Show HN: CheatSheet An Open-source spreadsheet you can talk to

2 days ago 1

An AI-powered, open-source Google Sheets competitor built with Tambo AI.

Build and manipulate interactive spreadsheets with natural language, alongside graphs and visualizations.

Edit with AI: Use natural language to interact with a spreadsheet.
Cell Selection: Select cells to have the AI interact with.
Multi-Modal: Attach Images along with Messages.
Model Context Protocol (MCP): Connect external data sources and tools

2025-10-28-cheat-sheet-github.mp4

Voice Input: Use voice input in addition to typing.
Formula Support: Spreadsheet formulas (SUM, AVERAGE, IF, VLOOKUP, etc.)
Charts and Graphs: Create visualizations from your spreadsheet data
Better Formatting: More visual options for tables (colors, borders, fonts, alignment)
Import/Export: CSV, XLSX, and JSON support

Clone this repository
Navigate to the project directory:
Install dependencies:
Set up your environment variables:

Option A: Using Tambo CLI (Recommended)

This will interactively prompt you for your Tambo API key and create .env.local automatically.

Option B: Manual Setup

cp example.env.local .env.local

Then edit .env.local and add your API key from tambo.co/dashboard.
Start the development server:
Open http://localhost:3000 in your browser to use the app!

This template shows how the AI reads and updates the spreadsheet through three ways:

How AI Accesses Spreadsheet State

Context Helpers (Read-only data)

spreadsheetContextHelper - Gives the AI the current tab's data as a markdown table
spreadsheetSelectionContextHelper - Tells the AI what's currently selected
Runs automatically whenever you send a message
See: src/lib/spreadsheet-context-helper.ts, src/lib/spreadsheet-selection-context.ts

Tools (Make changes)

10 tools the AI can use to change the spreadsheet
Context helpers and interactables are read-only; tools make changes
See: src/tools/spreadsheet-tools.ts

Interactables (Structured metadata)

InteractableTabs - Sends tab info (names, IDs, active tab) to the AI
Components wrapped with withInteractable HOC
Keeps the AI in sync when tabs change
See: `src/components/ui/interactable-tabs.tsx``

Spreadsheet Tools Reference

Tool Purpose

updateCell	Update a single cell's value
updateRange	Update multiple cells at once
addColumn	Add a new column
removeColumn	Remove a column
addRow	Add a new row
removeRow	Remove a row
readCell	Read a single cell's value
readRange	Read multiple cells
clearRange	Clear cell values in a range
sortByColumn	Sort rows by column values

Configuration

src/lib/tambo.ts - Component and tool registration
src/app/chat/page.tsx - Main chat interface with TamboProvider

Spreadsheet System

src/components/ui/spreadsheet-tabs.tsx - Visual tab interface
src/lib/spreadsheet-tabs-store.ts - Zustand store managing spreadsheet data
src/lib/spreadsheet-utils.ts - Utility functions for data manipulation

State Management

src/lib/canvas-storage.ts - Canvas/tab state management
Powered by @silevis/reactgrid library and Zustand

Note on Dependencies: This project uses @silevis/[email protected] with legacy-peer-deps=true to work around React 19 peer dependency constraints. The library functions correctly despite the warning.

import type { TamboComponent } from "@tambo-ai/react"; const components: TamboComponent[] = [ { name: "MyComponent", description: "When to use this component", component: MyComponent, propsSchema: myComponentSchema, // Zod schema }, ];

See src/components/tambo/ for component examples and Tambo Components docs for detailed guidance.

Add tools in src/tools/ following this pattern:

export const myTool = { name: "toolName", description: "What this tool does", tool: async (param: string) => { // Implementation return { success: true, message: "Result" }; }, toolSchema: z.function().args( z.string().describe("Parameter description") ).returns(z.object({ success: z.boolean(), message: z.string().optional(), })), };

Model Context Protocol (MCP)

Configure MCP servers via the settings modal to connect external data sources. Servers are stored in browser localStorage and wrapped with TamboMcpProvider in the chat interface.

Learn more about Tambo:

Built with Tambo AI - A framework for building AI-powered UIs. Tambo is open source: tambo-ai/tambo.

Contributions welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

MIT License

Read Entire Article