officecli

name	officecli
description	Use OfficeCLI-backed MCP tools to inspect and edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files with OpenXML-aware operations. Prefer these tools for .docx/.xlsx/.pptx work when they are available.
metadata	{"horbot":{"emoji":"🧾"}}

OfficeCLI Skill

Use this skill when the task is about Microsoft Office files, especially:

• .docx, .xlsx, .pptx
• Word, Excel, PowerPoint
• OpenXML structure, document parts, or raw XML edits
• preserving Office-native structure instead of exporting to plain text

Tool Preference

When OfficeCLI MCP tools are available, prefer them in this order:

1. mcp_officecli_view* / mcp_officecli_get* / mcp_officecli_query*
2. mcp_officecli_set* / mcp_officecli_add* / mcp_officecli_remove*
3. raw XML or XPath style tools only when high-level tools are not enough

If the MCP server exposes a single generic tool such as mcp_officecli_officecli, use that tool directly and set its command argument (create, view, get, query, set, add, remove, move, swap, validate, batch, raw, help) instead of looking for split sub-tools.

If the server is split by document type, the following names are also expected:

• mcp_office-word_*
• mcp_office-excel_*
• mcp_office-powerpoint_*

For simple spreadsheet table writes, mcp_excel_* is still acceptable. Prefer OfficeCLI when workbook structure, formulas, formatting fidelity, or OpenXML correctness matter.

Working Rules

1. Inspect before editing

• Start with a read-only operation first.
• For Word or PowerPoint, inspect the document structure before inserting or removing content.
• For Excel, inspect sheets, ranges, and workbook structure before changing formulas or styles.
• For non-trivial .xlsx or .pptx edits, call help for that format first if you do not already know the exact property names.

2. Prefer semantic operations over raw XML

• Use high-level document operations first.
• Only drop to raw XML or XPath when the higher-level OfficeCLI tools cannot express the change.
• If you use raw XML, keep the edit small and targeted.

3. Preserve document integrity

• Avoid flattening Office documents into plain text unless the user explicitly wants conversion.
• Keep sheet names, slide order, headings, styles, and document structure intact unless the user asked to change them.
• If the edit is large or risky, save to a new output path first.
• For newly created .pptx, prefer a fresh output path. If a generated deck starts failing validation, recreate from scratch instead of repeatedly mutating the same broken file.

4. Keep edits auditable

• Summarize what part of the document was changed.
• Mention the file path and the affected sheet/slide/section when relevant.
• If a change could affect formulas, references, or layout, call that out clearly.

Format-Specific Rules

Word (.docx)

• A safe creation flow is: create -> add paragraph -> add run -> optional view or validate.
• For title/body content, prefer adding semantic paragraphs and runs instead of replacing the whole document body with raw XML.

Excel (.xlsx)

• For direct set / add calls, props is usually a list of key=value strings.
• For batch, each nested command should use a JSON object for props, not a string list.
• Use OfficeCLI's actual Excel property names such as font.color, font.size, font.name, fill, alignment.horizontal.
• Do not guess aliases like fontColor or fillColor; if unsure, call help xlsx first.
• For simple sheet creation, use add on /workbook with sheet props, then set cell paths like /Sheet1/A1.

PowerPoint (.pptx)

• Do not assume layout aliases like titleAndContent will be accepted. Use the exact layout names returned by OfficeCLI/template inspection, or omit the layout and add a blank slide.
• A robust creation flow is: create -> add slide -> add textbox -> add textbox -> view outline.
• After structural .pptx edits, run validate. If validation reports schema errors, do not claim the presentation is fully correct.
• If validate fails after multiple edits, prefer recreating the deck from a fresh file path and reapplying the content.
• For overflow-heavy PPT debugging, open the auto-officecli-ppt skill family and start with the structural detector before doing manual XML surgery.

Failure Handling

If OfficeCLI tools are not available:

• say that OfficeCLI MCP is not configured or not reachable
• fall back to mcp_excel_* only for simple Excel tasks when appropriate
• otherwise stop and ask for OfficeCLI MCP configuration instead of faking Office-native edits