.txt

5. Run From a Different Directory

If your terminal is located outside the ExcelDumperTool folder (e.g., in the parent project directory), you must specify the project path:

dotnet run --project ".\ExcelDumperTool" -- "D:\path\to\your\file.xlsx" 0

6. Comprehensive Example (Recommended for AI Workflows)

If you are working inside your main test project directory (e.g. TestProductGroup) and want to dump all sheets into a single text file using an absolute path, use the full project path:

dotnet run --project "<ABSOLUTE_PATH_TO_EXCEL_DUMPER_TOOL>" -- "<ABSOLUTE_PATH_TO_EXCEL_FILE>" all > all_sheets_output.txt

Output Format

The tool will automatically detect the used range of columns and rows dynamically. It will also strip empty trailing columns. Down-lines (Alt+Enter) within Excel cells are preserved and represented as \n characters in the output.

Example output:

--- DUMPING SHEET: Sheet1 ---
R001:	[Header 1]	[Header 2]
R002:	[Data A]	[Data B\nMulti-line here]