officecli

AI-friendly CLI for .docx, .xlsx, .pptx. Single binary, no dependencies, no Office installation needed.

Install & Update

Same command for both install and upgrade:

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

# Windows (PowerShell)
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/iOfficeAI/OfficeCLI/main/install.ps1 | iex

After installation, run

source ~/.zshrc

source ~/.bashrc

officecli

Verify:

officecli --version

officecli auto-updates daily in the background.

Strategy

L1 (read) → L2 (DOM edit) → L3 (raw XML). Always prefer higher layers. Add

--json

Help System (IMPORTANT)

When unsure about property names, value formats, or command syntax, ALWAYS run help instead of guessing. One help query is faster than guess-fail-retry loops.

Three-layer navigation — start from the deepest level you know:

officecli pptx set              # All settable elements and their properties
officecli pptx set shape        # Shape properties in detail
officecli pptx set shape.fill   # Specific property format and examples

Replace

pptx

docx

xlsx

view

get

query

set

add

raw

Performance: Resident Mode

For multi-step workflows (3+ commands on the same file), use

open

close

officecli open report.docx       # keep in memory — fast subsequent commands
officecli set report.docx ...    # no file I/O overhead
officecli close report.docx      # save and release

Quick Start

PPT:

officecli create slides.pptx
officecli add slides.pptx / --type slide --prop title="Q4 Report" --prop background=1A1A2E
officecli add slides.pptx /slide[1] --type shape --prop text="Revenue grew 25%" --prop x=2cm --prop y=5cm --prop font=Arial --prop size=24 --prop color=FFFFFF
officecli set slides.pptx /slide[1] --prop transition=fade --prop advanceTime=3000

Word:

officecli create report.docx
officecli add report.docx /body --type paragraph --prop text="Executive Summary" --prop style=Heading1
officecli add report.docx /body --type paragraph --prop text="Revenue increased by 25% year-over-year."

Excel:

officecli create data.xlsx
officecli set data.xlsx /Sheet1/A1 --prop value="Name" --prop bold=true
officecli set data.xlsx /Sheet1/B1 --prop value="Score" --prop bold=true
officecli set data.xlsx /Sheet1/A2 --prop value="Alice"
officecli set data.xlsx /Sheet1/B2 --prop value=95

L1: Create, Read & Inspect

officecli create <file>               # Create blank .docx/.xlsx/.pptx (type from extension)
officecli view <file> <mode>          # outline | stats | issues | text | annotated
officecli get <file> <path> --depth N # Get a node and its children [--json]
officecli query <file> <selector>     # CSS-like query
officecli validate <file>             # Validate against OpenXML schema

view modes

outline

stats

issues

--type format|content|structure

--limit N

text

--start N --end N

--max-lines N

annotated

get

Any XML path via element localName. Use

--depth N

--json

officecli get report.docx '/body/p[3]' --depth 2 --json
officecli get slides.pptx '/slide[1]' --depth 1          # list all shapes on slide 1
officecli get data.xlsx '/Sheet1/B2' --json

Run

officecli docx get

officecli xlsx get

officecli pptx get

query

CSS-like selectors:

[attr=value]

[attr!=value]

[attr~=text]

[attr>=value]

[attr<=value]

:contains("text")

:empty

:has(formula)

:no-alt

officecli query report.docx 'paragraph[style=Normal] > run[font!=Arial]'
officecli query slides.pptx 'shape[fill=FF0000]'

validate

officecli validate report.docx    # Check for schema errors
officecli validate slides.pptx    # Must pass before delivery

For large documents, ALWAYS use

--max-lines

--start

--end

L2: DOM Operations

set — modify properties

officecli set <file> <path> --prop key=value [--prop ...]

Any XML attribute is settable via element path (found via

get --depth N

Run

officecli <format> set

officecli <format> set <element>

Value formats:

FF0000

red

rgb(255,0,0)

accent1

accent6

12pt

0.5cm

1.5x

150%

914400

2.54cm

1in

72pt

96px

add — add elements or clone

officecli add <file> <parent> --type <type> [--index N] [--prop ...]
officecli add <file> <parent> --from <path> [--index N]    # clone existing element

Element types (with aliases):

Clone:

officecli add <file> / --from /slide[1]

Run

officecli <format> add

move, swap, remove

officecli move <file> <path> [--to <parent>] [--index N]
officecli swap <file> <path1> <path2>
officecli remove <file> '/body/p[4]'

batch — multiple operations in one save cycle

echo '[
  {"command":"set","path":"/Sheet1/A1","props":{"value":"Name","bold":"true"}},
  {"command":"set","path":"/Sheet1/B1","props":{"value":"Score","bold":"true"}}
]' | officecli batch data.xlsx --json

Batch supports:

add

set

get

query

remove

move

view

raw

raw-set

validate

Batch fields:

command

path

parent

type

from

to

index

props

selector

mode

depth

part

xpath

action

xml

L3: Raw XML

Use when L2 cannot express what you need. No xmlns declarations needed — prefixes auto-registered.

officecli raw <file> <part>                          # view raw XML
officecli raw-set <file> <part> --xpath "..." --action replace --xml '<w:p>...</w:p>'
officecli add-part <file> <parent>                   # create new document part (returns rId)

raw-set actions:

append

prepend

insertbefore

insertafter

replace

remove

setattr

Run

officecli <format> raw

Common Pitfalls

--name "foo"

--prop name="foo"

--prop

x=-3cm

x=0cm

x=36cm

/shape[myname]

/shape[3]

officecli <format> set <element>

\n

\\n

--prop text="..."

Specialized Skills

This skill covers the officecli CLI basics. For complex scenarios, load the dedicated skill for better results:

officecli-docx

officecli-academic-paper

officecli-pptx

officecli-pitch-deck

morph-ppt

officecli-xlsx

officecli-data-dashboard

How to load: Ask your AI tool to enable the skill by name, or load the skill file from

skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md

.

Notes

• Paths are 1-based (XPath convention):

  '/body/p[3]'

  = third paragraph

• --index

  is 0-based (array convention):

  --index 0

  = first position
• After modifications, verify with

  validate

  and/or

  view issues

• When unsure, run

  officecli <format> <command> [element[.property]]

  instead of guessing