A tech enthusiast named has achieved the improbable: running the Linux operating system within Microsoft Excel. It’s a clever trick that no-one has been asking for.
The 18-year-old named NSG650 created a project, aptly titled “Linux In Excel,” transforms the spreadsheet application into a minimalist Linux terminal.
Opening the provided ‘linux.xlsm’ file in Excel, users can witness a Linux startup log displayed across spreadsheet cells, with each line occupying its own cell.
Entering ‘root’ in cell C2 grants access to a basic command line interface, where commands like ‘ls’ and ‘cd’ work as expected.
This feat isn’t accomplished through Excel’s native functions or macros. Instead, NSG650 employs a VBA macro to invoke a RISC-V emulator known as ‘riscv_emufun (mini-rv32ima),’ directing its output into the spreadsheet cells. This approach is “clearly cheating,” as NSG650 candidly acknowledges given that the emulator isn’t reimplemented using Excel’s own tools.
For those intrigued by this unconventional fusion of spreadsheet and operating system, the project is available on GitHub: NSG650/LinuxInExcel
