April 27, 2026
Slash menus, hot takes
L123: A Lotus 1-2-3–style terminal spreadsheet with modern Excel compatibility
Retro spreadsheet returns with Excel support — cue a nostalgia brawl
TLDR: A new retro-style spreadsheet, L123, recreates the Lotus 1‑2‑3 vibe while working with modern Excel files. Commenters are split between nostalgic cheers and practical pushback, with VisiData and sc‑im fans questioning utility as retro lovers dream of a full keyboard-first comeback, even asking for a terminal WordPerfect clone.
L123 is a new throwback spreadsheet that runs in a text window and feels like the 90s classic Lotus 1‑2‑3 — but it opens and saves modern Excel files. The dev’s checklist reads like a museum tour with upgrades: slash menus, keyboard-first controls, charts, printing to PDF, and even mouseable icons. The community? Absolutely split.
On one side, nostalgia is roaring. One commenter misses the old Lotus Notes admin screens, another begs for a WordPerfect-style terminal word processor and wonders if Vim (a keyboard-heavy editor) could print like the old days. It’s a full-on retro reunion, and people are loving the tactile “no-mouse, all-keys” vibe.
But the pragmatists are unimpressed. Fans of VisiData — a modern, fast, text-based data tool — keep popping in to say “just use VisiData.” Another crowd shouts out sc‑im, the long-running terminal spreadsheet. Cue the side-eye: is L123 a daily driver or just a weekend cosplay of DOS?
And that’s the drama: retro joy vs. real-world utility. Some see a serious spreadsheet with charts and Excel compatibility; others see a fun project that won’t beat their current tools. Jokes fly about “slash-key LARPing” and whether we’re reviving old software… or our personalities. Either way, keyboards are back, baby.
Key Points
- •l123 is a terminal-based spreadsheet emulating Lotus 1-2-3 Release 3.4a’s interface and workflows.
- •It uses a modern formula engine with native .xlsx round-trip and supports CSV import/export via IronCalc.
- •The project is actively developed with milestones M0–M8 completed; macros (M9) planned and polish (M10) in progress.
- •Current features include keyboard-first slash menus, 13 modes, 3D sheets, named ranges, undo, multi-file sessions, printing, range search, and graphing with SVG/PNG export and terminal image support.
- •Installation requires Rust; users clone the repository and build with cargo, with configuration managed via l123 config commands.