How to Resolve PermissionError When Writing Excel Files with pandas/openpyxl

1. Introduction

The author encountered a PermissionError while trying to write data to an Excel file using openpyxl in a Python environment, as shown by the traceback:

Traceback (most recent call last): File "...\openpyxl\worksheet_writer.py", line 32, in _openpyxl_shutdown os.remove(path) PermissionError: [WinError 32] Another program is using this file, the process cannot access it: 'C:\Users\ADMINI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\openpyxl.glmi0x04'

2. Solution

The community suggested opening the Excel file in append mode with pandas.ExcelWriter and ensuring the file is not manually opened elsewhere:

with pd.ExcelWriter(f'{24}.xlsx', engine='openpyxl', mode='a', if_sheet_exists='replace') as writer:

This approach writes data to an existing workbook without triggering the permission conflict, because the file remains closed to other processes.

3. Conclusion

The issue was resolved by using the correct writer settings and confirming the file was not open in another application. The discussion highlights the importance of handling file access permissions when programmatically manipulating Excel files in Python.