{
  "id": 14708239,
  "title": "Turning a logged-in dashboard into an Excel file with Claude Code",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/turning-a-logged-in-dashboard-into-an-excel-file-with-claude-code",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-15T13:54:38.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dev.to",
    "slug": "dev-to",
    "url": "https://dev.to/lmcp/turning-a-logged-in-dashboard-into-an-excel-file-with-claude-code-54ff"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "People have been manually copying tables from logged-in dashboards into Excel for years. This tedious ritual can now be automated with Claude Code and LMCP, a free MCP server for Mac. Here's how it works:\n\n1. Log in once: Use the web_login tool to log in to the dashboard with a session name and URL. The session is saved for future runs, and the password never goes through the AI.\n\n2. Extract the table: web_extract can get the first match of each field name to CSS selector, but it's better suited for individual values like account balances or report dates. For full tables, use web_read in text mode or web_eval to run JavaScript and get the table as JSON. Remember, pagination may need manual clicks with web_click and web_wait_for.\n\n3. Write the Excel file: excel_create takes headers and rows and writes a real .xlsx file natively, without needing Excel installed. Preview the file before writing, and be aware that it won't overwrite existing files. Numbers stay numbers, and strings stay text. One sheet with no formatting is created, and formulas require manual addition.\n\nTo make the process repeatable, save the tool sequence as a recipe using recipe_run. Note that individual steps in a recipe that need confirmation, like excel_create, will return a preview instead of running. LMCP doesn't schedule tasks itself, so use client scheduled tasks for recurring jobs.\n\nThe tool is free to install using a bash script or npx command, and Claude Code must be running for the browser tools to work. While very heavy pages may need to be read in parts due to 10-second extraction call timeouts, sign-in with Google doesn't work in LMCP's browser window.",
  "summary": "Everyone has one of these: a dashboard behind a login, no export button worth using, and a weekly ritual of copying a table into Excel. This is how we'd hand that ritual to Claude Code with LMCP, a free MCP server for Mac I work on, including the parts that aren't obvious from the tool names. Step 1: log in once The browser tools run in LMCP's own window, not your Safari or Chrome. Ask your agent…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Container Journal",
        "title": "Put the Agent in a Box: Running Claude Code in a Container",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/put-the-agent-in-a-box-running-claude-code-in-a-container",
        "published": "2026-10-15T11:10:28.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "TechSpot",
        "title": "Anthropic ditched Git for its own version control system because Claude is writing too much code",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/anthropic-ditched-git-for-its-own-version-control-system-because",
        "published": "2026-10-15T13:43:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}