Word Documents
Create, read and edit Word .docx and .dotx files.
Install
npx skills add anthropics/skills --skill docx -g -a claude-code -y- Repository
- anthropics/skills186k
- Category
- Documents
- Updated
- 7d ago
- License
- See repository
- Context cost
- Lightabout 1,486 tokens
- Runs scripts
- Yes, review before use
What it does
Use this skill whenever the user wants to create, read, edit, or manipulate Word documents (.docx files) or Word templates (.dotx files). Triggers include: any mention of 'Word doc', 'word document', '.docx', '.dotx', or requests to produce professional documents with formatting like tables of contents, headings, page numbers, or letterheads. Also use when extracting or reorganizing content from .docx or .dotx files, inserting or replacing images in documents, performing find-and-replace in Word files, working with tracked changes or comments, or converting content into a polished Word document. If the user asks for a 'report', 'memo', 'letter', 'template', or similar deliverable as a Word or .docx file, use this skill. Do NOT use for PDFs, spreadsheets, Google Docs, or general coding tasks unrelated to document generation.
DOCX creation, editing, and analysis
A .docx is a ZIP archive of XML files. Choose your approach by task:
| Task | Approach |
|---|---|
| Create a new document | Write a docx (npm) script, see gotchas below |
| Edit an existing document | unzip → edit word/document.xml → zip (docx-js cannot open existing files) |
| Read content | pandoc -t markdown file.docx |
Script paths below are relative to this skill's directory.
Creating with docx-js, gotchas
docx is preinstalled, do not run npm install first; write the script and require('docx') directly. Only if that require fails: npm install docx. The model knows the API; these are the footguns:
- Page size defaults to A4. For US Letter set
page: { size: { width: 12240, height: 15840 } }(DXA; 1440 = 1″). - Landscape: pass portrait dimensions and
orientation: PageOrientation.LANDSCAPE, docx-js swaps width/height internally. - Tables need dual widths: set
columnWidthson the table ANDwidthon every cell, both inWidthType.DXA(PERCENTAGE breaks in Google Docs). Column widths must sum to the table width. - Table shading: use
ShadingType.CLEAR, neverSOLID(renders black). - Lists: never insert
•literally; use anumberingconfig withLevelFormat.BULLET. ImageRunrequirestype:("png","jpg", …).PageBreakmust be inside aParagraph.- Never use
\n, use separateParagraphelements. - TOC: headings must use built-in
HeadingLevel.*; custom heading styles needoutlineLevelset or they won't appear. - Don't use a table as a horizontal rule, use a paragraph bottom border instead.
- Dot-leader / right-aligned-on-same-line: use
PositionalTab(alignment: PositionalTabAlignment.RIGHT,leader: PositionalTabLeader.DOT) inside aTextRun, not literal.or space padding.
Verify the output
After writing a .docx, render it and look at it:
