XIViewer

What XIViewer opens

XIViewer is a modern, fast, and user friendly tool for exploring Excel files from Final Fantasy XIV Online. The README explains that in this context Excel files are structured data tables that store various in game information, and it gives item stats and NPC data as examples of what those tables contain. The tool is not a spreadsheet editor for ordinary office work. It is a specialized browser for the data format the game uses to ship its content, which modders and curious players inspect to learn how the game is built.

The README links to the xiv.dev documentation that describes the Excel file format, so a reader can understand the underlying structure before using the app. Because the game stores a wide range of facts in these tables, from numbers behind items to records about non player characters, the viewer serves people who want to look up specific values without dumping and parsing the files by hand. The project is written in Rust, which the README's build badges reflect through native and web build workflows. The FFXIV version badge pulls the latest game version from an API at xiviewer.app, which keeps the viewer aligned with the current patch. A user approaching XIViewer for the first time should think of it as a read oriented explorer of game data rather than an editor of the live game installation.

Web and native access

XIViewer offers two ways to run it. The web version is available immediately at xiviewer.app, and a native build can be downloaded from the project's releases page. The README lists this dual availability as a core feature, so a user does not have to install anything to try the tool, but can also run it locally for speed or offline use. A third option, self hosting, is supported through Docker, which the README lists under an Easy Deployment feature. Hosting your own web instance via Docker means a user or community can run the viewer on their own infrastructure.

The README points to a container package for XIViewer, which is the artifact a Docker deployment would pull. The web build and native build each have their own GitHub Actions workflow, shown by the Native Build and Web Build badges that link to releases and the container package respectively. The online quick start tells a reader to visit xiviewer.app to use the latest version directly in a browser, and it notes support for local game installs and schema files, meaning the web app can read data from a copy of the game on the user's machine as well as from provided schema files. Together these options cover casual lookup, local performance, and private hosting without changing the underlying viewer.

Filtering and schema features

The README highlights two features that make the viewer practical for large game tables. The first is performance: XIViewer handles all sheets efficiently, including very large ones such as Item, Action, and Quest. These sheet names are called out because they hold a lot of rows and columns, and a slow viewer would be unpleasant to use with them. The second is EXDSchema support, which the README describes as tight integration with the EXDSchema project for better data exploration and dynamic in viewer schema editing. Schema editing inside the viewer means a user can adjust how the data is interpreted without leaving the app.

The third relevant feature is advanced filtering. The README says XIViewer supports simple, fuzzy, and complex filtering to help users find specific data quickly. Simple filtering likely means exact matches, fuzzy filtering tolerates approximate text, and complex filtering combines conditions, though the README does not define the syntax. For someone digging through thousands of game rows, these filter modes are the main way to locate a single item or NPC without scrolling. The combination of fast sheet loading, schema awareness, and layered filtering is what lets the tool stay useful as a lookup aid rather than just a file opener. A user who works with game data regularly will rely on filtering and schema views more than on raw browsing.

Editorial conclusion

XIViewer is written in Rust and released under the MIT license, and it runs both at xiviewer.app and as a downloadable native build. The README notes it handles large sheets such as Item, Action, and Quest and can be self hosted with Docker.