minimax-docx
Create, edit, and format DOCX documents via CLI tools or direct C# scripts built on OpenXML SDK (.NET).
Setup
First time: bash scripts/setup.sh (or powershell scripts/setup.ps1 on Windows, --minimal to skip optional deps).
First operation in session: scripts/env_check.sh — do not proceed if NOT READY. (Skip on subsequent operations within the same session.)
Quick Start: Direct C# Path
When the task requires structural document manipulation (custom styles, complex tables, multi-section layouts, headers/footers, TOC, images), write C# directly instead of wrestling with CLI limitations. Use this scaffold:
#r "nuget: DocumentFormat.OpenXml, 3.2.0"
using DocumentFormat.OpenXml;
using DocumentFormat.OpenXml.Packaging;
using DocumentFormat.OpenXml.Wordprocessing;
using var doc = WordprocessingDocument.Create("output.docx", WordprocessingDocumentType.Document);
var mainPart = doc.AddMainDocumentPart();
mainPart.Document = new Document(new Body());
Before writing any C#, read the relevant Samples/*.cs file — they contain compilable, SDK-version-verified patterns. The Samples table in the References section below maps topics to files.
CLI shorthand
All CLI commands below use $CLI as shorthand for:
dotnet run --project scripts/dotnet/MiniMaxAIDocx.Cli --
Pipeline routing
Route by checking: does the user have an input .docx file?
User task
├─ No input file → Pipeline A: CREATE
│ signals: "write", "create", "draft", "generate", "new", "make a report/proposal/memo"
│ → Read references/scenario_a_create.md
│
└─ Has input .docx
├─ Replace/fill/modify content → Pipeline B: FILL-EDIT
│ signals: "fill in", "replace", "update", "change text", "add section", "edit"
│ → Read references/scenario_b_edit_content.md
│
└─ Reformat/apply style/template → Pipeline C: FORMAT-APPLY
signals: "reformat", "apply template", "restyle", "match this format", "套模板", "排版"
├─ Template is pure style (no content) → C-1: OVERLAY (apply styles to source)
└─ Template has structure (cover/TOC/example sections) → C-2: BASE-REPLACE
(use template as base, replace example content with user content)
→ Read references/scenario_c_apply_template.md
If the request spans multiple pipelines, run them sequentially (e.g., Create then Format-Apply).
Pre-processing
Convert .doc → .docx if needed: scripts/doc_to_docx.sh input.doc output_dir/
Preview before editing (avoids reading raw XML): scripts/docx_preview.sh document.docx
Analyze structure for editing scenarios: $CLI analyze --input document.docx
Scenario A: Create
Read references/scenario_a_create.md, references/typography_guide.md, and references/design_principles.md first. Pick an aesthetic recipe from Samples/AestheticRecipeSamples.cs that matches the document type — do not invent formatting values. For CJK, also read references/cjk_typography.md.
Choose your path:
- Simple (plain text, minimal formatting): use CLI —
$CLI create --type report --output out.docx --config content.json
- Structural (custom styles, multi-section, TOC, images, complex tables): write C# directly. Read the relevant
Samples/*.cs first.
CLI options: --type (report|letter|memo|academic), --title, --author, --page-size (letter|a4|legal|a3), --margins (standard|narrow|wide), --header, --footer, --page-numbers, --toc, --content-json.
Then run the validation pipeline (below).
Scenario B: Edit / Fill
Read references/scenario_b_edit_content.md first. Preview → analyze → edit → validate.
Choose your path:
- Simple (text replacement, placeholder fill): use CLI subcommands.
- Structural (add/reorganize sections, modify styles, manipulate tables, insert images): write C# directly. Read
references/openxml_element_order.md and the relevant Samples/*.cs.
Available CLI edit subcommands:
replace-text --find "X" --replace "Y"fill-placeholders --data '{"key":"value"}'fill-table --data table.jsoninsert-section, remove-section, update-header-footer
$CLI edit replace-text --input in.docx --output out.docx --find "OLD" --replace "NEW"
$CLI edit fill-placeholders --input in.docx --output out.docx --data '{"name":"John"}'
Then run the validation pipeline. Also run diff to verify minimal changes:
$CLI diff --before in.docx --after out.docx
Scenario C: Apply Template
Read references/scenario_c_apply_template.md first. Preview and analyze both source and template.
$CLI apply-template --input source.docx --template template.docx --output out.docx
For complex template operations (multi-template merge, per-section headers/footers, style merging), write C# directly — see Critical Rules below for required patterns.
Run the validation pipeline, then the hard gate-check:
$CLI validate --input out.docx --gate-check assets/xsd/business-rules.xsd
Gate-check is a hard requirement. Do NOT deliver until it passes. If it fails: diagnose, fix, re-run.
Also diff to verify content preservation: $CLI diff --before source.docx --after out.docx
Validation pipeline
Run after every write operation. For Scenario C the full pipeline is mandatory; for A/B it is recommended (skip only if the operation was trivially simple).
$CLI merge-runs --input doc.docx
$CLI validate --input doc.docx --xsd assets/xsd/wml-subset.xsd
$CLI validate --input doc.docx --business
If XSD fails, auto-repair and retry:
$CLI fix-order --input doc.docx
$CLI validate --input doc.docx --xsd assets/xsd/wml-subset.xsd
If XSD still fails, fall back to business rules + preview:
$CLI validate --input doc.docx --business
scripts/docx_preview.sh doc.docx
Final preview: scripts/docx_preview.sh doc.docx
Critical rules
These prevent file corruption — OpenXML is strict about element ordering.
Element order (properties always first):
| Parent | Order |
|---|
w:p | pPr → runs |
w:r | rPr → t/br/tab |
w:tbl | tblPr → tblGrid → tr |
w:tr | trPr → tc |
w:tc | tcPr → p (min 1 <w:p/>) |
w:body | block content → sectPr (LAST child) |
Direct format contamination: When copying content from a source document, inline rPr (fonts, color) and pPr (borders, shading, spacing) override template styles. Always strip direct formatting — keep only pStyle reference and t text. Clean tables too (including pPr/rPr inside cells).
Track changes: <w:del> uses <w:delText>, never <w:t>. <w:ins> uses <w:t>, never <w:delText>.
Font size: w:sz = points × 2 (12pt → sz="24"). Margins/spacing in DXA (1 inch = 1440, 1cm ≈ 567).
Heading styles MUST have OutlineLevel: When defining heading styles (Heading1, ThesisH1, etc.), always include new OutlineLevel { Val = N } in StyleParagraphProperties (H1→0, H2→1, H3→2). Without this, Word sees them as plain styled text — TOC and navigation pane won't work.
Multi-template merge: When given multiple template files (font, heading, breaks), read references/scenario_c_apply_template.md section "Multi-Template Merge" FIRST. Key rules:
- Merge styles from all templates into one styles.xml. Structure (sections/breaks) comes from the breaks template.
- Each content paragraph must appear exactly ONCE — never duplicate when inserting section breaks.
- NEVER insert empty/blank paragraphs as padding or section separators. Output paragraph count must equal input. Use section break properties (
w:sectPr inside w:pPr) and style spacing (w:spacing before/after) for visual separation.
- Insert oddPage section breaks before EVERY chapter heading, not just the first. Even if a chapter has dual-column content, it MUST start with oddPage; use a second continuous break after the heading for column switching.
- Dual-column chapters need THREE section breaks: (1) oddPage in preceding para's pPr, (2) continuous+cols=2 in the chapter HEADING's pPr, (3) continuous+cols=1 in the last body para's pPr to revert.
- Copy
titlePg settings from the breaks template for EACH section. Abstract and TOC sections typically need titlePg=true.
Multi-section headers/footers: Templates with 10+ sections (e.g., Chinese thesis) have DIFFERENT headers/footers per section (Roman vs Arabic page numbers, different header text per zone). Rules:
- Use C-2 Base-Replace: copy the TEMPLATE as output base, then replace body content. This preserves all sections, headers, footers, and titlePg settings automatically.
- NEVER recreate headers/footers from scratch — copy template header/footer XML byte-for-byte.
- NEVER add formatting (borders, alignment, font size) not present in the template header XML.
- Non-cover sections MUST have header/footer XML files (at least empty header + page number footer).
- See
references/scenario_c_apply_template.md section "Multi-Section Header/Footer Transfer".
References
Load as needed — don't load all at once. Pick the most relevant files for the task.
The C# samples and design references below are the project's knowledge base ("encyclopedia"). When writing OpenXML code, ALWAYS read the relevant sample file first — it contains compilable, SDK-version-verified patterns that prevent common errors. When making aesthetic decisions, read the design principles and recipe files — they encode tested, harmonious parameter sets from authoritative sources (IEEE, ACM, APA, Nature, etc.), not guesses.
Scenario guides (read first for each pipeline)
| File | When |
|---|
references/scenario_a_create.md | Pipeline A: creating from scratch |
references/scenario_b_edit_content.md | Pipeline B: editing existing content |
references/scenario_c_apply_template.md | Pipeline C: applying template formatting |
C# code samples (compilable, heavily commented — read when writing code)
| File | Topic |
|---|
Samples/DocumentCreationSamples.cs | Document lifecycle: create, open, save, streams, doc defaults, settings, properties, page setup, multi-section |
Samples/StyleSystemSamples.cs | Styles: Normal/Heading chain, character/table/list styles, DocDefaults, latentStyles, CJK 公文, APA 7th, import, resolve inheritance |
Samples/CharacterFormattingSamples.cs | RunProperties: fonts, size, bold/italic, all underlines, color, highlight, strike, sub/super, caps, spacing, shading, border, emphasis marks |
Samples/ParagraphFormattingSamples.cs | ParagraphProperties: justification, indentation, line/paragraph spacing, keep/widow, outline level, borders, tabs, numbering, bidi, frame |
Samples/TableSamples.cs | Tables: borders, grid, cell props, margins, row height, header repeat, merge (H+V), nested, floating, three-line 三线表, zebra striping |
Samples/HeaderFooterSamples.cs | Headers/footers: page numbers, "Page X of Y", first/even/odd, logo image, table layout, 公文 "-X-", per-section |
Samples/ImageSamples.cs | Images: inline, floating, text wrapping, border, alt text, in header/table, replace, SVG fallback, dimension calc |
Samples/ListAndNumberingSamples.cs | Numbering: bullets, multi-level decimal, custom symbols, outline→headings, legal, Chinese 一/（一）/1./(1), restart/continue |
Samples/FieldAndTocSamples.cs | Fields: TOC, SimpleField vs complex field, DATE/PAGE/REF/SEQ/MERGEFIELD/IF/STYLEREF, TOC styles |
Samples/FootnoteAndCommentSamples.cs | Footnotes, endnotes, comments (4-file system), bookmarks, hyperlinks (internal + external) |
Samples/TrackChangesSamples.cs | Revisions: insertions (w:t), deletions (w:delText!), formatting changes, accept/reject all, move tracking |
Samples/AestheticRecipeSamples.cs | 13 aesthetic recipes from authoritative sources: ModernCorporate, AcademicThesis, ExecutiveBrief, ChineseGovernment (GB/T 9704), MinimalModern, IEEE Conference, ACM sigconf, APA 7th, MLA 9th, Chicago/Turabian, Springer LNCS, Nature, HBR — each with exact values from official style guides |
Note: Samples/ path is relative to scripts/dotnet/MiniMaxAIDocx.Core/.
Markdown references (read when you need specifications or design rules)
| File | When |
|---|
references/openxml_element_order.md | XML element ordering rules (prevents corruption) |
references/openxml_units.md | Unit conversion: DXA, EMU, half-points, eighth-points |
references/openxml_encyclopedia_part1.md | Detailed C# encyclopedia: document creation, styles, character & paragraph formatting |
references/openxml_encyclopedia_part2.md | Detailed C# encyclopedia: page setup, tables, headers/footers, sections, doc properties |
references/openxml_encyclopedia_part3.md | Detailed C# encyclopedia: TOC, footnotes, fields, track changes, comments, images, math, numbering, protection |
references/typography_guide.md | Font pairing, sizes, spacing, page layout, table design, color schemes |
references/cjk_typography.md | CJK fonts, 字号 sizes, RunFonts mapping, GB/T 9704 公文 standard |
references/cjk_university_template_guide.md | Chinese university thesis templates: numeric styleIds (1/2/3 vs Heading1), document zone structure (cover→abstract→TOC→body→references), font expectations, common mistakes |
references/design_principles.md | Aesthetic foundations: 6 design principles (white space, contrast/scale, proximity, alignment, repetition, hierarchy) — teaches WHY, not just WHAT |
references/design_good_bad_examples.md | Good vs Bad comparisons: 10 categories of typography mistakes with OpenXML values, ASCII mockups, and fixes |
references/track_changes_guide.md | Revision marks deep dive |
references/troubleshooting.md | Symptom-driven fixes: 13 common problems indexed by what you SEE (headings wrong, images missing, TOC broken, etc.) — search by symptom, find the fix |
| fix | |
