How much does a xlsx-to-json call cost?

$0.005 per call, paid in USDC on Base via x402, with no account and no API key.

What does xlsx-to-json return?

A JSON object with 3 top-level fields: source_url, sheet_count and sheets. The example on this page is a real call over documents/garden-inventory.xlsx.

What happens when a xlsx-to-json call fails?

The tool answers with a typed JSON error from the errors table. Payment is settled only after the tool has produced its result; a call that fails inside the tool is never settled. A 503 upstream_unavailable can follow a settled call; the x402 payments guide covers it, 429, 402 and an uncertain 500.

catalogue / tools / Documents / XLSX to JSON API

XLSX to JSON API

Reads an Excel .xlsx into JSON rows, keyed by a header row or as arrays; dates become ISO strings. Archives are limited to 64 worksheets.

Endpoint: POST /v1/xlsx-to-json
Price: $0.005 per call
Family: Documents
Docs: /docs/xlsx-to-json

01When to use it

Parsing a real .xlsx needs a spreadsheet engine plus a hardened fetch: an agent fetching the URL itself walks past every SSRF control, and carrying exceljs per call is not something an agent does inline.
Your source is XLSX and you need JSON.

When not to use it

The input is over 25 MB (26,214,400 bytes): xlsx-to-json answers too_large (413).
The destination needs more than 40 s to answer: the call ends with upstream_timeout (424).
The destination is on a private or local network: the network guard refuses it with blocked_target (403).

02Parameters

Field	Type	Required	Description
url	string	yes	Absolute http(s) URL of the .xlsx, up to 2048 characters; redirects are followed, the body must be a zip, and exceljs must load at least one worksheet from it (at most 64).
sheet	string	no	Exact name of the one worksheet to return, 1 to 255 characters; omitted, every worksheet is returned, and a name not in the workbook is a 422 listing the available names.
header_row	integer	no	The 1-based row holding the column names, 0 to 1000, default 1; data starts on the next row, and 0 returns every row as a positional array with columns set to null. Default: 1.
max_rows	integer	no	Maximum data rows returned per worksheet, 1 to 50000, default 1000; a sheet with more rows is cut and marked truncated. Default: 1000.

03Limits

Limit	Value
Largest source file	25 MB (26,214,400 bytes)
Timeout	40 s
Source formats	XLSX
Output formats	JSON

04Example

The published example of xlsx-to-json, verbatim: the request body and the response it returns.

Request

POST /v1/xlsx-to-json
content-type: application/json
payment-signature: <base64 x402 payload>

{
  "url": "https://grist.tools/samples/documents/garden-inventory.xlsx",
  "header_row": 1,
  "max_rows": 1000
}

Response

200 OK
payment-response: <base64 settlement receipt>

{
  "source_url": "https://grist.tools/samples/documents/garden-inventory.xlsx",
  "sheet_count": 2,
  "sheets": [
    {
      "name": "Seeds",
      "columns": [
        "Variety",
        "Crop",
        "Packets",
        "Sown On",
        "Organic"
      ],
      "rows": [
        {
          "Variety": "Early Scarlet",
          "Crop": "Radish",
          "Packets": 4,
          "Sown On": "2026-03-14T00:00:00.000Z",
          "Organic": true
        },
        {
          "Variety": "Green Arrow",
          "Crop": "Pea",
          "Packets": 6,
          "Sown On": "2026-03-21T00:00:00.000Z",
          "Organic": true
        },
        {
          "Variety": "Golden Cherry",
          "Crop": "Tomato",
          "Packets": 2,
          "Sown On": "2026-04-11T00:00:00.000Z",
          "Organic": false
        }
      ],
      "row_count": 3,
      "truncated": false
    },
    {
      "name": "Tools",
      "columns": [
        "Tool",
        "Count",
        "Location"
      ],
      "rows": [
        {
          "Tool": "Spade",
          "Count": 3,
          "Location": "Shed"
        },
        {
          "Tool": "Watering can",
          "Count": 5,
          "Location": "Rain barrels"
        }
      ],
      "row_count": 2,
      "truncated": false
    }
  ]
}

Sample file: documents/garden-inventory.xlsx. Two-sheet Excel workbook of garden stock: Seeds (text, counts, sowing dates, a boolean) and Tools, written by exceljs with pinned document and zip dates.

Response field	Type	In the example
source_url	string	"https://grist.tools/samples/documents/garden-inventory.xlsx"
sheet_count	number	2
sheets	array	2 items, each with name, columns, rows, row_count and truncated

05Call it from code

JavaScript

// xlsx-to-json: $0.005 per call, paid in USD Coin on eip155:8453 via x402
// Install: npm install @x402/fetch@2 @x402/evm@2 viem@2
// Save as client.mjs (ES module, Node 18+), export EVM_PRIVATE_KEY with the paying wallet's key in your shell, then run: node client.mjs
// The wrapper reads the 402 (payment-required), signs and retries with payment-signature.
import { wrapFetchWithPayment, x402Client, decodePaymentResponseHeader } from '@x402/fetch'
import { ExactEvmScheme } from '@x402/evm/exact/client'
import { privateKeyToAccount } from 'viem/accounts'

const account = privateKeyToAccount(process.env.EVM_PRIVATE_KEY)
const client = new x402Client().register('eip155:8453', new ExactEvmScheme(account))
const fetchWithPayment = wrapFetchWithPayment(fetch, client)

const body = {
  "url": "https://grist.tools/samples/documents/garden-inventory.xlsx",
  "header_row": 1,
  "max_rows": 1000
}

const res = await fetchWithPayment('https://grist.tools/v1/xlsx-to-json', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: { 'content-type': 'application/json' },
  body: JSON.stringify(body),
})
console.log(res.status, await res.json())
const settle = res.headers.get('payment-response')
if (settle) console.log(decodePaymentResponseHeader(settle).transaction)

Python

# xlsx-to-json: $0.005 per call, paid in USD Coin on eip155:8453 via x402
# Install: pip install "x402[requests,evm]>=2.24,<3"
# The session reads the 402 (payment-required), signs and retries with payment-signature.
import os
from eth_account import Account
from x402 import x402ClientSync
from x402.http import decode_payment_response_header
from x402.http.clients.requests import x402_requests
from x402.mechanisms.evm.exact import register_exact_evm_client
from x402.mechanisms.evm.signers import EthAccountSigner

account = Account.from_key(os.environ["EVM_PRIVATE_KEY"])
client = x402ClientSync()
register_exact_evm_client(client, EthAccountSigner(account), networks="eip155:8453")
session = x402_requests(client)

payload = {
    "url": "https://grist.tools/samples/documents/garden-inventory.xlsx",
    "header_row": 1,
    "max_rows": 1000
}

res = session.post("https://grist.tools/v1/xlsx-to-json", json=payload)
print(res.status_code, res.json())
settle = res.headers.get("payment-response")
if settle:
    print(decode_payment_response_header(settle).transaction)

curl

# xlsx-to-json: $0.005 per call, paid in USD Coin on eip155:8453 via x402
# 1. Unpaid call: HTTP 402, the requirements in the payment-required header (base64 JSON) and in the body.
curl -i -X POST 'https://grist.tools/v1/xlsx-to-json' -H 'content-type: application/json' -d '{"url":"https://grist.tools/samples/documents/garden-inventory.xlsx","header_row":1,"max_rows":1000}'

# 2. Same call with the signed payment (an EIP-3009 authorization, EIP-712 signed: it cannot be
#    typed by hand). x-payment is accepted as the v1 alternative. HTTP 200 carries payment-response.
curl -i -X POST 'https://grist.tools/v1/xlsx-to-json' -H 'content-type: application/json' -H 'payment-signature: <base64 x402 payload>' -d '{"url":"https://grist.tools/samples/documents/garden-inventory.xlsx","header_row":1,"max_rows":1000}'

06Errors

Code	HTTP	For this service
invalid_input	400	The body does not match the schema; its fields are url, sheet, header_row and max_rows.
blocked_target	403
unreachable_target	424
upstream_timeout	424
unsupported_content_type	415	The source is not a type xlsx-to-json reads; it reads XLSX.
too_large	413
unprocessable	422
internal	500

Input that is rejected before the tool runs (malformed JSON, schema mismatch, body over the size limit) is never charged.

When each code is raised, and what it means for payment: /docs/xlsx-to-json.

07Conversions

Conversion	Recorded sample	Source size	Output size
XLSX to JSON	documents/garden-inventory.xlsx	6.7 KB	639 bytes

08Questions

How much does a xlsx-to-json call cost?: $0.005 per call, paid in USDC on Base via x402, with no account and no API key.
What does xlsx-to-json return?: A JSON object with 3 top-level fields: source_url, sheet_count and sheets. The example on this page is a real call over documents/garden-inventory.xlsx.
What happens when a xlsx-to-json call fails?: The tool answers with a typed JSON error from the errors table. Payment is settled only after the tool has produced its result; a call that fails inside the tool is never settled. A 503 upstream_unavailable can follow a settled call; the x402 payments guide covers it, 429, 402 and an uncertain 500.

09Related

Documents guide