excel-cli vs Foxit PDF API MCP Server
excel-cli is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by sbroenne. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Copilot CLI: github/awesome-copilot). Foxit PDF API MCP Server is an MCP server published by foxitsoftware. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Official MCP Registry). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-14. This pair was picked by a reader, not by our comparison rule, so search engines are asked not to index the page.
Where each is published
| Marketplace |  excel-cli |  Foxit PDF API MCP Server |
|---|---|---|
| Copilot CLI: github/awesome-copilot | Listed Version: 2.3.11 Forks (GitHub): 0 Stars (GitHub): 2 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Official MCP Registry | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.2.4 Downloads/month (npm): 173 Downloads/week (npm): 30 Forks (GitHub): 6 Stars (GitHub): 12 Not marked · First seen |
Each figure is the marketplace's own and is never added up across marketplaces. A marketplace that publishes no figure shows none: no number is not zero.
The facts side by side
| Fact | excel-cli | Foxit PDF API MCP Server |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it | 1 | 1 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 2 (worse) | 12 (better) |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 0 (worse) | 6 (better) |
| Last release (differs) | 2026-10-14 | Not published |
| Where it runs (differs) | Installs as a plugin bundle | On your machine (@foxitsoftware/foxit-pdf-api-mcp-server) |
| Transport (differs) | Not stated | stdio |
| Tools it declares | Not published | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | Not published | 3, secrets among them: 1 |
| Licence (differs) | MIT | Not stated |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/sbroenne/mcp-server-excel-plugins | github.com/foxitsoftware/foxit-pdf-api-mcp-server |
| Changes in the last 7 days (differs) | 6 | 0 |
| First seen | 2026-10-11 | 2026-10-11 |
Lines where the two differ have a tinted background and bold values. Where the data itself says which value is better (more marketplaces, a larger figure of the same marketplace, a fresher release, a verified mark on a marketplace that lists both), the better one is also marked green with ▲ and the worse one red with ▼. Where it runs, the transport, the tools, the settings, hooks, the bundle's parts, the licence and the week's changes are marked only as different: more or fewer is not better in itself.
What each says it does
excel-cli
Let your coding agent work with real Microsoft Excel workbooks from the terminal: formulas, Power Query, PivotTables, charts, and VBA. Same features as Excel MCP, usually with fewer AI tokens. Requires Windows, desktop Excel 2016 or later, and Node.js 18 or later.
Foxit PDF API MCP Server
MCP server that exposes Foxit PDF API capabilities via stdio.
How to run each
excel-cli
No data for an automatic command: what its marketplaces declare does not say unambiguously how to connect it.
Foxit PDF API MCP Server As a local MCP server: npm package
claude mcp add --env "FOXIT_CLOUD_API_CLIENT_ID=<YOUR_FOXIT_CLOUD_API_CLIENT_ID>" --env "FOXIT_CLOUD_API_CLIENT_SECRET=<YOUR_FOXIT_CLOUD_API_CLIENT_SECRET>" --env "FOXIT_CLOUD_API_HOST=<YOUR_FOXIT_CLOUD_API_HOST>" --transport stdio foxit-pdf-api-mcp-server -- npx -y @foxitsoftware/foxit-pdf-api-mcp-serverRequires: FOXIT_CLOUD_API_CLIENT_ID, FOXIT_CLOUD_API_CLIENT_SECRET (secret), FOXIT_CLOUD_API_HOST
Commands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Tools each declares
Neither one's marketplaces publish a list of tools, so there is nothing to compare.
Settings each asks for
The marketplaces of excel-cli publish no settings it asks for, so we do not compare settings.
What it can do: excel-cli · What it can do: Foxit PDF API MCP Server · Compare two other plugins
Data comes from the public marketplace file https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot/blob/HEAD/.github/plugin/marketplace.json. Data comes from the Official MCP Registry (registry.modelcontextprotocol.io), CC0 1.0. Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on . We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.