FastExcel: The New Java Library Replacing EasyExcel for High‑Performance Excel Processing

After the well‑known EasyExcel project announced it would stop updates, its original author launched a new open‑source project called FastExcel as a direct replacement.

FastExcel is a Java‑based tool designed for fast, concise handling of large Excel files while preventing memory overflow. It maintains full compatibility with EasyExcel, offering ongoing maintenance, performance optimizations, and bug fixes.

The library is released under the permissive MIT license, allowing free use in any commercial scenario.

Key features include excellent read/write performance, a simple and intuitive API, streaming support to reduce memory consumption, and seamless migration from EasyExcel—just replace the package name and dependency.

Installation

For Maven projects, add the following dependency:

<code>&lt;dependency&gt;
    &lt;groupId&gt;cn.idev.excel&lt;/groupId&gt;
    &lt;artifactId&gt;fastexcel&lt;/artifactId&gt;
    &lt;version&gt;1.0.0&lt;/version&gt;
&lt;/dependency&gt;
</code>

For Gradle projects, include:

<code>dependencies {
    implementation 'cn.idev.excel:fastexcel:1.0.0'
}
</code>

Reading Excel files

Define a data class and a listener, then call

FastExcel.read

:

<code>// Implement ReadListener interface
public class DemoDataListener implements ReadListener<DemoData> {
    @Override
    public void invoke(DemoData data, AnalysisContext context) {
        System.out.println("Parsed a record: " + JSON.toJSONString(data));
    }
    @Override
    public void doAfterAllAnalysed(AnalysisContext context) {
        System.out.println("All data parsed!");
    }
}

public static void main(String[] args) {
    String fileName = "demo.xlsx";
    // Read Excel file
    FastExcel.read(fileName, DemoData.class, new DemoDataListener())
            .sheet()
            .doRead();
}
</code>

Writing Excel files

Create a data class, populate a list, and invoke

FastExcel.write

:

<code>// Example data class
public class DemoData {
    @ExcelProperty("String Title")
    private String string;
    @ExcelProperty("Date Title")
    private Date date;
    @ExcelProperty("Number Title")
    private Double doubleData;
    @ExcelIgnore
    private String ignore;
}

public static void main(String[] args) {
    String fileName = "demo.xlsx";
    // Create a sheet named "Template" and write data
    FastExcel.write(fileName, DemoData.class)
            .sheet("Template")
            .doWrite(data());
}
</code>

The usage is straightforward, making FastExcel easy to adopt for developers.

Since its recent release, FastExcel has quickly gained popularity, surpassing 2,000 stars on GitHub and receiving hundreds of issues and feedback from the community.