Sideload Excel Add-In on MacOS Sierra
Tags: office365, excel, officedev, javascript
Published: 2019-05-04 10:47:54

---
title: "Sideload Excel Add-In on MacOS Sierra"
published: true
description: "Steps for side-loading Excel add-ins on MacOS"
tags: office365, excel, office-dev, javascript  
cover_image: https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/y41fvsvqlqwjcp15rvvq.png
canonical_url: https://kags.me.ke/post/office-mac-side-load-excel-add-in/
---



### Introduction

In a [previous post](https://dev.to/kagundajm/office-add-in-using-vscode-and-mkcert-private-trusted-ca-fo4) we looked at the process of generating an Excel add-in and using [mkcert](https://github.com/FiloSottile/mkcert) to create private certification authority (CA) trusted by browsers. In this post, we continue the journey of developing office add-in by looking at the steps involved in side loading our add-in in an Excel host.

### Prerequisites

The add-in [how to guide for iPad and Mac](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-gb/office/dev/add-ins/testing/sideload-an-office-add-in-on-ipad-and-mac#prerequisites-for-office-for-mac) sets out the following prerequisites:

- A Mac running OS X v10.10 "Yosemite" or later with Office for Mac installed.

- Excel for Mac version 15.19 (160206).

- The manifest .xml file for the add-in you want to test.


In this post, we will utilize the following:

- A Mac running macOS High Sierra v10.13.3

- Excel for Mac version 16.16.5 (181209)

- Manifest.xml for the Excel add-in that we created in the [previous post](https://dev.to/kagundajm/office-add-in-using-vscode-and-mkcert-private-trusted-ca-fo4)

### Steps to sideload our Excel add-in

- Open Terminal window and verify that `wef` folder exists on your computer by running the following command.`cd /Users/${USER}/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Excel/Data/Documents/wef`

- If a **No such file or directory** message is displayed, then run the following commands from the terminal to create the folder and navigate to the newly created folder `mkdir /Users/${USER}/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Excel/Data/Documents/wef` and `cd  /Users/${USER}/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Excel/Data/Documents/wef`

- Copy `manifest.xml` file of your Excel add-in to the `wef` folder. If you followed the [previous post on generating an office add-in](https://dev.to/kagundajm/office-add-in-using-vscode-and-mkcert-private-trusted-ca-fo4), then your copy command will be similar to the following: `cp ~/office-js/expense-updater/manifest.xml .`

If you are testing more than one Excel add-in, rename the add-in `manifest.xml` file while copying to avoid overwriting a manifest file for another add-in. `cp ~/office-js/expense-updater/manifest.xml ./expense-updater.xml`

- Change directory to the root of your Excel add-in and start your add-in server `cd ~/office-js/expense-updater && npm start`

- Close the Excel application if it is already running. Make sure your completely quit the application.

- Open your Excel workbook

- Choose **Insert** from the menu

- Click on the drop-down arrow next to **My Add-ins** and select your Excel add-in.

![alt="macos side load excel add-in"](https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/0u98yp9ljwpewkbo6fod.png)

- Your Excel add-in will now load and a callout will be displayed

![alt="macos-excel-add-in-load-call-out"](https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/rbb7rja9w3bjzxsl2zar.png)

- Click on the **Got it** button to dispose the callout.

- Click on your Excel add-in button to sideload the add-in.

![alt="macos excel add in sample"](https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/nhos809feqidgmkm83iq.png)

### Resources

- [Sideload Office Add-ins on iPad and Mac for testing](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/office/dev/add-ins/testing/sideload-an-office-add-in-on-ipad-and-mac)