- name
- officecli
- description
- Create, analyze, proofread, and modify Office documents (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx) using the officecli CLI tool. Use when the user wants to create, inspect, check formatting, find issues, add charts, or modify Office documents.
# officecli
AI-friendly CLI for .docx, .xlsx, .pptx. Single binary, no dependencies, no Office installation needed.
## Runtime contract
Wayland Desktop supplies a checksum-pinned native `officecli` runtime. Do not install, update, download, or replace it from this skill. Run `officecli --version`; native authoring requires the exact verified `1.0.136` version and the relevant top-level/help surface. If the runtime is missing or incompatible, stop and use Wayland's reinstall/update recovery path. Never bootstrap mutable code or silently switch to hosted-credit generation.
---
## 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.
```bash
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 `{"command":"help","format":"docx","type":"paragraph"}`.
---
## 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):
```bash
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`.
---
## Quick Start
**PPT:**
```bash
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:**
```bash
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:**
```bash
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
```bash
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
| Mode | Description | Useful flags |
| ----------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| `outline` | Document structure | |
| `stats` | Statistics (pages, words, shapes) | |
| `issues` | Formatting/content/structure problems | `--type format\|content\|structure`, `--limit N` |
| `text` | Plain text extraction | `--start N --end N`, `--max-lines N` |
| `annotated` | Text with formatting annotations | |
| `html` | Static HTML snapshot - same renderer as `watch`, no server needed | `--browser`, `--page N` (docx), `--start N --end N` (pptx) |
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 ...`
```bash
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`.
```bash
officecli query report.docx 'paragraph[style=Normal] > run[font!=Arial]'
officecli query slides.pptx 'shape[fill=FF0000]'
```
For large documents, use `--max-lines` to limit output.
---
## 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.
```bash
officecli watch <file> [--port N] # Start preview server (default port 18080)
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
```bash
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.
```bash
# 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).
```bash
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
```bash
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:**
| Type | Format | Examples |
| ---------- | ----------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Colors | Hex (with/without `#`), named, RGB, theme | `FF0000`, `#FF0000`, `red`, `rgb(255,0,0)`, `accent1`..`accent6` |
| Spacing | Unit-qualified | `12pt`, `0.5cm`, `1.5x`, `150%` |
| Dimensions | EMU or suffixed | `914400`, `2.54cm`, `1in`, `72pt`, `96px` |
**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 `find=` with `set` to target specific text for formatting or replacement. Format props are separate `--prop` flags - do NOT nest them.
```bash
# Format matched text (auto-splits runs)
officecli set doc.docx '/body/p[1]' --prop find=weather --prop bold=true --prop color=red
# Regex matching
officecli set doc.docx '/body/p[1]' --prop 'find=\d+%' --prop regex=true --prop color=red
# Replace text (use `/` for whole-document scope)
officecli set doc.docx / --prop find=draft --prop replace=final
# PPT - same syntax, different paths
officecli set slides.pptx / --prop find=draft --prop 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
```bash
officecli add <file> <parent> --type <type> [--prop ...]
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