OfficeCLI Office Automation Skill

Skill by ara.so — Devtools Skills collection.

OfficeCLI is an Office suite purpose-built for AI agents to create, read, and edit Word (.docx), Excel (.xlsx), and PowerPoint (.pptx) files. It's a single binary with no Office installation required, featuring a unified CLI interface and built-in rendering to HTML/PNG.

Installation

macOS / Linux:

bash

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/iOfficeAI/OfficeCLI/main/install.sh | bash

Windows (PowerShell):

powershell

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/iOfficeAI/OfficeCLI/main/install.ps1 | iex

Manual installation:

Download the binary for your platform from GitHub Releases
Run
```
officecli install
```
to add to PATH

Verify installation:

bash

officecli --version

Core Commands

File Operations

Create a new document:

bash

# Blank files
officecli create document.docx
officecli create spreadsheet.xlsx
officecli create presentation.pptx

# With initial content
officecli create report.docx --prop title="Q4 Report"

View document content:

bash

# View as outline (tree structure)
officecli view document.docx outline

# View as plain text
officecli view document.docx text

# View as HTML (opens in browser)
officecli view document.docx html

# View as JSON structure
officecli view document.docx json

Get specific elements:

bash

# Get element details as JSON
officecli get document.docx '/paragraph[1]' --json
officecli get spreadsheet.xlsx '$Sheet1:A1' --json
officecli get presentation.pptx '/slide[1]/shape[2]' --json

Live Preview

Watch mode (auto-refresh in browser):

bash

# Start live preview server on http://localhost:26315
officecli watch presentation.pptx

# Custom port
officecli watch presentation.pptx --port 8080

# Every edit you make will auto-refresh the browser

Word Documents (.docx)

Path Syntax

```
/paragraph[N]
```
- Nth paragraph (1-indexed)
```
/paragraph[N]/run[M]
```
- Mth run in Nth paragraph
```
/table[N]
```
- Nth table
```
/table[N]/row[R]/cell[C]
```
- Cell in table

Add Content

Add paragraphs:

bash

# Simple paragraph
officecli add report.docx / --type paragraph --prop text="Executive Summary"

# Styled paragraph
officecli add report.docx / --type paragraph \
  --prop text="Quarterly Revenue Analysis" \
  --prop style=Heading1 \
  --prop align=center

# With formatting
officecli add report.docx / --type paragraph \
  --prop text="Important notice" \
  --prop bold=true \
  --prop color=FF0000 \
  --prop size=14

Add runs (inline formatting):

bash

officecli add report.docx '/paragraph[1]' --type run \
  --prop text="bold text" \
  --prop bold=true

Add tables:

bash

# 3x3 table
officecli add report.docx / --type table \
  --prop rows=3 \
  --prop cols=3

# Set cell content
officecli set report.docx '/table[1]/row[1]/cell[1]' \
  --prop text="Header 1"

Add images:

bash

officecli add report.docx / --type picture \
  --prop src=chart.png \
  --prop width=15cm \
  --prop height=10cm

Add headers/footers:

bash

# Add header to first section
officecli add report.docx '/section[1]' --type header \
  --prop type=default

# Add content to header
officecli add report.docx '/section[1]/header[1]' --type paragraph \
  --prop text="Confidential Report" \
  --prop align=right

Modify Content

Set paragraph properties:

bash

officecli set report.docx '/paragraph[1]' \
  --prop text="Updated title" \
  --prop style=Heading1 \
  --prop align=center \
  --prop spaceBefore=240 \
  --prop spaceAfter=120

Set run properties:

bash

officecli set report.docx '/paragraph[2]/run[1]' \
  --prop bold=true \
  --prop italic=true \
  --prop font=Arial \
  --prop size=12 \
  --prop color=0000FF

Remove Content

bash

# Remove paragraph
officecli remove report.docx '/paragraph[3]'

# Remove table
officecli remove report.docx '/table[1]'

RTL and i18n Support

bash

# RTL paragraph (Arabic, Hebrew)
officecli add report.docx / --type paragraph \
  --prop text="مرحبا بك" \
  --prop direction=rtl \
  --prop lang.cs=ar-SA

# Per-script fonts
officecli add report.docx / --type paragraph \
  --prop text="Hello 世界 مرحبا" \
  --prop font.latin=Arial \
  --prop font.ea="MS Gothic" \
  --prop font.cs="Arial Unicode MS"

Excel Spreadsheets (.xlsx)

Cell Addressing

```
$SheetName:A1
```
- Cell A1 in named sheet
```
$Sheet1:B2:D4
```
- Range B2:D4
```
/sheet[1]/cell[A1]
```
- Path-based addressing

Add Content

Add sheets:

bash

# Add new sheet
officecli add budget.xlsx / --type sheet --prop name="Q1 Budget"

# Add with properties
officecli add budget.xlsx / --type sheet \
  --prop name="Summary" \
  --prop tabColor=FF0000 \
  --prop state=visible

Add cells:

bash

# Simple value
officecli add budget.xlsx '$Sheet1:A1' --type cell \
  --prop value="Revenue"

# Number with formatting
officecli add budget.xlsx '$Sheet1:B1' --type cell \
  --prop value=125000 \
  --prop format='$#,##0.00'

# Formula
officecli add budget.xlsx '$Sheet1:C1' --type cell \
  --prop formula='=SUM(B1:B10)'

# Date
officecli add budget.xlsx '$Sheet1:D1' --type cell \
  --prop value=2024-01-15 \
  --prop format='yyyy-mm-dd'

Batch add cells:

bash

# Multiple cells
officecli add budget.xlsx '$Sheet1:A1' --type cell --prop value="Name"
officecli add budget.xlsx '$Sheet1:B1' --type cell --prop value="Amount"
officecli add budget.xlsx '$Sheet1:A2' --type cell --prop value="Sales"
officecli add budget.xlsx '$Sheet1:B2' --type cell --prop value=50000

Add tables:

bash

# Create table from range
officecli add budget.xlsx '$Sheet1:A1:C10' --type table \
  --prop name="SalesData" \
  --prop style=TableStyleMedium2 \
  --prop showHeader=true

Add charts:

bash

# Column chart
officecli add budget.xlsx '$Sheet1' --type chart \
  --prop chartType=column \
  --prop dataRange='$Sheet1:A1:B10' \
  --prop title="Sales by Region" \
  --prop x=5cm \
  --prop y=2cm

# Pie chart
officecli add budget.xlsx '$Sheet1' --type chart \
  --prop chartType=pie \
  --prop dataRange='$Sheet1:A1:B5' \
  --prop title="Market Share"

Add pivot tables:

bash

officecli add budget.xlsx '$Sheet2:A1' --type pivottable \
  --prop sourceRange='$Sheet1:A1:D100' \
  --prop rowFields=Region \
  --prop dataFields=Sales \
  --prop name="SalesByRegion"

Modify Content

Set cell values:

bash

officecli set budget.xlsx '$Sheet1:A1' --prop value="Updated"

# With formatting
officecli set budget.xlsx '$Sheet1:B2' \
  --prop value=75000 \
  --prop format='$#,##0.00' \
  --prop bold=true \
  --prop color=FF0000

Set sheet properties:

bash

officecli set budget.xlsx '/sheet[1]' \
  --prop name="Renamed Sheet" \
  --prop tabColor=00FF00 \
  --prop direction=rtl

Formulas

150+ built-in functions with auto-evaluation:

bash

# Math
officecli add budget.xlsx '$Sheet1:C1' --type cell \
  --prop formula='=SUM(A1:A10)'

# Conditional
officecli add budget.xlsx '$Sheet1:D1' --type cell \
  --prop formula='=IF(B1>1000,"High","Low")'

# Lookup
officecli add budget.xlsx '$Sheet1:E1' --type cell \
  --prop formula='=VLOOKUP(A1,$Sheet2:A:B,2,FALSE)'

# Date functions
officecli add budget.xlsx '$Sheet1:F1' --type cell \
  --prop formula='=TODAY()'

Sort Data

bash

# Sort range by column
officecli add budget.xlsx '$Sheet1:A1:C10' --type sort \
  --prop key1=B \
  --prop order1=desc

# Multi-key sort
officecli add budget.xlsx '$Sheet1:A1:D20' --type sort \
  --prop key1=A \
  --prop order1=asc \
  --prop key2=B \
  --prop order2=desc

Conditional Formatting

bash

officecli add budget.xlsx '$Sheet1:B2:B10' --type conditionalformatting \
  --prop type=colorScale \
  --prop minColor=FF0000 \
  --prop maxColor=00FF00

PowerPoint Presentations (.pptx)

Path Syntax

```
/slide[N]
```
- Nth slide
```
/slide[N]/shape[M]
```
- Mth shape on slide
```
/slide[N]/table[M]
```
- Mth table on slide

Add Content

Add slides:

bash

# Blank slide
officecli add deck.pptx / --type slide

# With title
officecli add deck.pptx / --type slide \
  --prop title="Introduction"

# With background
officecli add deck.pptx / --type slide \
  --prop title="Dark Theme" \
  --prop background=1A1A2E

Add shapes (text boxes):

bash

# Simple text box
officecli add deck.pptx '/slide[1]' --type shape \
  --prop text="Hello World" \
  --prop x=2cm \
  --prop y=3cm \
  --prop width=10cm \
  --prop height=2cm

# Styled text box
officecli add deck.pptx '/slide[1]' --type shape \
  --prop text="Key Findings" \
  --prop x=1cm \
  --prop y=2cm \
  --prop font=Arial \
  --prop size=32 \
  --prop color=FFFFFF \
  --prop bold=true \
  --prop align=center

Add images:

bash

# Basic image
officecli add deck.pptx '/slide[1]' --type picture \
  --prop src=logo.png \
  --prop x=1cm \
  --prop y=1cm \
  --prop width=5cm \
  --prop height=3cm

# With effects
officecli add deck.pptx '/slide[1]' --type picture \
  --prop src=photo.jpg \
  --prop x=5cm \
  --prop y=5cm \
  --prop brightness=20 \
  --prop contrast=10 \
  --prop shadow=true

Add tables:

bash

# Create table
officecli add deck.pptx '/slide[1]' --type table \
  --prop rows=3 \
  --prop cols=3 \
  --prop x=2cm \
  --prop y=5cm

# Set cell content
officecli set deck.pptx '/slide[1]/table[1]/row[1]/cell[1]' \
  --prop text="Header 1" \
  --prop bold=true

Add charts:

bash

officecli add deck.pptx '/slide[1]' --type chart \
  --prop chartType=column \
  --prop title="Sales Growth" \
  --prop x=2cm \
  --prop y=5cm \
  --prop width=20cm \
  --prop height=10cm

Add 3D models:

bash

officecli add deck.pptx '/slide[1]' --type 3dmodel \
  --prop src=model.glb \
  --prop x=5cm \
  --prop y=5cm \
  --prop width=10cm \
  --prop height=10cm

Slide Transitions and Animations

Add transitions:

bash

officecli set deck.pptx '/slide[2]' \
  --prop transition=morph \
  --prop duration=1000

Add animations:

bash

officecli add deck.pptx '/slide[1]/shape[1]' --type animation \
  --prop effect=fadeIn \
  --prop duration=500

Modify Content

Set shape properties:

bash

officecli set deck.pptx '/slide[1]/shape[1]' \
  --prop text="Updated text" \
  --prop font=Calibri \
  --prop size=28 \
  --prop color=333333 \
  --prop fill=F0F0F0

Set slide properties:

bash

officecli set deck.pptx '/slide[1]' \
  --prop title="New Title" \
  --prop background=FFFFFF \
  --prop hidden=false

Speaker Notes

bash

# Add notes to slide
officecli add deck.pptx '/slide[1]' --type notes \
  --prop text="Remember to mention the Q3 results"

Common Patterns

Batch Document Generation

bash

#!/bin/bash
# Generate monthly reports

for month in Jan Feb Mar Apr; do
  officecli create "report-${month}.docx"
  officecli add "report-${month}.docx" / --type paragraph \
    --prop text="${month} Report" \
    --prop style=Heading1
  officecli add "report-${month}.docx" / --type paragraph \
    --prop text="Generated on $(date)"
done

CSV to Excel

bash

# Import CSV data
officecli create data.xlsx
officecli add data.xlsx '$Sheet1' --type import \
  --prop src=data.csv \
  --prop format=csv

Multi-slide Presentation from Template

bash

#!/bin/bash
# Create presentation with consistent styling

officecli create pitch.pptx

# Title slide
officecli add pitch.pptx / --type slide \
  --prop title="Product Launch" \
  --prop background=1A1A2E

# Content slides
for topic in "Problem" "Solution" "Market" "Team"; do
  officecli add pitch.pptx / --type slide \
    --prop title="$topic" \
    --prop background=1A1A2E
  
  officecli add pitch.pptx '/slide[-1]' --type shape \
    --prop text="Content for $topic" \
    --prop x=2cm \
    --prop y=5cm \
    --prop color=FFFFFF
done

Automated Report with Charts

bash

#!/bin/bash
# Generate Excel report with chart

officecli create sales.xlsx

# Add headers
officecli add sales.xlsx '$Sheet1:A1' --type cell --prop value="Month"
officecli add sales.xlsx '$Sheet1:B1' --type cell --prop value="Revenue"

# Add data
officecli add sales.xlsx '$Sheet1:A2' --type cell --prop value="January"
officecli add sales.xlsx '$Sheet1:B2' --type cell --prop value=50000
officecli add sales.xlsx '$Sheet1:A3' --type cell --prop value="February"
officecli add sales.xlsx '$Sheet1:B3' --type cell --prop value=65000
officecli add sales.xlsx '$Sheet1:A4' --type cell --prop value="March"
officecli add sales.xlsx '$Sheet1:B4' --type cell --prop value=72000

# Add chart
officecli add sales.xlsx '$Sheet1' --type chart \
  --prop chartType=line \
  --prop dataRange='$Sheet1:A1:B4' \
  --prop title="Monthly Revenue" \
  --prop x=5cm \
  --prop y=2cm

Extract and Transform

bash

#!/bin/bash
# Extract text from Word doc, process, create new doc

# Extract text
text=$(officecli view input.docx text)

# Process (example: convert to uppercase)
processed=$(echo "$text" | tr '[:lower:]' '[:upper:]')

# Create new document
officecli create output.docx
officecli add output.docx / --type paragraph --prop text="$processed"

Integration with Scripts

Python Integration

python

import subprocess
import json

def create_report(title, content):
    """Create a Word document using OfficeCLI."""
    filename = f"{title}.docx"
    
    # Create document
    subprocess.run(["officecli", "create", filename])
    
    # Add title
    subprocess.run([
        "officecli", "add", filename, "/",
        "--type", "paragraph",
        "--prop", f"text={title}",
        "--prop", "style=Heading1"
    ])
    
    # Add content
    for paragraph in content:
        subprocess.run([
            "officecli", "add", filename, "/",
            "--type", "paragraph",
            "--prop", f"text={paragraph}"
        ])
    
    return filename

def get_cell_value(filename, cell):
    """Get cell value from Excel file."""
    result = subprocess.run([
        "officecli", "get", filename, cell, "--json"
    ], capture_output=True, text=True)
    
    data = json.loads(result.stdout)
    return data.get("attributes", {}).get("value")

# Usage
create_report("Q1 Summary", [
    "Revenue increased by 25%.",
    "Customer satisfaction improved.",
    "New product launch successful."
])

value = get_cell_value("budget.xlsx", "$Sheet1:B2")
print(f"Budget value: {value}")

Node.js Integration

javascript

const { execSync } = require('child_process');

function createPresentation(title, slides) {
  const filename = `${title}.pptx`;
  
  // Create presentation
  execSync(`officecli create "${filename}"`);
  
  // Add slides
  slides.forEach(slide => {
    execSync(`officecli add "${filename}" / --type slide --prop title="${slide.title}"`);
    
    if (slide.content) {
      execSync(`officecli add "${filename}" '/slide[-1]' --type shape --prop text="${slide.content}" --prop x=2cm --prop y=5cm`);
    }
  });
  
  return filename;
}

function viewAsHTML(filename) {
  execSync(`officecli view "${filename}" html`);
}

// Usage
const slides = [
  { title: "Introduction", content: "Welcome to our presentation" },
  { title: "Main Points", content: "Key findings and results" },
  { title: "Conclusion", content: "Thank you" }
];

const file = createPresentation("meeting", slides);
viewAsHTML(file);

Troubleshooting

Binary not found after installation

bash

# Check if binary is in PATH
which officecli

# If not, run install again
officecli install

# Or manually add to PATH
export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/.officecli/bin"

File not opening in Office

bash

# Verify file is valid
officecli view document.docx outline

# Check file wasn't corrupted
file document.docx
# Should show: "Microsoft Word 2007+"

Preview not refreshing in watch mode

bash

# Ensure watch server is running
officecli watch document.docx

# Check if port is blocked
officecli watch document.docx --port 8081

# Clear browser cache or hard refresh (Ctrl+Shift+R / Cmd+Shift+R)

Permission denied errors

bash

# Ensure file isn't open in another program
# Close Office/LibreOffice/other editors

# Check file permissions
ls -l document.docx
chmod 644 document.docx

Invalid path errors

bash

# Verify document structure first
officecli view document.docx outline

# Paths are 1-indexed: /paragraph[1], /slide[1]
# Use --json to see exact paths
officecli get document.docx / --json

Formula not calculating in Excel

bash

# OfficeCLI auto-evaluates 150+ functions
# Unsupported functions show #NAME? error
# Check formula syntax:
officecli get spreadsheet.xlsx '$Sheet1:A1' --json

RTL text not rendering correctly

bash

# Set direction property
officecli set document.docx '/paragraph[1]' \
  --prop direction=rtl \
  --prop lang.cs=ar-SA

# For complex scripts, set appropriate font
officecli set document.docx '/paragraph[1]' \
  --prop font.cs="Arial Unicode MS"

Image not appearing

bash

# Check image path is correct and file exists
ls -l image.png

# Ensure image format is supported (PNG/JPG/GIF/SVG)
file image.png

# Use absolute path if relative path fails
officecli add doc.docx / --type picture --prop src=/full/path/to/image.png

Configuration

OfficeCLI is designed to work out-of-the-box with no configuration needed. All settings are passed as command-line flags.

Common flags:

```
--json
```
- Output as JSON
```
--port PORT
```
- Custom port for watch server (default: 26315)
```
--prop key=value
```
- Set element properties

Documentation

Wiki: https://github.com/iOfficeAI/OfficeCLI/wiki
Word Reference: https://github.com/iOfficeAI/OfficeCLI/wiki/word-paragraph
Excel Reference: https://github.com/iOfficeAI/OfficeCLI/wiki/excel-cell
PowerPoint Reference: https://github.com/iOfficeAI/OfficeCLI/wiki/ppt-slide
i18n Support: https://github.com/iOfficeAI/OfficeCLI/wiki/i18n
GitHub: https://github.com/iOfficeAI/OfficeCLI
Discord: https://discord.gg/2QAwJn7Egx

Key Concepts

XPath-like addressing: All elements use path notation (
```
/paragraph[1]
```
,
```
$Sheet1:A1
```
,
```
/slide[1]/shape[2]
```
)
Unified interface: Same
```
add
```
,
```
set
```
,
```
get
```
,
```
remove
```
,
```
view
```
verbs across all formats
Live preview:
```
watch
```
command provides real-time browser preview with auto-refresh
No dependencies: Single binary, no Office installation needed
AI-first design: Commands optimized for LLM generation and automation
Format preservation: Edit documents without breaking complex formatting
Rich i18n: Full RTL support, per-script fonts, locale-aware rendering

When helping users with OfficeCLI, focus on the unified command structure and path-based addressing. The same patterns work across Word, Excel, and PowerPoint with format-specific properties.

officecli-office-automation

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

OfficeCLI Office Automation Skill

Installation

Core Commands

File Operations

Live Preview

Word Documents (.docx)

Path Syntax

Add Content

Modify Content

Remove Content

RTL and i18n Support

Excel Spreadsheets (.xlsx)

Cell Addressing

Add Content

Modify Content

Formulas

Sort Data

Conditional Formatting

PowerPoint Presentations (.pptx)

Path Syntax

Add Content

Slide Transitions and Animations

Modify Content

Speaker Notes

Common Patterns

Batch Document Generation

CSV to Excel

Multi-slide Presentation from Template

Automated Report with Charts

Extract and Transform

Integration with Scripts

Python Integration

Node.js Integration

Troubleshooting

Binary not found after installation

File not opening in Office

Preview not refreshing in watch mode

Permission denied errors

Invalid path errors

Formula not calculating in Excel

RTL text not rendering correctly

Image not appearing

Configuration

Documentation

Key Concepts