Why FastExcel Is the Next‑Gen High‑Performance Java Excel Library

Background of FastExcel

In 2023 the original author left Alibaba, and Alibaba announced that EasyExcel would no longer be updated. Seizing this opportunity, the author continued maintaining the project, initially naming it EasyExcel‑Plus before finally naming it FastExcel to emphasize both ease of use and high performance for large‑scale Excel processing.

Origin from EasyExcel

EasyExcel was widely adopted in the Java ecosystem to solve memory‑overflow problems of Apache POI when handling massive data. FastExcel inherits EasyExcel’s simple API while redesigning core algorithms for better speed and lower memory consumption.

Open‑Source Community Support

After the project launch, FastExcel quickly attracted attention on GitHub, gaining over 1.8K stars within a month. Developers contributed feature requests, bug fixes, and pull requests, enriching the library’s functionality and stability.

Key Features

Full Compatibility with EasyExcel

Existing EasyExcel projects can migrate to FastExcel without code changes. Switching only requires updating the Maven coordinates and, optionally, the import package.

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.alibaba</groupId>
    <artifactId>easyexcel</artifactId>
    <version>xxxx</version>
</dependency>

Replace with:

<dependency>
    <groupId>cn.idev.excel</groupId>
    <artifactId>fastexcel</artifactId>
    <version>1.0.0</version>
</dependency>

And change imports from com.alibaba.excel to cn.idev.excel. The library can also coexist with EasyExcel if needed.

High Performance

FastExcel deeply optimizes low‑level algorithms and memory management, allowing it to process tens of thousands to millions of rows with far less heap usage than traditional libraries, preventing out‑of‑memory crashes and shortening processing time.

MIT Open‑Source License

The project is released under the permissive MIT license, giving developers and enterprises the freedom to use, modify, and redistribute the code in any commercial or non‑commercial scenario without legal concerns.

Innovative Functions

Read specified rows of an Excel file, enabling partial data extraction for large datasets.

Convert Excel files to PDF while preserving layout and formatting.

Future Roadmap

Planned enhancements include support for more exotic Excel formats, advanced memory‑allocation strategies for ultra‑large files, richer APIs for data filtering, sorting, grouping, and chart generation, as well as tighter integration with enterprise systems.

From FastExcel to Chat2DB: Continuing the Open‑Source Spirit

Chat2DB Origin and Positioning

After leaving Alibaba, the same author founded Chat2DB, an AI‑driven database management and analysis tool that aims to simplify complex database operations for both developers and non‑technical users.

Core Features and Advantages

Natural‑language‑to‑SQL conversion, allowing users to describe queries in plain English.

SQL explanation that translates complex statements into readable descriptions.

SQL dialect conversion across MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, etc.

Comprehensive data‑management capabilities (tables, views, procedures, permissions, etc.).

Open‑Source Philosophy

Chat2DB follows the same MIT‑licensed open‑source model, encouraging global developers to contribute, customize, and extend the tool. A paid edition offers additional enterprise‑grade features, but the core remains free and community‑driven.

GitHub Repositories

FastExcel: https://github.com/CodePhiliaX/fastexcel

Chat2DB: https://github.com/CodePhiliaX/Chat2DB