Three limits worth knowing, with the workaround for each.
Not every API answers from a browser
xlwings Lite runs in your browser. Some APIs block browser calls (a security rule called CORS) and refuse to answer.
Paste the API's URL into your browser's address bar.
Page shows raw data?
xlwings Lite can call it. You're good.
Browser refuses or downloads a file?
CORS is blocking. xlwings Lite is blocked too.
Already covered on the APIs lesson. Same rule applies here.
Connecting to a database: put an API in front
xlwings Lite runs in your browser, so it can't open a direct SQL connection. Two workarounds, depending on your setup. The portable one: wrap the database in a small REST API. Then it's just another API call, exactly like the APIs lesson, and it works everywhere (Windows, Mac, web).
On Windows with the data already in a company database? Let Excel do the connecting. Power Query pulls it into a sheet; click Refresh for fresh data, then xlwings Lite automates the table.
Company database
On your network
Power Query
Click Refresh
Excel table
Fresh data
xlwings Lite
Automates the table
Power Query database connectors are Windows desktop only (not Mac or web). SQL Server works out of the box; Postgres needs the free Npgsql driver.
Not every Excel feature is in Lite yet
Most everyday work is fine. The gap usually shows up through AI, which may write code Lite can't run, giving a NotImplementedError.
Why AI trips upxlwings Lite is a lighter version of xlwings, a Python package that's been around for years and can do almost anything in Excel. AI knows the original best, so it sometimes writes code that only the original can run.
Tip: hit a NotImplementedError? Tell the AI you're on xlwings Lite, or paste it the unsupported-methods list so it steers clear.
