what should a headless spreadsheet engine expose for agents?

[gregkonush]

i am looking for practical feedback from people building coding agents, node services, finance tooling, or local-first apps that need spreadsheet semantics without driving a browser spreadsheet ui.

current public evaluation path:

• npm package: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@bilig/headless
• runnable example: https://github.com/proompteng/bilig/tree/main/examples/headless-workpaper
• workbook api article: https://github.com/proompteng/bilig/blob/main/docs/why-agents-need-workbook-apis.md
• benchmark explainer: https://github.com/proompteng/bilig/blob/main/docs/what-workpaper-benchmark-proves.md
• compatibility boundaries: https://github.com/proompteng/bilig/blob/main/docs/where-bilig-is-not-excel-compatible-yet.md

useful feedback:

• what workbook operation should be easiest from code?
• what would make this safe enough for agent writeback in your workflow?
• which excel/xlsx compatibility gap blocks evaluation first?
• what example would make the package immediately easier to understand?

please be specific if you can: api shape, missing formula behavior, persistence expectations, import/export cases, benchmark cases, or docs/examples that would make adoption easier.

[gregkonush]

community post log - 2026-05-07

platform: x
url: https://x.com/GregKonush/status/2052429578124300353
starting github stars: 5
angle: compatibility boundaries and xlsx cached-result verifier
follow-up to watch: github stars, repo/profile visits, replies asking about formula/import parity

[gregkonush]

metrics baseline - 2026-05-07 09:48 pt

repo: https://github.com/proompteng/bilig
stars: 5
open issues: 73
last 14 days github views: 26 total / 9 unique
last 14 days github clones: 12,329 total / 1,565 unique
github referrers: github.com 12 total / 3 unique
npm @bilig/headless downloads, last week: 2,399 for 2026-04-30 to 2026-05-06

recent npm daily downloads:

• 2026-05-05: 446
• 2026-05-06: 1,288

note: use stars plus github views/referrers and npm downloads together. clones alone may include automation or ci traffic.

[gregkonush]

dev post shipped: https://dev.to/gregkonush/why-agents-need-workbook-apis-instead-of-spreadsheet-screenshots-3d61

baseline before this post: 5 github stars.

[gregkonush]

product hunt draft assets are now committed and public:

• asset pack: https://proompteng.github.io/bilig/product-hunt-launch-assets.html
• commit: 9001fb3
• includes: 240x240 thumbnail, three 1270x760 gallery images, draft listing copy, first comment, and launch checklist

not launched or scheduled yet; this only removes the gallery/thumbnail blocker for creating a draft.

current github stars after this asset pack: 5.

[gregkonush]

product hunt draft attempt status:

• tried opening the Product Hunt submit flow in Atlas after the asset pack was published
• Product Hunt redirected to its posting-access help page instead of the draft composer
• no draft was created, scheduled, or launched
• documented the access gate here: https://proompteng.github.io/bilig/product-hunt-launch-assets.html

current github stars after this attempt: 5.

[gregkonush]

product hunt demo recording is now live in the launch assets pack.

verified on 2026-05-07:

• github pages page: https://proompteng.github.io/bilig/product-hunt-launch-assets.html
• demo video: https://proompteng.github.io/bilig/assets/product-hunt-demo.webm
• commit: 68a97a8
• github workflows: github-ci, bilig-runtime-packages, and pages-build-deployment all passed

product hunt posting itself is still blocked by the account access gate documented in the page.

[gregkonush]

show hn launch is live: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48052832

preflight checked on 2026-05-07:

• github repo main: eba0152
• public site quickstart resolves
• external workpaper smoke passed
• github-ci, runtime packages, and pages were green on the latest docs commit
• current stars were still 5 at launch

first comment is posted from the maintainer account. follow-up is to answer real technical questions and convert repeated feedback into issues/docs.

[gregkonush]

2026-05-08 update: the contributor funnel is now public and measurable.

Current snapshot from pnpm community:growth:snapshot:

• GitHub: 8 stars, 2 forks
• npm @bilig/headless@0.10.63: 7,182 downloads last week, 21,748 downloads last month
• open contributor queue: 8 good first issue, 5 first-timers-only, 8 help wanted, 2 open PRs

New first-timer queue:

• docs(examples): add JSON file input WorkPaper example #142 - JSON file input WorkPaper example
• docs(examples): add markdown report WorkPaper output example #143 - markdown report output example
• docs(examples): add formula diagnostics WorkPaper example #144 - formula diagnostics example
• docs(examples): add snapshot diff WorkPaper example #145 - snapshot diff example
• docs(readme): add first-time contributor command checklist #146 - first-time contributor command checklist

The useful feedback I want next: which of these examples would make @bilig/headless easier to evaluate for a real Node service, coding-agent workflow, or workbook automation job? If none of them match your use case, what input shape, formulas, and output proof should the next example cover?

[gregkonush]

2026-05-08 update: another discoverability pass is live.

• added the search-targeted agent spreadsheet tool-call loop page: https://github.com/proompteng/bilig/blob/main/docs/agent-spreadsheet-tool-call-loop.md
• wired it into the homepage, sitemap, and llms.txt in commit 4b48c79
• submitted Bilig to Up For Grabs for newcomer issue discovery: Add Bilig up-for-grabs/up-for-grabs.net#5790
• Up For Grabs bot now sees the good first issue label and 8 open starter issues, and the deploy preview is green
• current GitHub stars from the live snapshot are still 8

Next useful feedback remains the same: which agent or Node-service workbook example would make evaluation easiest for your real workflow?

[gregkonush]

2026-05-08 update: two more external discovery surfaces are now in motion.

• jsgrids comparison site PR is open and mergeable: Add bilig statico/awesome-javascript-grids#92
• Open-Awesome project submission is open: Add Bilig chenz24/openawesome#2
• both point at the public repo, npm package, runnable WorkPaper example, and agent tool-call docs
• current GitHub stars remain 8

These are targeted listing surfaces rather than broad spam: jsgrids is a maintained JavaScript grid/spreadsheet comparison site, and Open-Awesome already has a Node.js spreadsheet automation category.

[gregkonush]

Growth execution update, 2026-05-08:

• Submitted Bilig to Awesome JavaScript Spreadsheet section: Add Bilig sorrycc/awesome-javascript#1063
• Verified in Dia/GitHub UI: PR is open, one-line addition, no conflicts with base branch, maintainer workflow approval pending.
• Fit rationale: Awesome JavaScript already has a Spreadsheet section and contribution rules asking for documented/tested packages in [PACKAGE](LINK) - DESCRIPTION. format. Bilig now has runnable examples, public npm package metadata, SEO docs, and starter issues to support visitors arriving from that list.

[gregkonush]

Growth execution update, 2026-05-08:

• Shipped an SEO comparison page for the high-intent SheetJS/ExcelJS alternative query family: https://proompteng.github.io/bilig/sheetjs-exceljs-alternative-formula-workbook-api.html
• Added it to the homepage compare section, sitemap, llms.txt, and docs discovery checks.
• Dia/browser verification caught and fixed a broken generated example link; the live page now links to https://github.com/proompteng/bilig/tree/main/examples/headless-workpaper.
• Verification: docs discovery, format check, lint, GitHub Pages deployment, github-ci, and bilig-runtime-packages are green on main commit 9ccc8a6.
• Current public stars remain 8; this is distribution groundwork, not completion of the 1,000-star target.

[gregkonush]

Growth update, 2026-05-08:

• Added five more scoped first-time contributor issues: docs(examples): add npm script for CSV-shaped input example #147, docs(examples): add range readback WorkPaper example #148, docs(examples): add sheet inspection WorkPaper example #149, docs(examples): add headless example command index #150, docs(headless): map npm visitor needs to examples #151. The contributor funnel is now 13 open good first issue, 10 open first-timers-only, and 13 open help wanted issues.
• Updated docs/starter-issues.md and docs/llms.txt so the new issue lane is discoverable from the repo, docs, and browser/agent readers. Commit: a15ccf2.
• Rewrote the latest release body for Libraries v0.10.64 so release visitors get direct links to npm, the runnable Node example, the comparison page, and first-timer issues.
• Verified in Dia that GitHub issue search shows the new docs(examples): add npm script for CSV-shaped input example #147-docs(headless): map npm visitor needs to examples #151 items with first-timers-only, good first issue, and help wanted.
• CI for a15ccf2 is green: GitHub Pages, github-ci, and bilig-runtime-packages.

Current metric snapshot is still 8 stars, 2 forks, 0 watchers, @bilig/headless@0.10.64, 7,182 npm downloads last week, and 21,748 downloads last month. Not claiming the 1,000-star goal is achieved.