| name | gateway-document |
| description | Document output gateway. Routes any request to produce a Word document, PDF, Excel workbook, or PowerPoint presentation to the correct format handler with cross-cutting quality rules. Activates when archive, document, writer, report, present, visualize, or specify requests a binary document output. Summonable by any skill that needs to produce a stakeholder-ready deliverable. |
Gateway: Document
Cross-cutting document production layer. Routes output requests to the correct format handler and enforces shared quality standards across all binary document formats: Word (.docx), PDF, Excel (.xlsx), and PowerPoint (.pptx).
This gateway does not generate content — it applies format-specific production rules and quality gates to content provided by the calling skill.
What this skill does
| Concern | Covered by calling skill | Covered by Document gateway |
|---|
| Content to put in the document | Yes (calling skill) | — |
| Format routing (docx / pdf / xlsx / pptx) | Request declares | Yes |
| Production rules per format | No calling skill | Yes — per-format reference |
| Library selection for the target format | No calling skill | Yes |
| Validation / zero-error guarantee | No calling skill | Yes |
| Professional typography baseline | No calling skill | Yes |
| Cross-format quality audit | No calling skill | Yes |
When to use
archive requests a delivery receipt as a Word document or PDFdocument requests a README, spec, or reference as PDF or docxwriter requests long-form content output as docxspecify requests a task card exported as PDFreport generates a 3P update or stakeholder statuspresent generates a slide deck from archive datavisualize generates a PDF chart or diagram- Explicit
/gateway-document command
When NOT to use
- The output is Markdown only — gateway-document is for binary format output
- The calling skill has already handled format production — do not double-apply
- The format requested is HTML/web artifacts (use platform-web or web-artifacts-builder pattern instead)
Format routing
Determine the output format from the caller's request before loading any reference:
| Requested output | Format | Reference to load |
|---|
.docx, Word document, Word export | DOCX | references/docx.md |
.pdf, PDF export, PDF archive | PDF | references/pdf.md |
.xlsx, .csv → xlsx, spreadsheet, workbook | XLSX | references/xlsx.md |
.pptx, PowerPoint, slide deck, slides | PPTX | references/pptx.md |
| Ambiguous or multi-format | Ask or default to PDF | Both PDF + target format |
Load only the reference file for the requested format. Do not load all four unless multi-format output is explicitly requested.
Activation sequence
Phase A — Format selection and dependency check
1. Identify requested format from caller context
2. Load the matching format reference from references/
3. Check runtime dependencies:
DOCX: node.js + docx npm package ("npm list -g docx" or "node -e require('docx')")
PDF: python + pypdf + reportlab ("python -c 'import pypdf, reportlab'")
XLSX: python + openpyxl + pandas ("python -c 'import openpyxl, pandas'")
PPTX: python + python-pptx ("python -c 'import pptx'")
4. If dependency missing: surface install command; do not proceed until resolved
5. Write gateway-spec-receipt (Phase A)
Phase B — Quality audit after production
1. Run format-specific validation (declared in references/<format>.md Validation section)
2. Check all audit gates in audit-gates.md
3. Write gateway-verdict-receipt (Phase B: PASS / FLAG / BLOCK)
Reference Routing
| Situation | Reference |
|---|
| DOCX production rules | references/docx.md |
| PDF production rules | references/pdf.md |
| XLSX production rules | references/xlsx.md |
| PPTX production rules | references/pptx.md |
| Document receipt write | engine/shared/references/script-delegation-contract.md → receipt-writer.py --type gateway-spec / gateway-verdict |
Output contract
- Format validation report (zero-error confirmation or finding list)
- Dependency check result
- Typography baseline audit
- Gateway activation receipt with all gate results
Files loaded by this module
modules/l4/document/
audit-gates.md
references/
docx.md
pdf.md
xlsx.md
pptx.md
