bilig

HyperFormula Alternative For Node WorkPaper Automation

Status: public comparison guide for @bilig/headless.

This page is for developers already evaluating HyperFormula or another headless spreadsheet engine. It is intentionally not a takedown. HyperFormula is the established TypeScript engine in this category; its official README positions it as a headless spreadsheet for business web apps with formula evaluation, CRUD operations, undo/redo, clipboard support, sorting, Node.js support, and a GPLv3 or commercial license.

@bilig/headless is worth evaluating when the workload is closer to a service-side WorkPaper runtime: formula-backed business logic, structural edits, agent writeback, persistence, restore, and auditable benchmark evidence from the same repository.

Short Version

Use HyperFormula when you want a mature, UI-independent formula calculation engine with broad spreadsheet-function coverage and commercial support from the Handsontable team.

Use @bilig/headless when you need a MIT-licensed Node package that treats the workbook as a service object: build it, mutate it, read formulas and values, persist it, restore it, and verify agent-style edits without opening a browser grid.

Comparison Surface

Question	HyperFormula	@bilig/headless
Primary shape	Headless spreadsheet formula engine	Headless WorkPaper workbook facade
Runtime target	Browser or Node.js	Node services, tests, agents, and local runtime automation
License posture	GPLv3 or commercial license	MIT
API orientation	Spreadsheet-engine instance with formula evaluation and workbook operations	WorkPaper object with formula evaluation, structural edits, persistence helpers, history, and readback
Agent workflow fit	Possible, but the project is not specifically packaged around agent writeback proofs	First-class evaluation path includes an agent writeback demo with persistence and restored readback
Benchmark claim in this repo	External comparison target	Checked-in WorkPaper-vs-HyperFormula artifact records 46/46 mean wins on scorecard-eligible comparable workloads
Caveat	Strong default engine, with its own licensing and integration model	Not a finished Excel clone and not full Excel formula parity

What The Benchmark Says

The current checked-in artifact is:

packages/benchmarks/baselines/workpaper-vs-hyperformula.json

The short benchmark explainer is:

docs/what-workpaper-benchmark-proves.md

The current public claim is narrow:

• 46/46 mean-latency wins on scorecard-eligible comparable workloads
• 38/38 public-lane mean wins
• 8/8 holdout-lane mean wins
• an overall p95 geomean lead
• one named p95 caveat that remains visible instead of hidden

The verification command is:

pnpm workpaper:bench:competitive:check

This does not prove that bilig is faster at every possible spreadsheet task. It does not prove full Excel compatibility. It proves the checked-in WorkPaper runtime claim for the current comparable headless workload scorecard.

Try The Package

Use the published package when you want a quick local evaluation:

mkdir bilig-headless-eval
cd bilig-headless-eval
npm init -y
npm pkg set type=module
npm install @bilig/headless

Use the maintained example when you want an end-to-end proof:

git clone https://github.com/proompteng/bilig.git
cd bilig/examples/headless-workpaper
npm install
npm start
npm run agent:verify

The agent verifier records the assumption cells changed, checks dependent formula readback, persists the workbook, restores it, and verifies the restored values.

When To Choose bilig First

• You need a workbook object in a Node service, not a browser grid.
• You need formulas plus structural edits, undo/redo, persistence, and restore.
• You are building a coding-agent or workflow-agent loop that must verify writes by reading formulas and values back from the same workbook model.
• You want an MIT-licensed package surface.
• You want benchmark claims tied to checked-in artifacts and local commands.

When Not To Choose bilig First

• You need a mature commercial support channel today.
• You need broad Excel formula compatibility before adding reduced fixtures.
• You need a library already centered around a visual spreadsheet component.
• You need every XLSX feature preserved across import/export right now.

For those cases, start with HyperFormula or a full spreadsheet product, then use bilig’s compatibility notes to decide whether a narrower WorkPaper runtime fits a later slice.

Proof Links

• Package README: packages/headless/README.md
• Public adoption kit: docs/public-adoption-kit.md
• Benchmark explainer: docs/what-workpaper-benchmark-proves.md
• Benchmark evidence: docs/headless-workpaper-benchmark-evidence.md
• Compatibility boundaries: docs/where-bilig-is-not-excel-compatible-yet.md
• Starter issues: docs/starter-issues.md
• Official HyperFormula repository: https://github.com/handsontable/hyperformula
• Official HyperFormula site: https://hyperformula.handsontable.com/

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