UI Configuration

Codcel can generate user interfaces that allow users to interact with your calculations. You can configure these generated interfaces directly from within your Excel workbook by adding special configuration sheets. UI configuration is supported by the Fullstack UI output target (web application) and the Excel Python Interface output target (Excel workbooks with xlwings).

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Configuration Sheets

Codcel recognises three special sheet names for UI configuration and one for MCP (Model Context Protocol) integration:

Sheet Name	Purpose
codcel-ui-language	Multi-language translations for UI labels
codcel-ui-options	Input-to-output name mappings
codcel-ui-layouts	Widget type and layout configuration
codcel-mcp	MCP tool definitions for AI integration

These sheets are processed during code generation and are not included in the calculation logic. They are optional -- if they are not present, Codcel uses sensible defaults.

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Language Configuration (codcel-ui-language)

The codcel-ui-language sheet allows you to provide translations for input and output labels in the generated UI, enabling multilingual applications.

Sheet Structure

	A	B	C	D
1	(ID)	en	fr	de
2	interest_rate	Interest Rate	Taux d'intérêt	Zinssatz
3	loan_amount	Loan Amount	Montant du prêt	Darlehensbetrag
4	monthly_payment	Monthly Payment	Paiement mensuel	Monatliche Zahlung

• Column A contains the translation IDs (typically matching your input/output names)
• Row 1 contains locale codes (e.g. en, fr, de, es, pt, ja)
• Each cell contains the translated label for that ID in the corresponding locale

The generated UI will display labels in the user's selected language, falling back to the first available translation if a language is not defined.

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Options Configuration (codcel-ui-options)

The codcel-ui-options sheet maps input names to output names, defining which inputs feed into which outputs in the generated UI. This controls how the UI groups and presents calculation inputs alongside their results.

Sheet Structure

	A	B
1	Input	Output
2	Interest Rate	Monthly Payment
3	Loan Amount	Monthly Payment
4	Term Years	Monthly Payment

• Column A contains the input name (as labelled in your spreadsheet)
• Column B contains the output name that the input is associated with

Names are automatically converted to snake_case internally. This mapping tells the generated UI which input fields to display alongside each output calculation.

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Layouts Configuration (codcel-ui-layouts)

The codcel-ui-layouts sheet controls the visual layout and widget types used in the generated UI. You can specify how each input is rendered (as a text field, slider, dropdown, etc.) and how inputs are grouped.

Sheet Structure

	A	B	C
1	Output	Widget	Name
2	monthly_payment	group	Loan Details
3	monthly_payment	slider	interest_rate
4	monthly_payment	text	loan_amount
5	monthly_payment	dropdown	term_years

• Column A contains the output name (the calculation this layout applies to)
• Column B contains the widget type
• Column C contains the input name or group label

Widget Types

Widget	Description	Supported by
group	A visual grouping header. The Name column contains the group's display label (not converted to snake_case)	Fullstack UI, Excel Python Interface
input	An input field -- used to specify field ordering without changing the widget type	Fullstack UI, Excel Python Interface
output	An output field -- used to specify field ordering without changing the widget type	Fullstack UI, Excel Python Interface
text	A standard text input field	Fullstack UI only
slider	A range slider input	Fullstack UI only
dropdown	A dropdown/select menu	Fullstack UI only

Multiple layouts can be defined for the same output. Entries listed after a group entry are visually grouped under that heading in the generated interface.

The Excel Python Interface supports group, input, and output widgets for controlling field ordering and visual grouping in the generated Excel workbooks. The Fullstack UI additionally supports text, slider, and dropdown for controlling how input fields are rendered in the web application.

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MCP Configuration (codcel-mcp)

The codcel-mcp sheet defines tools, parameters, and results for generating an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server. This enables AI assistants to interact with your calculations as tools.

Sheet Structure

	A	B	C	D
1	Type	Tool	Name	Description
2	tool	Calculate Mortgage	Calculate Mortgage	Calculates monthly mortgage payments based on loan parameters
3	parameter	Calculate Mortgage	Interest Rate	The annual interest rate as a percentage
4	parameter	Calculate Mortgage	Loan Amount	The total loan amount in currency units
5	parameter	Calculate Mortgage	Term Years	The loan term in years
6	result	Calculate Mortgage	Monthly Payment	The calculated monthly payment amount

• Column A (Type) -- one of tool, parameter, or result
• Column B (Tool) -- the tool name that this row belongs to
• Column C (Name) -- the parameter or result name (for tool rows, this repeats the tool name)
• Column D (Description) -- a human-readable description

Row Types

Type	Purpose
tool	Defines a new tool. Must appear before any parameters or results for that tool
parameter	Defines an input parameter for a tool
result	Defines an output result for a tool

All rows must have values in all four columns. Incomplete rows generate a warning and are skipped. Tool names and parameter/result names are automatically converted to snake_case internally.

The generated MCP server exposes each defined tool as an MCP tool that AI assistants (such as Claude) can call. Parameters become the tool's input schema and results define the output structure.

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Notes

• Sheet names are case-insensitive (codcel-ui-language and CODCEL-UI-LANGUAGE are treated the same)
• All names are converted to snake_case internally for code generation
• Configuration sheets are only processed when the corresponding output target is enabled (e.g. Fullstack UI, Excel Python Interface, MCP Server)
• If you include a configuration sheet but do not enable its output target, the sheet is ignored
• For best results, ensure that the names used in configuration sheets match the input and output names defined in your spreadsheet's formulas