Quickstart

This guide helps you deploy XLTable and connect Excel to your analytical database as quickly as possible.

By the end of this guide you will have:

• XLTable server running on Linux

• A working database connection

• A simple OLAP cube accessible from Excel Pivot Tables

For complete details on each step, see the full documentation sections.

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Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure you have:

• A Linux server (Ubuntu 22.04+ recommended) with sudo access

• An analytical database (ClickHouse, BigQuery, Snowflake or Trino)

• Microsoft Excel (Microsoft 365 or Excel 2016+)

• XLTable distribution file (contact help@xltable.com to obtain it)

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Step 1: Install XLTable

Prepare the server and install required packages:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get -y install supervisor nginx p7zip-full

Create the working directory:

sudo mkdir /usr/olap
sudo chmod a+rwx /usr/olap

Copy the distribution file to the server and extract it:

scp xltable.7z user@your_server_ip:/usr/olap
cd /usr/olap && 7z x xltable.7z
chmod +x /usr/olap/xltable/main.bin

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Step 2: Configure database connection

Open the settings file:

nano /usr/olap/xltable/setting/settings.json

Add your database connection and basic user credentials. Example for ClickHouse:

{
    "SERVER_DB": "ClickHouse",
    "CREDENTIAL_DB": {
        "user": "default",
        "password": "your_password",
        "host": "your_clickhouse_host",
        "port": "8443",
        "secure": "True"
    },
    "USERS": {"analyst": "password123"},
    "USER_GROUPS": {"analyst": ["olap_users"]}
}

For other database types, see Installation.

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Step 3: Create a minimal OLAP cube

XLTable reads cube definitions from a table named olap_definition in your database.

For a ready-to-run example with sample tables, test data, and a complete cube definition, see ClickHouse Sample Data.

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Step 4: Start the service

Create a Supervisor configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/supervisor/conf.d/olap.conf

Paste the following content (replace <your_user> with the actual Linux username):

[program:olap]
command=/usr/olap/xltable/main.bin
directory=/usr/olap/xltable
user=<your_user>
autostart=true
autorestart=true
stopasgroup=true
killasgroup=true

Reload Supervisor to start the service:

sudo supervisorctl reload

Configure Nginx as a reverse proxy:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/olap

Paste the following content:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name _;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:5000;
        proxy_redirect off;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_connect_timeout 300s;
        proxy_send_timeout 300s;
        proxy_read_timeout 300s;
    }
}

Reload Nginx:

sudo service nginx reload

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Step 5: Connect Excel

1. Open Excel and go to Data → Get Data → From Database → From Analysis Services.

2. Enter the server URL: http://your_server_ip

3. Enter the username and password configured in settings.json.

4. Select the SalesCube cube.

5. Click Finish — your Pivot Table is ready.

Connection to XLTable is identical to connecting to Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS). For details on authentication modes and advanced connection options, see Connecting Excel.

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Next steps

• Installation — complete installation guide for Linux and Windows

• OLAP cube definition — full OLAP cube definition reference

• Reference — settings.json parameters and SQL tag reference

• ClickHouse Sample Data — ready-to-run ClickHouse script with sample tables, test data, and the myOLAPcube cube

• Support — troubleshooting and contact information