officecli

AI-friendly CLI for .docx, .xlsx, .pptx. Single binary, no dependencies, no Office installation needed.

Install

If officecli is not installed:

# macOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://d.officecli.ai/install.sh | bash

# Windows (PowerShell)
irm https://d.officecli.ai/install.ps1 | iex

Verify with officecli --version. If still not found after install, open a new terminal.

Strategy

L1 (read) → L2 (DOM edit) → L3 (raw XML). Always prefer higher layers. Add --json for structured output.

Before doc work, check Specialized Skills (bottom of this file). Fundraising decks, academic papers, financial models, dashboards, and Morph animations need their own skill loaded first — load_skill once, then proceed.

Help System (IMPORTANT)

When unsure about property names, value formats, or command syntax, ALWAYS run help instead of guessing. One help query beats guess-fail-retry loops.

officecli help ≡ officecli --help, and officecli <cmd> --help ≡ officecli help <cmd> — same content.

officecli help                                  # All commands + global options + schema entry points
officecli help docx                             # List all docx elements
officecli help docx paragraph                   # Full schema: properties, aliases, examples, readbacks
officecli help docx set paragraph               # Verb-filtered: only props usable with `set`
officecli help docx paragraph --json            # Structured schema (machine-readable)

Format aliases: word→docx, excel→xlsx, ppt/powerpoint→pptx. Verbs: add, set, get, query, remove. MCP exposes the same schema via the single command string param: {"command":"help docx paragraph"} (not a structured {"format":...,"type":...} object — the MCP tool has exactly one param, command, and passes it through to the CLI verbatim).

Performance: Resident Mode

Every command auto-starts a resident on first access (60s idle timeout) — file-lock conflicts are automatically avoided. Explicit open/close is still recommended for longer sessions (12min idle):

officecli open report.docx       # explicitly keep in memory
officecli set report.docx ...    # no file I/O overhead
officecli close report.docx      # save and release

Opt out of auto-start: OFFICECLI_NO_AUTO_RESIDENT=1.

Flush only at the non-officecli boundary. officecli's own reads (get/query/view/dump) always see your latest edits, so you never need to save mid-workflow. Run save (keeps the resident) or close (flush + release) only before a non-officecli program reads the file — python-docx/openpyxl, Word, a renderer, delivery/upload. (Idle sessions auto-flush within seconds; OFFICECLI_RESIDENT_FLUSH=each makes every mutation flush before returning.)

Quick Start

PPT:

officecli create slides.pptx
officecli add slides.pptx / --type slide --prop title="Q4 Report" --prop background=1A1A2E
officecli add slides.pptx '/slide[1]' --type shape --prop text="Revenue grew 25%" --prop x=2cm --prop y=5cm --prop font=Arial --prop size=24 --prop color=FFFFFF

Word:

officecli create report.docx
officecli add report.docx /body --type paragraph --prop text="Executive Summary" --prop style=Heading1
officecli add report.docx /body --type paragraph --prop text="Revenue increased by 25% year-over-year."

Excel:

officecli create data.xlsx
officecli set data.xlsx /Sheet1/A1 --prop value="Name" --prop bold=true
officecli set data.xlsx /Sheet1/A2 --prop value="Alice"

L1: Create, Read & Inspect

officecli create <file>               # Create blank .docx/.xlsx/.pptx (type from extension)
officecli view <file> <mode>          # outline | stats | issues | text | annotated | html
officecli get <file> <path> --depth N # Get a node and its children [--json]
officecli query <file> <selector>     # CSS-like query
officecli validate <file>             # Validate against OpenXML schema

view modes

Use view html for one-shot snapshots (CI artifacts, archival, diffing); use watch when you need live refresh or browser-side click-to-select.

get

Any XML path via element localName. Use --depth N to expand children. Add --json for structured output. Default text output is grep-friendly: path (type) "text" key=val key=val ...

officecli get report.docx '/body/p[3]' --depth 2 --json
officecli get slides.pptx '/slide[1]' --depth 1          # list all shapes on slide 1
officecli get data.xlsx '/Sheet1/B2' --json

Stable ID Addressing

Elements with stable IDs return @attr=value paths instead of positional indices. Prefer these in multi-step workflows — positional indices shift on insert/delete, stable IDs do not.

/slide[1]/shape[@id=550950021]                    # PPT shape
/slide[1]/table[@id=1388430425]/tr[1]/tc[2]       # PPT table
/body/p[@paraId=1A2B3C4D]                         # Word paragraph
/comments/comment[@commentId=1]                    # Word comment

PPT also accepts @name= (e.g. shape[@name=Title 1]), with morph !! prefix awareness. Elements without stable IDs (slide, run, tr/tc, row) fall back to positional indices.

query

CSS-like selectors: [attr=value], [attr!=value], [attr~=text], [attr>=value], [attr<=value], :contains("text"), :empty, :has(formula), :no-alt. Boolean and/or supported across query/set/remove: cell[value>5000 or value<100], cell[(type=Number or type=Date) and value>0]. Excel row-by-column-name: Sheet1!row[Salary>5000]. set accepts selectors and Excel-native paths (parity with get/query). Bare unscoped selectors rejected on set/remove.

officecli query report.docx 'paragraph[style=Normal] > run[font!=Arial]'
officecli query slides.pptx 'shape[fill=FF0000]'

Watch & Interactive Selection

Live HTML preview that auto-refreshes on every file change. Browsers can click / shift-click / box-drag to select shapes; the CLI can read the current browser selection and act on it.

officecli watch <file> [--port N]      # Start preview server (default port 26315)
officecli unwatch <file>               # Stop
officecli goto <file> <path>           # Scroll watching browser(s) to element (docx: p / table / tr / tc)

Open the printed http://localhost:N URL. Click to select; shift/cmd/ctrl+click to multi-select; drag from empty space to box-select. PPT/Word use blue outline; Excel uses native-style green selection (double-click cell to edit inline; drag a chart to reposition).

get <file> selected — read what the user clicked

officecli get <file> selected [--json]

Returns DocumentNodes for whatever is currently selected. Empty result if nothing selected. Exit code != 0 if no watch is running.

# User clicks shapes in the browser, then asks "make these red"
PATHS=$(officecli get deck.pptx selected --json | jq -r '.data.Results[].path')
for p in $PATHS; do officecli set deck.pptx "$p" --prop fill=FF0000; done

Key properties

• Selection survives file edits. Paths use stable @id= form.
• All connected browsers share one selection. Last-write-wins.
• Same-file single-watch. A given file can have only one watch process at a time.
• Group shapes select as a whole. Drilling into individual children of a group is not supported in v1.
• Coverage: .pptx shapes/pictures/tables/charts/connectors/groups; .docx top-level paragraphs and tables. Inherited layout/master decorations and Word nested elements (table cells, run-level) are not addressable. .xlsx does not emit data-path — mark/selection on xlsx always resolve stale=true (v2 candidate).

Marks — edit proposals waiting for review

Use mark when changes need human review BEFORE they hit the file. Marks live in the watch process only; a separate set pipeline applies accepted ones. For one-shot changes use set directly; for permanent file annotations use add --type comment (Word native).

officecli mark <file> <path> [--prop find=... color=... note=... tofix=... regex=true] [--json]
officecli unmark <file> [--path <p> | --all] [--json]
officecli get-marks <file> [--json]

Props: find (literal or regex when regex=true; raw form find='r"[abc]"'), color (hex / rgb(...) / 22 named whitelist), note, tofix (drives apply pipeline). Path must be data-path format from watch HTML — see subskills for full pipeline.

L2: DOM Operations

set — modify properties

officecli set <file> <path> --prop key=value [--prop ...]

Any XML attribute is settable via element path (found via get --depth N) — even attributes not currently present. Without find=, set applies format to the entire element.

Value formats:

Dotted-attr aliases — font.<attr> forms accepted on shape/run/paragraph/table/row/cell/section/styles, e.g. --prop font.color=red --prop font.bold=true --prop font.size=14pt. Run officecli help <fmt> <element> for the full list.

find — format or replace matched text

Use top-level --find / --replace on set (and --find on query). Legacy --prop find=X still works but emits a hint.

# Format matched text (auto-splits runs)
officecli set doc.docx '/body/p[1]' --find weather --prop bold=true --prop color=red

# Regex matching (regex= still a prop flag)
officecli set doc.docx '/body/p[1]' --find '\d+%' --prop regex=true --prop color=red

# Replace text (use `/` for whole-document scope)
officecli set doc.docx / --find draft --replace final

# docx: tracked Find&Replace
officecli set doc.docx / --find draft --replace final --prop revision.author=Alice

# PPT — same syntax, different paths
officecli set slides.pptx / --find draft --replace final

Path controls search scope: / = whole document, /body/p[1] or /slide[N]/shape[M] = specific element, /header[1] / /footer[1] = headers/footers.

Notes:

• Case-sensitive by default. Case-insensitive: --prop 'find=(?i)error' --prop regex=true
• Matches work across run boundaries
• No match = silent success. --json includes "matched": N
• Excel: only find + replace supported (no find + format props)

add — add elements or clone

officecli add <file> <parent> --type <type> [--prop ...]
officecli add <file> <parent> --type <type> --after <path> [--prop ...]   # insert after anchor
officecli add <file> <parent> --type <type> --before <path> [--prop ...]  # insert before anchor
officecli add <file> <parent> --type <type> --index N [--prop ...]        # 0-based position (legacy)
officecli add <file> <parent> --from <path>                               # clone existing element

--after, --before, --index are mutually exclusive. No position flag = append to end.

Element types (with aliases):

Pivot tables (xlsx)

officecli add data.xlsx /Sheet1 --type pivottable \
  --prop source="Sheet1!A1:E100" --prop rows=Region,Category \
  --prop cols=Year --prop values="Sales:sum,Qty:count" \
  --prop grandTotals=rows --prop subtotals=off --prop sort=asc

Key props: rows, cols, values (Field:func[:showDataAs]), filters, source, position, layout (compact/outline/tabular), repeatLabels, blankRows, aggregate, showDataAs (percent_of_total/row/col, running_total), grandTotals, subtotals, sort. Aggregators: sum, count, average, max, min, product, stdDev, stdDevp, var, varp, countNums. Date columns auto-group. Run officecli help xlsx pivottable for full schema.

Document-level properties (all formats)

officecli set doc.docx / --prop docDefaults.font=Arial --prop docDefaults.fontSize=11pt
officecli set doc.docx / --prop protection=forms --prop evenAndOddHeaders=true
officecli set data.xlsx / --prop calc.mode=manual --prop calc.refMode=r1c1
officecli set slides.pptx / --prop defaultFont=Arial --prop show.loop=true --prop print.what=handouts

Run officecli help <format> / for all document-level properties (docDefaults, docGrid, CJK spacing, calc, print, show, theme, extended).

Sort (xlsx)

officecli set data.xlsx /Sheet1 --prop sort="C desc" --prop sortHeader=true
officecli set data.xlsx '/Sheet1/A1:D100' --prop sort="A asc" --prop sortHeader=true

Format: COL DIR[, COL DIR ...]. Rejects ranges with merged cells or formulas. Sidecar metadata (hyperlinks, comments, conditional formatting, drawings) follows rows automatically.

Text-anchored insert (--after find:X / --before find:X)

Locate an insertion point by text match within a paragraph. Inline types (run, picture, hyperlink) insert within the paragraph; block types (table, paragraph) auto-split it. PPT only supports inline.

# Word: inline run after matched text
officecli add doc.docx '/body/p[1]' --type run --after find:weather --prop text=" (sunny)"

# Word: block table after matched text (auto-splits paragraph)
officecli add doc.docx '/body/p[1]' --type table --after "find:First sentence." --prop rows=2 --prop cols=2

Clone

officecli add <file> / --from '/slide[1]' — copies with all cross-part relationships.

move, swap, remove

officecli move <file> <path> [--to <parent>] [--index N] [--after <path>] [--before <path>]
officecli swap <file> <path1> <path2>
officecli remove <file> '/body/p[4]'

When using --after or --before, --to can be omitted — the target container is inferred from the anchor.

batch — multiple operations in one save cycle

Atomic by default (v1.0.137+): every item still runs and is reported (so N succeeded, M failed stays meaningful and every failure surfaces), but if any item fails the whole batch rolls back — the file on disk is left byte-identical to before the batch ran (confirmed live in both standalone and resident mode). Use --best-effort to restore the old apply-what-succeeds behavior (useful for lossy dump→batch replays where losing the whole thing over one unsupported item is worse than a partial result). --stop-on-error only changes how early the run stops (remaining items are skipped), not whether what ran gets kept — combine it with --best-effort if you want "stop at first failure but keep what already succeeded." --force is unrelated — it's only the docx-protection bypass. Failed items carry a machine-readable code field (same list as error.code); a rolled-back batch's JSON summary carries "atomicRolledBack": true.

officecli dump <file> [<path>] emits a replayable batch JSON for round-trip — .docx (full coverage), .pptx (text/tables/pictures/charts/notes/theme + OLE/3D/video/audio/SmartArt/morph/p15 transitions via raw-set passthrough), and .xlsx (cells/formulas/styles + tables, conditional formatting, validations, comments, charts, sparklines, pictures, shapes, pivot tables; slicers/chartEx/OLE via verbatim carrier). Path defaults to / (whole document); pass a subtree path (docx: /body, /body/p[N], /body/tbl[N], /theme, /settings, /numbering, /styles; xlsx: /SheetName, /sheet[N]) to scope the dump. officecli refresh <file.docx> recalculates TOC page numbers / PAGE / cross-references after replay (Word backend on Windows; headless-HTML fallback elsewhere). officecli plugins list extends support to .doc, .hwpx, .pdf export.

echo '[
  {"command":"set","path":"/Sheet1/A1","props":{"value":"Name","bold":"true"}},
  {"command":"set","path":"/Sheet1/B1","props":{"value":"Score","bold":"true"}}
]' | officecli batch data.xlsx --json

officecli batch data.xlsx --commands '[{"op":"set","path":"/Sheet1/A1","props":{"value":"Done"}}]' --json
officecli batch data.xlsx --input updates.json --best-effort --json   # keep whatever succeeds even if some items fail

Supports: add, set, get, query, remove, move, swap, view, raw, raw-set, validate. Fields: command (or op), path, parent, type, from, to, index, after, before, props, selector, mode, depth, part, xpath, action, xml.

L3: Raw XML

Use when L2 cannot express what you need. No xmlns declarations needed — prefixes auto-registered.

officecli raw <file> <part>                          # view raw XML
officecli raw-set <file> <part> --xpath "..." --action replace --xml '<w:p>...</w:p>'
officecli add-part <file> <parent>                   # create new document part (returns rId)

raw-set actions: append, prepend, insertbefore, insertafter, replace, remove, setattr. Run officecli help <format> raw for available parts.

Common Pitfalls

Specialized Skills

officecli load_skill <name> — output is a SKILL.md, follow its rules.

Loading rule:

• Pick the most specific match in "When to use"; if none fits, load the format default (word / pptx / excel).
• Scenes already contain the format default's rules — load one skill per artifact, never stack.
• Loaded rules persist across turns; don't re-load each reply.
• Two distinct artifacts → two separate loads.

Word (.docx)

PowerPoint (.pptx)

Excel (.xlsx)

Example: a fundraising deck task → officecli load_skill pitch-deck → use the printed rules.

Notes

• Paths are 1-based (XPath convention): '/body/p[3]' = third paragraph
• --index is 0-based (array convention): --index 0 = first position
• Excel exception: for add --type row and add --type col, --index N is 1-based (matches OOXML RowIndex / column letter index). --index 5 inserts at row 5 / column 5.
• After modifications, verify with validate and/or view issues
• When unsure, run officecli help <format> <element> instead of guessing