SimpleSpread icon

SimpleSpread

SimpleSpread is an open-source native macOS spreadsheet app written in Swift, with XLSX support, CSV import and export, formula calculation, pivot tables, and spreadsheet editing tools. It is suited to users who want a local spreadsheet application and contributors who want to build or extend an MIT-licensed project.

SimpleSpread

Overview

SimpleSpread is an open-source native macOS spreadsheet application written entirely in Swift. It uses XLSX as its native file format and supports CSV import and export, with a spreadsheet model, formula engine, XLSX/ZIP/CSV I/O, and grid implemented from scratch rather than through third-party libraries.

The app is designed for working with conventional spreadsheets as well as analysis workflows. It includes documented support for 157 functions, Excel-style editing behavior, and pivot tables that can be created, refreshed, and saved in files shared with Excel. The repository also provides build, test, release, and update documentation for users and contributors.

Features

XLSX interoperability

Reads and writes OOXML SpreadsheetML XLSX files, with support for shared strings, styles, number formats, formulas with cached values, merged ranges, frozen panes, and date-system normalization. Files are intended to interoperate with Excel, Numbers, and Google Sheets.

Pivot tables

Provides an Excel-style PivotTable workflow with a fields panel, row, column, value, and filter areas; summaries, percentage views, comparisons, subtotals, layouts, date grouping, number ranges, sorting, filtering, and refresh.

Formula engine

Documents 157 functions with spreadsheet-oriented operator precedence, type coercion and comparison behavior, criteria wildcards, lazy IF evaluation, cross-sheet references, whole-row and whole-column ranges, volatile functions, cycle detection, and iterative financial solvers.

CSV import and export

Handles delimiter detection, BOM and CP1252 encoding detection, quote-aware parsing, leading-zero preservation, formula-injection-safe imports, and RFC 4180 export with UTF-8 BOM, CRLF, full-precision numbers, and ISO dates.

Spreadsheet editing

Includes cell editing states, type-to-replace, in-place editing, data-edge navigation, fill-handle formula translation, fill commands, formatting controls, a lossless internal clipboard with TSV interoperability, and per-gesture undo.

Navigation and file workflow

Supports find and match navigation, jump-to-cell through a name box, zoom from 25% to 400%, recent files, Finder file association, automatic updates through Sparkle, and formatting for text, numbers, dates, times, percentages, currency, and scientific values.

Use cases

  • Cross-application workbook editing

    Open, edit, format, and save workbooks that need to move between SimpleSpread and other spreadsheet applications using XLSX, including workbooks containing formulas, frozen panes, merged ranges, and pivot tables.

  • Pivot-based data analysis

    Summarize tabular records by region, product, date, or other fields using rows, columns, values, and filters. Group dates or numeric ranges, choose summary calculations, and refresh the result when source data changes.

  • CSV data preparation

    Bring delimited text files into a spreadsheet while preserving leading zeros and handling common encoding and delimiter differences, then export structured data as RFC 4180 CSV for downstream use.

  • Local development and contribution

    Build and run the application locally, execute its test suite, inspect the documented formula and spreadsheet architecture, or contribute changes through the public repository.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Native macOS application written entirely in Swift.
  • Broad spreadsheet behavior documented across 157 functions, formula recalculation, editing, formatting, and navigation.
  • XLSX interoperability with Excel, Numbers, and Google Sheets, including pivot-table handling.
  • Careful CSV parsing and export behavior, including encoding detection, delimiter sniffing, leading-zero preservation, and injection-safe import.
  • Open-source MIT-licensed codebase with tests and documented build and release workflows.

Cons

  • The project is source-based software: building requires macOS 14 or later and Xcode 16 or later, according to the repository instructions.
  • The README points to separate documentation for pivot-table features and known formula deviations, so compatibility should be checked for specialized Excel workflows.
  • The repository evidence does not specify a conventional commercial support or team-collaboration offering.

FAQ

What is SimpleSpread?

SimpleSpread is a native macOS spreadsheet application written entirely in Swift. The repository provides build instructions for macOS 14 or later with Xcode 16 or later.

What file formats does SimpleSpread support?

The native file format is XLSX. SimpleSpread can import and export CSV, and it also supports CSV, TSV, and TXT imports; these text-file imports require saving the document as XLSX.

Does SimpleSpread support pivot tables?

Yes. The app supports creating pivot tables from tabular data, placing them on a new sheet or the current sheet, grouping dates or number ranges, filtering and sorting items, refreshing results, and saving pivot tables in XLSX files.

What formula capabilities are documented?

The README documents 157 spreadsheet functions, including cross-sheet references, criteria functions such as SUMIF and COUNTIF, lazy IF evaluation, volatile functions, cycle detection, and iterative solvers for IRR, RATE, and XIRR.

How is SimpleSpread built and distributed?

SimpleSpread is distributed as open-source software under the MIT license. The repository includes scripts for assembling an app and DMG; releases can be signed and notarized when the required Apple credentials are configured, otherwise the DMG is ad-hoc signed.

Quick Facts

Category
Spreadsheet software
Platform
macOS
Implementation
Swift
Native format
XLSX
Text data support
CSV import and export; CSV, TSV, and TXT import
License
MIT

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