OfficeCLI: Create & Edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint Files with AI Agents

OfficeCLI is an open-source CLI tool that enables your AI coding agents to create, read, and modify Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents.

No Office installation. No dependencies. One install command, and any AI coding agent that can run shell commands gains full control over .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx files.

The 50-line Python script that used to need python-docx, openpyxl, and python-pptx collapses into a single officecli add command.

An AI agent can generate a slide deck from a prompt, render it to HTML or PNG to check the layout, fix overflow issues, and export the final file.

The built-in rendering engine closes the feedback loop that has kept agents blind during document generation.

Self-hosting costs nothing beyond the binary download. The MCP server registers with Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, or LM Studio in one command.

Visit OfficeCLI

Features

Creates Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files from scratch.
Reads document text, structure, styles, formulas, and layout data.
Modifies text, fonts, colors, formulas, charts, images, shapes, and layouts.
Renders Office files to HTML, SVG, screenshots, and live browser previews.
Returns structured JSON from commands such as get, query, and view.
Uses stable path-based addressing such as /slide[1]/shape[2].
Runs Office automation inside headless, CI, Docker, and server workflows.
Evaluates 150+ Excel functions and creates native OOXML pivot tables.
Replaces {{key}} placeholders across Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files.
Dumps existing .docx and .pptx files into replayable batch JSON.
Registers an MCP server for Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, Copilot, and LM Studio.
Installs agent skill instructions for supported AI coding tools.

Office CLI PPT Creation

OfficeCLI vs Microsoft Office, LibreOffice, and Python Libraries

	OfficeCLI	Microsoft Office	LibreOffice	python-docx / openpyxl
Free and open-source	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
AI-native CLI and JSON	Yes	No	No	No
Single binary path	Yes	No	No	No
Office installation required	No	Yes	No Microsoft Office required	No
Word, Excel, and PowerPoint	Yes	Yes	Yes	Separate libraries
Headless or CI usage	Yes	Poor match	Partial	Yes
Built-in rendering loop	Yes	No	Partial	No
Path-based document access	Yes	No	No	No
Raw XML fallback	Yes	No	No	Partial
Template merge across formats	Yes	No	No	No
Live preview	Yes	No	No	No

Use Cases

Generate PowerPoint presentations from agent prompts and inspect the rendered slides before delivery.
Build Word reports from structured data, templates, or existing document samples.
Create Excel dashboards, formulas, pivot tables, charts, slicers, and validation rules.
Batch-update Office documents during migrations, audits, style cleanup, or report generation.
Run document quality checks for missing alt text, formula errors, overflow, and structural issues.
Convert existing Office templates into repeatable agent workflows via dump and batch replay.
Connect Office document tasks to Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Codex, or MCP clients.

Office CLI Word Document Processing

How to Use OfficeCLI

Table Of Contents

Install OfficeCLI on macOS or Linux
Install OfficeCLI on Windows
Install from a downloaded binary
Let an AI agent read the skill file
Create and preview a PowerPoint deck
Create a slide with text and styling
Register OfficeCLI as an MCP server
Rendering modes
Command reference
Batch and resident mode
Template merge
Round-trip dump
JSON and error handling
Python usage

Install OfficeCLI on macOS or Linux

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

Verify the installation.

officecli --version

Install OfficeCLI on Windows

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

Verify the installation.

officecli --version

Install from a downloaded binary

Download the matching binary for your platform, then run the installer command.

officecli install

A bare officecli invocation also triggers self-install behavior.

officecli

Let an AI agent read the skill file

Paste the skill file command into an agent chat when the agent can read and follow external skill instructions.

curl -fsSL https://officecli.ai/SKILL.md

Claude Code users can save the skill file locally.

curl -fsSL https://officecli.ai/SKILL.md -o ~/.claude/skills/officecli.md

Create and preview a PowerPoint deck

Create a blank deck.

officecli create deck.pptx

Start a live preview.

officecli watch deck.pptx

Add a slide from another terminal.

officecli add deck.pptx / --type slide --prop title="Hello, World!"

Create a slide with text and styling

Add a slide and a text shape.

officecli create deck.pptx
officecli add deck.pptx / --type slide --prop title="Q4 Report" --prop background=1A1A2E
officecli add deck.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

View the document as an outline.

officecli view deck.pptx outline

Render the file as HTML.

officecli view deck.pptx html

Inspect one element as JSON.

officecli get deck.pptx '/slide[1]/shape[1]' --json

Close the document session and flush changes to disk.

officecli close deck.pptx

Register OfficeCLI as an MCP server

officecli mcp claude
officecli mcp cursor
officecli mcp vscode
officecli mcp lmstudio
officecli mcp list

MCP registration matters when an agent can use tools through JSON-RPC but should not run arbitrary shell commands.

Rendering modes

Mode	Output
`view html`	Standalone HTML file with inlined assets.
`view screenshot`	Per-page PNG output for multimodal review.
`watch`	Local browser preview with auto-refresh.
`view svg`	SVG view where supported.

Example rendering commands:

officecli view deck.pptx html -o /tmp/deck.html
officecli view deck.pptx screenshot -o /tmp/deck.png
officecli watch deck.pptx

Office CLI Excel Processing

Command reference

Command	What it does
`create`	Creates a blank `.docx`, `.xlsx`, or `.pptx` file from the extension.
`view`	Views content as text, outline, annotated output, stats, issues, HTML, SVG, screenshot, PDF through plugin, or forms through plugin.
`load_skill`	Prints embedded skill content for specialized OfficeCLI skills.
`get`	Gets an element and children, with `--depth N` and `--json`.
`query`	Searches elements with CSS-like selectors, boolean `and` or `or`, row-by-column selectors, and `--find`.
`set`	Modifies element properties and supports selectors, Excel-native paths, `--find`, and `--replace`.
`add`	Adds an element or clones from another path with `--from <path>`.
`remove`	Removes an element.
`move`	Moves an element with `--to <parent>`, `--index N`, `--after <path>`, or `--before <path>`.
`swap`	Swaps two elements.
`validate`	Validates a document against OpenXML schema.
`view <file> issues`	Lists issues such as text overflow, missing alt text, and formula errors.
`batch`	Runs multiple operations in one open/save cycle from stdin, `--input`, or `--commands`.
`dump`	Serializes `.docx` or `.pptx` into replayable batch JSON.
`refresh`	Recalculates TOC page numbers, `PAGE`, and cross-references for `.docx`.
`plugins`	Lists, inspects, or lints plugins for extra format and export handling.
`merge`	Replaces `{{key}}` placeholders with JSON data.
`watch`	Starts a live HTML preview with auto-refresh.
`mcp`	Starts or registers MCP integration.
`raw`	Views raw XML from a document part.
`raw-set`	Modifies raw XML via XPath.
`add-part`	Adds a new document part.
`open`	Starts resident mode.
`close`	Saves and closes resident mode.
`install`	Installs the binary, skills, and MCP configuration.
`config`	Gets or sets configuration values.
`<format> <command>`	Opens built-in help for format-specific commands.

The command list includes the primary operations documented in the repository command reference.

Batch and resident mode

Resident mode keeps a document in memory during multi-step edits.

officecli open report.docx
officecli set report.docx /body/p[1]/r[1] --prop bold=true
officecli set report.docx /body/p[2]/r[1] --prop color=FF0000
officecli close report.docx

Batch mode runs several operations in one pass.

echo '[{"command":"set","path":"/slide[1]/shape[1]","props":{"text":"Hello"}},
      {"command":"set","path":"/slide[1]/shape[2]","props":{"fill":"FF0000"}}]' \
  | officecli batch deck.pptx --json

Inline batch input also works.

officecli batch deck.pptx --commands '[{"op":"set","path":"/slide[1]/shape[1]","props":{"text":"Hi"}}]'

Use --force to continue past errors.

officecli batch deck.pptx --input updates.json --force --json

Template merge

Template merge fills placeholders in Office files with JSON data.

officecli merge invoice-template.docx out-001.docx '{"client":"Acme","total":"$5,200"}'
officecli merge q4-template.pptx q4-acme.pptx data.json

This pattern is useful when an agent designs the layout once and production code fills many files with different data.

Round-trip dump

dump serializes a document or subtree into batch JSON. batch can replay that JSON into a new file.

officecli dump existing.docx -o blueprint.json
officecli dump existing.docx /body/tbl[1] -o table.json
officecli batch new.docx --input blueprint.json

JSON and error handling

Single-element output can return a structured object.

{
  "tag": "shape",
  "path": "/slide[1]/shape[1]",
  "attributes": {
    "name": "TextBox 1",
    "text": "Hello"
  }
}

Mutation commands can return a confirmation object.

{"success": true, "path": "/slide[1]/shape[1]"}

Error objects can include codes, suggestions, and valid ranges. OfficeCLI lists error codes such as not_found, invalid_value, unsupported_property, invalid_path, unsupported_type, missing_property, file_not_found, file_locked, and invalid_selector.

Python usage

The thin Python SDK wraps the resident pipe.

from officecli import Doc
with Doc("deck.pptx") as d:
    d.add("/", type="slide", title="Q4 Report")
    print(d.get("/slide[1]"))

A subprocess wrapper can call the CLI directly.

import json
import subprocess
def cli(*args):
    return json.loads(subprocess.check_output(["officecli", *args, "--json"], text=True))
cli("create", "deck.pptx")

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160+ Most Popular Agent Skills on GitHub: Browse free and open-source Agent Skills for Claude Code, Codex, OpenClaw, Hermes Agent, and more.
Best CLI AI Coding Agents: Compare terminal-based AI coding agents before choosing the agent that will call OfficeCLI.
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Off i ceCLI Wiki: Read command, format, workflow, and troubleshooting documentation.

Pros

Free and open source.
Single binary with no dependencies.
Built-in rendering engine for visual feedback.
MCP server for AI agent integration.
Deterministic JSON output on every command.
Self-healing error codes with suggestions.

Cons

CLI-only with no built-in GUI.
No legacy .doc or .xls format support.
Large binary from embedded .NET runtime.
Single-user tool with no collaboration features.

FAQs

Q: Does OfficeCLI require Microsoft Office?
A: No. OfficeCLI runs as a self-contained binary and does not require a Microsoft Office installation for its core Word, Excel, and PowerPoint automation workflow.

Q: Can OfficeCLI run in CI or Docker?
A: Yes. OfficeCLI is built for headless workflows and does not require Microsoft Office. The rendering loop can produce HTML and PNG output in environments where a normal Office desktop app is not available.

Q: Is OfficeCLI a replacement for Microsoft Office?
A: OfficeCLI is not a full manual office suite replacement. It is better viewed as an automation and agent-control layer for Office files.

Q: What are the limitations compared to Microsoft Office?
A: OfficeCLI handles the OOXML formats (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx) directly. It does not support legacy binary formats (.doc, .xls, .ppt) without plugins. Some advanced OOXML features are still under development. Real-time collaboration, macros, and ActiveX controls are not supported.

Q: Can OfficeCLI handle large Excel files?
A: The tool filters empty cells on open and supports row-by-column-name query selectors for efficient data access. Performance depends on file complexity, but the resident mode keeps documents in memory to avoid repeated parse overhead during multi-step workflows.