Word Document Skill

When someone needs an actual .docx — a report, proposal, contract, or formal letter they'll edit in Word — markdown won't do. This skill produces a real Word file by writing and running a python-docx script: proper heading styles (so the navigation pane and a TOC work), clean body text, tables, and page structure — a document that looks authored, not exported.

Environment: produces a binary file, so it needs code execution — Claude Code, the API code-execution tool, or Claude.ai. In the browser playground, the existing Word/PDF export turns any skill's markdown into a document; this skill is for a built-to-spec .docx.

Required Inputs

Ask for these only if they aren't already provided:

• Document type — report, proposal, contract, SOP, letter, whitepaper — and its purpose/audience.
• The content — the material (or a brief to expand), and the required sections/structure.
• Formatting needs — headings/TOC, tables, numbered clauses (contracts), a cover page, letterhead/brand.
• Length & tone.

Process

1. Outline the structure — the section hierarchy (H1/H2/H3), and where tables or numbered clauses go. Confirm structure for formal docs (contracts, proposals).
2. Write a python-docx script that:
   • Uses real heading styles (Heading 1/2/3) — not bold body text — so the nav pane, cross-refs, and a generated TOC work.
   • Sets clean body styling (font, size, spacing), adds tables with proper headers where needed, and page elements (title/cover, page numbers, sections) as required.
   • For contracts/formal docs: numbered headings/clauses and consistent defined-term formatting.
   • Saves to a clearly named .docx.
3. Run it, then summarise the document and note anything the user must fill (signatures, figures, brand assets).

Output Format

• The generated .docx file.
• A short contents summary (the section structure) and a list of placeholders/fields the user needs to complete.

Quality Checks

• Headings use real Word heading styles (not bold paragraphs) — TOC/nav pane work
• Body text, spacing, and tables are consistently formatted
• Structure matches the document type (e.g. numbered clauses for a contract)
• The script runs and the file opens cleanly in Word/Pages/Docs
• Placeholders the user must complete are clearly flagged

Anti-Patterns

• Do not fake headings with bold text — use heading styles, or the document's structure breaks
• Do not dump unstructured text — apply the section hierarchy the doc type needs
• Do not hand-format what a style should do — consistent styles beat per-paragraph fiddling
• Do not invent contract/legal terms silently — mark drafted clauses and recommend review for anything legal
• Do not claim a file was produced without code execution — fall back to the markdown export instead

Based On

Document-production practice (style-based formatting, structured headings, TOC-ready) implemented with python-docx.

Programmatic Helper

This skill ships scripts/docx_tool.py — zero-dependency (stdlib zip+XML) production of real .docx files:

# Markdown-lite → Word (#/##/### headings, - bullets, 1. numbered, **bold**, *italic*)
python3 scripts/docx_tool.py create out.docx --text-file doc.md

# Fill {{placeholders}} through an existing .docx (body, headers, footers) —
# handles Word splitting a placeholder across formatting runs
python3 scripts/docx_tool.py fill template.docx out.docx --values '{"client":"Acme","date":"2026-07-03"}'

# Verify what a .docx actually says (plain-text extraction)
python3 scripts/docx_tool.py extract out.docx

Write the document first (per this skill), then create it as a real file. Honest limits: the markdown subset above with default styling; complex templates keep their formatting except in paragraphs where a placeholder spanned runs.