Coda (Superhuman Docs) vs Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Graph workbook API)

Coda (Superhuman Docs)

API tokens can be limited to one doc or one table and to read or write, and the OpenAPI description covers 125 operations with 429 on almost all. Writes are queued and answered with 202, so each needs a status check. The REST API has no idempotency keys or official client libraries, and the MCP server is in beta.

Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Graph workbook API)

Ranges, tables, charts and 366 worksheet function endpoints are reachable over REST with a public OpenAPI, and a non-persistent session lets an agent test changes without saving them. The reference pages list delegated permissions only, with Files.ReadWrite as the least privileged scope, and writes take no idempotency key.

Coda (Superhuman Docs)

1. Poll /mutationStatus/{requestId} after every row write. A 202 means queued, and the edit can still fail
2. Send X-Coda-Doc-Version: latest when a read must reflect recent edits, and handle the 400 it returns when the snapshot is behind
3. Use keyColumns on POST .../rows so a retried insert updates the same row instead of adding a duplicate
4. Ask for a token restricted to the one doc or table and to read access where the task allows. An unrestricted token can do anything its owner can
5. Read MCP tool names from the tool list at run time. The vendor says names and parameters can change during the beta

Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Graph workbook API)

1. Create a session with POST /workbook/createSession and send workbook-session-id on every call. Persistent sessions expire after about 5 minutes idle
2. Set persistChanges to false when you only need a calculation or a chart image, so nothing is saved to the file
3. Send one request at a time per workbook and wait for each response. Microsoft warns that parallel writes cause throttling, timeouts and merge conflicts
4. Add rows in one call with a two-dimensional values array, and check the table before repeating a row add that returned 504
5. Read bounded addresses such as A1:D500. A whole-column range such as C:C returns null for values, and writes to it are refused