Excel Power Query Editor

A modern, reliable VS Code extension for editing Power Query M code directly from Excel files — fast, cross-platform, and Excel-free. Built by EWC3 Labs, where we rage-build the tools we wish already existed.

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🚀 What It Does

• Edit Power Query M code directly from Excel files (.xlsx, .xlsm, .xlsb) — no Excel required, no COM, no drama.
• Intelligent Auto-Watch: Real-time sync with configurable file limits (1–100 files).
• Professional Logging: Emoji-enhanced logs with multiple verbosity levels (🪲🔍ℹ️✅⚠️❌).
• Excel Symbols: Auto-installs Excel-specific IntelliSense for Excel.CurrentWorkbook() and more.
• Automatic Backups: Your data is safe — every change is backed up before it hits your Excel file.
• Zero Dependencies: Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux. No Excel install needed.
• Full IntelliSense: Complete M language support with syntax highlighting.
• Copilot & AI Ready: Works seamlessly with GitHub Copilot and other VS Code AI tools.

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🤔 Why Use Excel Power Query Editor?

Let’s be honest: Excel’s built-in Power Query editor is... not great. It’s slow, clunky, Windows-only, and the Advanced Editor is barely an editor at all. We got tired of losing work to random syntax errors, fighting with popups, and being told we could only edit ONE query at a time—while Excel locks up the rest of your workflow. So we built the tool we wanted: fast, reliable, and actually respects your time. Excel Power Query Editor gives you:

• A modern, cross-platform development experience in VS Code
• Clean, reliable M code editing with full references and context
• Fast, safe workflows with no dependency on Excel installation
• Professional logging and backup so you never lose work
• A little EWC3 Labs attitude — because dev tools should respect your time

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🚀 Quick Start

1. Install

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

2. Extract & Edit

• Right-click an Excel file → “Extract Power Query from Excel”.
• Edit the generated .m file with full VS Code features.

3. Auto-Sync

• Right-click the .m file → “Toggle Watch”.
• Changes are automatically synced to Excel when you save.
• Enable Watch Always setting to automatically start watching every extracted Power Query file.

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📚 Documentation & Support

• User Guide – Workflows, commands, and tips
• Release Summary v0.5.0 – Latest changes and features
• GitHub Repository – Source code, issues, and full documentation

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🙏 Acknowledgments

This project builds on the open-source work of the Power Query community:

• Alexander Malanov – EditExcelPQM
• Vladinator – excel-datamashup
• Microsoft – Power Query / M Language Extension
• MESCIUS Excel Viewer – Optional Excel file previewing in VS Code

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_{Georgie, our QA Officer}

Excel Power Query Editor – Because Power Query development shouldn’t be painful.