GitHub - VincenzoManto/iLoveCSV: A Go implementation of a CMD-only spreadsheets visualizer based on the new DSS format.

3 min read Original article ↗

dss-go is a Go command-line tool for loading DSS, CSV, XLS, XLSX, and XLSM workbooks, computing formulas, editing them in a full-screen terminal spreadsheet view with bordered cells, visualizing workbook summaries in a termdash dashboard, and exporting back to DSS.

Current Commands

dss <input> [--output output.dss]
dss tui <input> [--output output.dss]
dss dashboard <input>
dss convert <input> <output.dss>
dss set <input> <output.dss> --sheet NAME --cell A1 --value VALUE

Passing a workbook path directly opens the interactive TUI.

The UI shows a bordered spreadsheet grid, a compact formula/value bar for the selected cell, color-coded formula/error states, and live editing directly in the selected cell.

Example of the TUI showing a sheet with various formulas, errors, and the formula bar

Controls

  • Move with arrow keys or h, j, k, l
  • Start editing immediately by typing
  • Edit the current cell without replacing it with Enter
  • While editing, the current text is shown live in the selected cell and in the top info bar
  • Move inside the edit buffer with arrow keys, Home, End, Ctrl+A, and Ctrl+E
  • Clear edit content with Ctrl+U
  • Save DSS with Ctrl+S
  • Recalculate with r
  • Switch sheets with Tab and Shift+Tab
  • Cycle display mode with m
  • Open the dashboard for the current file with d
  • Quit with q
  • Advanced sheet aliases remain available with [ and ]

Dashboard

  • dss dashboard <input> opens a workbook summary dashboard built with termdash
  • The dashboard shows workbook totals, sheet ranges, formula/error counts, and quick usage hints
  • Press Enter or e to jump back into the editable spreadsheet view
  • Close it with q, Ctrl+Q, or Ctrl+C

Example of the dashboard showing workbook summaries and usage hints

Current Formula Support

  • Arithmetic: +, -, *, /, parentheses
  • Comparisons: =, <>, <, <=, >, >=
  • Cell references: A1
  • Ranges: A1:B10
  • Boolean literals: TRUE, FALSE
  • Functions: SUM, AVG, AVERAGE, MIN, MAX, COUNT, COUNTA, IF, ABS, ROUND, POWER, MOD, SQRT, AND, OR, NOT, LEN, CONCAT, CONCATENATE
  • Imported XLSX/XLSM formulas with unsupported functions fall back to the cached workbook value when one is available.

I'm still working on adding more functions and improving error handling, but the current set covers many common use cases.

Format Notes

  • .xlsx and .xlsm are imported with excelize.
  • .xls is imported with extrame/xls and currently loads cell values only.
  • .xlsm macros are ignored.
  • DSS export writes sparse multi-anchor blocks instead of flattening each sheet into one padded rectangle.

Example

go run ./cmd/dss ../sample.xlsx
go run ./cmd/dss tui ../sample.xlsx --output ../sample.dss
go run ./cmd/dss dashboard ../sample.xlsx
go run ./cmd/dss convert ../sample.xlsx ../sample.dss
go run ./cmd/dss set ../sample.dss ../edited.dss --sheet Sheet1 --cell C3 --value "=SUM(A1:B2)"