CSV Power Editor ships a local MCP (Model Context Protocol) server, so AI clients like Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Codex CLI, and Cursor can drive the app directly: open files, filter rows, fix values, dedupe, and export — while the grid updates in front of you and every step stays undoable. Automation with a human watching, not a black box.
Open Settings → MCP Server and flip the toggle. The server binds only to 127.0.0.1 on your Mac and requires a bearer token shown in the same panel — it is off by default.
Use the built-in Connect Claude Desktop helper to write the config, or paste the endpoint and token into Claude Code, Codex CLI, or Cursor's MCP settings.
For example: 'Open ~/Downloads/customers.csv, show me the headers, filter to rows where email contains @gmail.com, and save those to ~/Desktop/gmail.csv.' The agent calls the matching tools in sequence.
Every tool call updates the visible grid — filters appear as chips, edits land in cells. You can stop, take over, or undo at any point; agent edits share the same 50-level undo stack.
Every MCP call is written to a local audit log, so you can see exactly what the agent did to the file and when.
Ten read-only tools (headers, preview, row counts, column profile, search), five UI tools (open file, select sheet, filter, sort), and six gated destructive tools (edit cell, find & replace, dedupe, trim, export, save) — the agent gets capability, not free rein.
The server accepts connections only from 127.0.0.1 and every request needs the bearer token from Settings. Nothing is exposed to the network, and the app itself makes no outbound connections.
The agent operates on the same workbook you're looking at. Cmd+Z reverses agent changes exactly like your own, which makes trying an automation cheap.
Weekly export cleanup becomes one saved instruction to your agent: open, trim, dedupe by email, filter, export. The sequence replays on each new file while you watch the grid confirm it.
Any MCP-capable client. Claude Desktop has a one-click config helper in Settings; Claude Code, Codex CLI, and Cursor connect with the endpoint and bearer token.
CSV Power Editor itself makes no outbound network connections — the MCP server is loopback-only. Tool results are returned to the local MCP client you connected; what that client shares with its AI model is governed by that client and your account with it.
Three things: destructive tools are a separate gated tier, every change lands in the visible grid as it happens, and the shared 50-level undo stack reverses agent operations with Cmd+Z. There's also a local audit log of every call.
Yes — csv.openFile is one of the tools, within the macOS sandbox and the access you've granted the app. Every open is visible in the UI, and read-only inspection tools let it check headers and preview rows before touching anything.
No. If you use Claude Desktop, the Connect helper writes the config for you, and from there it's plain-English instructions. The developer-oriented clients (Claude Code, Cursor) are options, not requirements.
MCP automation is available during the 14-day full Pro trial and with Lifetime Pro ($14.99 once). Core editing for files up to 300 rows stays free after the trial.
Edit big exports with a disk-backed grid tested on 75,000-row files, live filters, and fast search.
Normalize legacy exports, dedupe master records, and validate fields before they hit the ERP importer.
Merge list sources, dedupe by email, fix casing, filter invalid rows, and flag unsubscribed addresses.
