AWS ECS Express Mode

1. Create an ECS Express Mode Service

  1. Go to the ECS console and select Express mode in the navigation pane on the left-hand side

  2. Image URI:

    public.ecr.aws/xlwings/xlwings-lite:1.0.0.0-55

  3. Task execution role: Select an existing role or choose Create new role

  4. Infrastructure role: Select an existing role or choose Create new role

  5. Expand the Additional configurations section:

    • Container port: 8000

    • Environment variables > Add environment variable:

      • Key: XLWINGS_LICENSE_KEY

      • Value type: Environment variable

      • Value or value from: <your license key>

    • CPU: 0.25 vCPU, Memory: 0.5 GB

    • Networking: Configure according to your requirements (leaving the checkbox unchecked will expose the service to the public internet)

  6. Click Create

2. Configuration (optional)

You can configure xlwings Lite via optional environment variables. For an overview, see Environment variables. To add environment variables to your existing service, click on your service > Update service (orange button on the top right) > Additional configurations. Once added, click on Update (orange button at the bottom right) to deploy.

3. Add-in installation

  1. Go to <Application Url>/manifest, which will download xlwings-lite-manifest.xml. It’s a good idea to open the XML file in an editor and double-check that e.g., <IconUrl> contains the correct Application Url. If it doesn’t, set the environment variable XLWINGS_HOST with the correct domain name, see Environment variables.

  2. Go to Microsoft 365 admin center

    • Click on Show all > Settings > Integrated Apps, then click on Upload custom apps.

    • As App type select Office Add-in.

    • Select Upload manifest file (.xml) from device. Click Choose File, then select the manifest-xlwings-lite.xml from the previous step.

    • Click Next, then assign the desired users.

    • Click Next and accept permission requests.

    • Click Next and Finish deployment.

The users should get the add-in to show up automatically although it may take a few minutes/hours. Alternatively, they can go to Add-ins on the ribbon’s Home tab and click on More Add-ins. They will see the add-in under the tab Admin Managed from where they can install it (there’s also a Refresh button at the top right).

4. Updating

To update xlwings Lite:

  1. Go to the ECS console and navigate to your cluster > your service

  2. Click on Update service (orange button on the top right). Update the Image URI to the following:

    public.ecr.aws/xlwings/xlwings-lite:1.0.0.0-55

    Once added, click on Update (orange button at the bottom right) to deploy.