Document DOCX Skill - Quick Reference

This skill covers creation, editing, review, extraction, and release workflows for .docx documents.

Modern best practices (Jul 2026):

• Treat .docx as the editable source and PDF as a release artifact.
• Prefer templates and built-in styles over manual formatting.
• Use comments for review notes; use Word Compare for true redlines.
• For LLM/RAG extraction, optimize for structure, trust level, and sanitization rather than visual fidelity.
• Treat macro-enabled Office files (.docm, .dotm) as untrusted by default.
• Before promising a feature (comments, alt text, tracked changes), check the installed library version — several of these APIs are recent additions and silently absent on older pins. See "Version-Gate Before Promising A Feature" below.

Core Decision Rules (2026)

• If non-developers need to own layout/design, prefer docxtpl with a Word-authored template.
• If the stack is Python and edits are structural, prefer python-docx.
• If the stack is TypeScript/Node and the output is generated server-side, prefer docx.
• If you need semantic HTML from a trusted document, prefer mammoth, then sanitize before rendering or storing the output.
• If you need Markdown/JSON for search, indexing, or RAG, prefer MarkItDown or Docling.
• If the user asks for tracked changes, do not promise high-level library support. Generate a revised .docx and use Word Compare, or switch to OOXML-specialized tooling.
• If the user asks for PDF output, prefer Word automation for highest fidelity and LibreOffice headless for cross-platform batch workflows.
• If the input is .doc, convert to .docx first. If it is .docm or .dotm, do not trust embedded macros.

Quick Reference

Task	Tool/Library	Language	When to Use
Create/edit DOCX	python-docx	Python	Structural edits, reports, contracts, section/table/image work
Create/edit DOCX	docx	Node.js	Server-side generation in TypeScript-heavy stacks
Template fill	docxtpl	Python	Word-authored templates, mail merge, batch documents
Add/access comments	python-docx + Word review workflow	Python / Word	Review notes without tracked revisions
Convert DOCX to HTML	mammoth	Node.js	Semantic HTML from trusted documents
Convert DOCX to Markdown	MarkItDown	Python	LLM/RAG ingestion where Markdown is preferred
Convert DOCX to Markdown/HTML/JSON	Docling	Python / CLI	Multi-format ingestion, structured extraction, batch conversion
Parse text/tables/metadata	python-docx + OOXML inspection	Python	Extraction, audits, migration tooling
Parse tracked changes/comments	OOXML, Open XML SDK, docx4j, Aspose.Words	Python / .NET / Java	Revision-heavy workflows and interoperability edge cases
Convert DOCX to PDF	Word automation / LibreOffice headless	OS tooling	Release artifacts and cross-platform smoke checks

Selection Guide

• Prefer docxtpl when a legal, ops, or business user needs to maintain the template in Word.
• Prefer python-docx for moderate formatting complexity where you control the document structure in code.
• Prefer docx when the surrounding service and tests already live in Node.js.
• Prefer mammoth for trusted, text-first conversion to HTML; it is not a fidelity-preserving renderer.
• Prefer MarkItDown for simple DOCX-to-Markdown pipelines.
• Prefer Docling when DOCX is only one input among many formats or you need HTML/JSON/Markdown/text output from a unified pipeline.

ASCII Flow

DOCX request
  |
  v
Classify file + trust level
  |-- .docx / .dotx -----> normal OOXML workflow
  |-- .doc -------------> convert to .docx first
  |-- .docm / .dotm ----> treat macros as untrusted
  |
  v
Choose lane
  |-- Word-owned template ------> docxtpl
  |-- Python structural edit ---> python-docx
  |-- Node service generation --> docx
  |-- trusted HTML conversion --> mammoth + sanitizer
  |-- Markdown / JSON ingest ---> MarkItDown or Docling
  |-- tracked-change review ----> revised DOCX + Word Compare
  |
  v
Generate, edit, or extract
  |
  v
Quality gate
  |-- parseability + unresolved tags ---> scripts/docx_quality_gate.py
  |-- comments / revisions / OOXML ----> scripts/docx_inspect_ooxml.py
  |
  v
Viewer, accessibility, and release checks

Format And Safety Caveats

• .docx and .dotx are Office Open XML packages; .doc is legacy binary and needs conversion first.
• .docm and .dotm are macro-enabled; do not treat them as safe content inputs.
• python-docx can add and read comments in the main document body, but not threaded replies/resolved states, and not comment anchors in headers/footers.
• python-docx does not provide reliable tracked-change authoring.
• mammoth performs no sanitization of generated HTML or links from untrusted source documents.
• Tables of contents and many Word fields are placeholders until updated in Word.

Version-Gate Before Promising A Feature

Do not assume the environment has a current library. This is the single most common way this skill causes a confident-but-wrong answer:

• Document.add_comment() only exists from python-docx 1.2.0 onward. On an older pinned version it raises AttributeError, not a graceful fallback. Check first: python -c "import docx; print(docx.__version__)".
• python-docx still has no public high-level property for image alt text (no .alt_text on InlineShape) as of the current 1.x line — InlineShape only documents height, width, and type. The OOXML workaround in references/accessibility-compliance.md reaches into the private _inline attribute; treat that as an implementation detail that can move between releases, re-verify after any python-docx upgrade, and prefer python-docx's own comment/style APIs wherever a public one exists instead of private attributes.
• If a user asks for a feature this skill flags as unsupported (tracked-change authoring, threaded comment replies, resolved-state comments), say so plainly rather than approximating it with formatting hacks — a document that merely looks right (e.g., colored/struck-through text standing in for <w:ins>/<w:del>) will fail any real redline/legal review because it carries no revision metadata.

Default Workflow

1. Identify the file type and trust level: .docx/.dotx vs .docm/.dotm vs legacy .doc.
2. Pick the lane:
   • Template generation -> docxtpl
   • Programmatic structure edits -> python-docx or docx
   • Review/comments -> comments or Word Compare
   • LLM extraction -> MarkItDown, Docling, or mammoth
3. Generate or modify the document.
4. Run scripts/docx_quality_gate.py and, when needed, scripts/docx_inspect_ooxml.py.
5. If shipping externally, validate rendering in Word plus at least one secondary viewer and apply accessibility hygiene.

Core Operations

Create A Document (Python - python-docx)

from docx import Document
from docx.enum.text import WD_ALIGN_PARAGRAPH
from docx.shared import Inches

doc = Document()

title = doc.add_heading("Quarterly Review", 0)
title.alignment = WD_ALIGN_PARAGRAPH.CENTER

doc.add_paragraph("Executive summary goes here.")

table = doc.add_table(rows=2, cols=2)
table.style = "Table Grid"
table.rows[0].cells[0].text = "Metric"
table.rows[0].cells[1].text = "Value"
table.rows[1].cells[0].text = "Revenue"
table.rows[1].cells[1].text = "$1.2M"

doc.add_picture("chart.png", width=Inches(4.5))
doc.save("quarterly-review.docx")

Add A Review Comment (Python - python-docx)

from docx import Document

doc = Document()
paragraph = doc.add_paragraph("This clause needs legal review.")

comment = doc.add_comment(
    runs=paragraph.runs,
    text="Clarify whether this applies to renewals as well.",
    author="Legal",
    initials="LG",
)

comment.paragraphs[0].add_run(" Add the renewal edge case explicitly.").bold = True
doc.save("reviewable.docx")

Fill A Template (Python - docxtpl)

from docxtpl import DocxTemplate

doc = DocxTemplate("template.docx")
context = {
    "company_name": "Acme Corp",
    "contract_date": "2026-03-13",
    "items": [
        {"name": "Widget A", "price": 100},
        {"name": "Widget B", "price": 200},
    ],
}
doc.render(context)
doc.save("filled-template.docx")

Convert Trusted DOCX To HTML (Script)

node scripts/docx_to_html.mjs input.docx output.html --style-map custom-style-map.txt --extract-images-dir output-assets/

Extract Structure For Automation (Script)

python3 scripts/docx_extract.py input.docx --include headers footers hyperlinks comments images --out extracted.json

Output Quality Checklist

• Structure: heading hierarchy, list styles, and tables are intentional and consistent.
• Reviewability: comments or Word Compare are used for feedback-heavy workflows instead of ad hoc formatting hacks.
• Safety: macro-enabled files are treated as untrusted; HTML generated from DOCX is sanitized before use.
• Portability: fonts, numbering, tables, and images are checked in at least one non-Word viewer when documents are distributed.
• Accessibility hygiene: headings, descriptive links, table headers, document language, and alt text are present where needed.
• Release quality: run scripts/docx_quality_gate.py before shipping or batch-publishing.

Optional: AI / Automation

Use only when explicitly requested and policy-compliant.

• Convert trusted DOCX content into Markdown/HTML/JSON for search or RAG.
• Summarize meeting notes into a Word template, but keep humans accountable for factual accuracy.
• Generate first-pass reports/contracts from structured data, then route through human review.

Navigation

Resources

• references/docx-patterns.md - Styles, headers/footers, tables, sections, TOC
• references/template-workflows.md - Template authoring, mail merge, batch rendering
• references/review-comments-workflows.md - Comments, review notes, Word Compare, comment limits
• references/tracked-changes.md - What is and is not feasible for tracked revisions
• references/llm-extraction-workflows.md - Mammoth, MarkItDown, Docling, HTML/Markdown/JSON extraction
• references/accessibility-compliance.md - Word accessibility, EN 301 549 context, manual checks
• references/cross-platform-compatibility.md - Word, Google Docs, LibreOffice, PDF conversion
• references/document-automation-pipelines.md - CI/CD, batch generation, quality gates
• data/sources.json - Current external documentation links

Scripts

• scripts/docx_inspect_ooxml.py - Dependency-free OOXML inspection for tracked changes and comments
• scripts/docx_extract.py - Extract text, tables, metadata, and optional headers/footers/hyperlinks/comments/images to JSON
• scripts/docx_render_template.py - Render a docxtpl template from JSON
• scripts/docx_to_html.mjs - Convert trusted .docx to HTML with style maps and optional image extraction
• scripts/docx_quality_gate.py - Validate parseability, unresolved template tags, tracked-change/comment signals, and optional LibreOffice conversion

Templates

• assets/report-template.md - Standard report structure
• assets/contract-template.md - Legal document structure
• assets/doc-template-pack.md - Decision log, meeting notes, changelog templates
• assets/docx-template-authoring-checklist.md - Template authoring and handoff checklist

Related Skills

• ../document-pdf/SKILL.md - PDF generation and release workflows
• ../document-xlsx/SKILL.md - Spreadsheet generation and exports
• ../document-pptx/SKILL.md - Presentation generation
• ../docs-codebase/SKILL.md - Technical writing patterns

Fact-Checking

• Use data/sources.json as the starting set of primary sources.
• Use web search/web fetch to verify current external facts, versions, release behavior, regulations, and platform quirks before final answers.
• Prefer primary documentation, package pages, release pages, and official standards pages.
• If web access is unavailable, state the limitation and mark volatile guidance as unverified.

Learnings Loop

Before applying this skill on a non-trivial task, read learnings.consolidated.md in this directory (and learnings.md if present).

After applying it, if you encountered a pattern worth remembering, a mistake worth preventing, or a domain fact that surprised you, append one dated bullet to learnings.md via agents-skills-feedback-loop/scripts/append_learning.py. Do not modify SKILL.md itself.