A lone dev managed to run a Linux computer in an Excel spreadsheet
If you can run a computer or process in something that's sometimes amazing, but it's also a cyber risk.
Key takeaways
- Excel, a program with powerful computation capabilities that's been around for almost 40 years, is no different.
- The mini-rv32ima emulator provides a partial RISC-V implementation.
- All things considered, NSG650 created a VBA macro that loads the mini-rv32ima emulated environment into Excel, captures its output, and writes it into the spreadsheet's cells.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2025) 'A lone dev managed to run a Linux computer in an Excel spreadsheet', 311 Institute, 2 June. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/a-lone-dev-managed-to-run-a-computer-in-an-excel-spreadsheet/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
As the "can it run Doom" phenomenon clearly demonstrates, people will try to do the weirdest things with extensible, accessible software platforms and applications to run, for example Doom in bacterial displays, and even create giant Meta computers in Minecraft made out of Redstone or create computers in bacteria and even humans. Excel, a program with powerful computation capabilities that's been around for almost 40 years, is no different. And it can seemingly run Linux.
A lone developer known as "NSG650" recently unveiled the Linux In Excel project, which, as you might guess, forces the Linux kernel to run within a Microsoft Excel environment.
The project isn't exactly groundbreaking, and the Linux experience it provides is, by the developer's own admission, quite buggy. Nonetheless, it's worth mentioning as yet another hacking feat that no other coder has dared – or even thought – to attempt.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwzHm6X9iAA?si=zYpjP06wvDET09lg]
Learn more about it
Linux In Excel leverages mini-rv32ima, an open source project designed to implement the RISC-V instruction set in an emulated environment. The mini-rv32ima emulator provides a partial RISC-V implementation. It consists of about 400 lines of actual code and is built as a single DLL program that can be easily managed as a simple external dependency.
All things considered, NSG650 created a VBA macro that loads the mini-rv32ima emulated environment into Excel, captures its output, and writes it into the spreadsheet's cells. The developer admits to "cheating," as he didn't rewrite the emulator in VBA or Excel formulas – a theoretically achievable goal given enough time, resources, and stubborn determination.
Still, Linux In Excel manages to provide a buggy, slow, yet "authentic" Linux shell experience. Another developer, Enderman, contributed by adding proper input support and recorded a YouTube video which you can see above explaining how he ran Linux in Excel while struggling with VBA's syntax.
Microsoft Excel can be considered as the major computing and calculation platform of the software world. Despite its many limitations and inaccuracies with very long numeric values, Redmond's legendary product is routinely exploited to run weird hacks and projects such as a fully functioning 16-bit CPU.
Furthermore, NSG650 has been working to bring the Linux kernel to the most unconventional computing environments imaginable. In 2023, the programmer developed the BugCheck2Linux utility, which runs Linux after Windows crashes to a BSOD. Even then, NSG650 relied on readily available open source projects like mini-rv32ima and ReactOS to achieve his goal.
FAQ
Why does this matter?
If you can run a computer or process in something that's sometimes amazing, but it's also a cyber risk.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
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Sources and further reading
- Linux In Excel project github.com
- Mini rv32ima github.com
- contributed x.com
- Microsoft Excel en.wikipedia.org
Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 2 June 2025. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2025). A lone dev managed to run a Linux computer in an Excel spreadsheet. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/a-lone-dev-managed-to-run-a-computer-in-an-excel-spreadsheet/
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