Source: anthropics/skills · Maintainer: Anthropic · License: Proprietary (source-available) · Checked: 23 October 2026
What is the Claude docx skill?
The Claude docx skill is Anthropic's Agent Skill for Word documents: it lets Claude create new .docx files, edit existing ones without wrecking their formatting, read their content, and work with tracked changes and comments. It is for anyone who wants a finished Word file, such as a report, memo, contract redline or letter, rather than text to paste in.
It is one of the four document skills the anthropics/skills README says power Claude's document capabilities, alongside pdf, xlsx and pptx. The description in its SKILL.md opens: "Use this skill whenever the user wants to create, read, edit, or manipulate Word documents (.docx files) or Word templates (.dotx files)."
The rest of the description lists triggers: any mention of a Word doc or .docx, requests for tables of contents, headings, page numbers or letterheads, find-and-replace, images, tracked changes and comments, and any "report", "memo" or "letter" asked for as a Word file. It also says what the skill is not for: PDFs, spreadsheets, Google Docs and coding unrelated to documents.
What does the docx skill do?
The SKILL.md starts from one fact: a .docx is a ZIP archive of XML files. It then picks an approach by task:
| Task | Approach in the skill |
|---|---|
| Create a new document | Write a script with the docx npm library |
| Edit an existing document | Unzip, edit word/document.xml, zip again |
| Read content | pandoc -t markdown file.docx |
For new documents it lists the mistakes that trip up generated Word files. Page size defaults to A4, so US Letter needs explicit dimensions. Tables need widths set on both the table and every cell. Bullets must come from a numbering config, never a literal bullet character. A table of contents picks up built-in heading styles; custom ones need an outline level or they won't appear.
For edits, Claude unzips the file, deletes symlink entries ("docx from external parties is untrusted"), merges fragmented text runs so phrases can be found, edits the XML in place, zips it again and validates it against the Office schemas.
After writing a file, Claude renders it to PDF with LibreOffice and then to page images, and looks at them before calling the job done.
What's in the folder:
SKILL.md: the instructions summarized above.scripts/merge_runs.py: joins adjacent runs that Word split up, without changing content.scripts/accept_changes.py: makes a clean copy with all tracked changes accepted.scripts/comment.py: adds comments and replies, writing the six linked files Word needs.scripts/office/:validate.py(schema checks with an optional auto-repair),soffice.py(a LibreOffice wrapper), validators, and the ISO and Microsoft XML schemas.scripts/templates/: the XML templates for comments and people.
How do you install the docx skill?
Pick one of these documented routes.
In the Claude app. Anthropic's Use skills in Claude article lists "Professional Word document creation" among its built-in skills and says skills are available on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans. Turn on Code execution and file creation in Settings, Capabilities, and check the skill under Customize, Skills. Claude then uses it whenever you ask for a Word file.
In Claude Code, signed in with claude.ai. The Claude Code skills docs say signed-in terminal sessions (v2.1.273 or later) sync the skills enabled on your claude.ai account, including Anthropic's built-in ones, into ~/.claude/skills/synced/. The docs name pdf and xlsx as always syncing; if docx isn't listed under claude.ai sync when you run /skills, check that it is turned on in Customize, Skills on claude.ai. Anthropic's Agent Skills overview still says the pre-built document skills are not available in Claude Code, so if docx doesn't appear, use the plugin route below.
As a Claude Code plugin. From the repo README, in a session:
/plugin marketplace add anthropics/skills
/plugin install document-skills@anthropic-agent-skills
That installs docx together with xlsx, pptx and pdf. You can call it directly as /document-skills:docx.
With the skills CLI. As shown on its skills.sh page:
npx skills add https://github.com/anthropics/skills --skill docx
Add -a claude-code to target Claude Code; the folder goes to .claude/skills/docx/ in your project, or ~/.claude/skills/docx/ with -g. Codex and Cursor read the same SKILL.md format (Codex skills, Cursor skills), but check the license first.
Through the API. Use skill_id docx with the code execution tool, as the Agent Skills overview describes.
How do you use the docx skill?
Ask for the document you want and point at any files involved. Requests like these match the skill:
- "Turn these meeting notes into a two-page Word memo with headings and page numbers."
- "Redline contract.docx: change the payment terms to 45 days as a tracked change under my name."
- "Add a comment on the indemnity clause saying the cap is too low."
- "Replace every mention of Acme Ltd with Acme Group in proposal.docx without touching the formatting."
- "Accept all tracked changes in draft.docx and give me a clean copy."
Requirements on your machine. The SKILL.md lists the docx npm package, pandoc, LibreOffice (soffice) and pdftoppm from Poppler. It treats docx as preinstalled and only runs npm install docx if loading it fails. Install LibreOffice and Poppler yourself if you want Claude to render and check its work locally.
Tips and limits
- License. The README says the document skills "are source-available, not open source," and the folder's
LICENSE.txtis proprietary. Use is governed by your agreement with Anthropic, and the extra terms bar copying the materials, keeping copies outside Anthropic's services, making derivative works and distributing them. Don't fork and edit it; write your own skill for your template. - Tracked changes need checking. The skill admits that
accept_changes.pyandpandoc --track-changes=acceptcan leave an empty paragraph behind after a deleted one, which can look like a stray bullet. It tells Claude to check paragraph deletions in the XML. - Comments need anchors.
comment.pycreates the comment, but it isn't visible until Claude places the range markers it prints into the document XML. - Untrusted files. The skill strips symlinks from documents you receive. In Claude Code its scripts run on your computer, so the usual advice from Anthropic's overview applies: use skills from trusted sources and review what runs.
- Repo copy versus the app. The README notes that Claude's own behavior "may differ from what is shown in these skills."
Save it in your Kipt library
The license forbids copying these files, so don't import the docx folder into a library. Keep your own pieces in Kipt instead: Word prompts with {{variables}} for client names and dates, and a house-style skill for your template, which you can start with the free SKILL.md generator. Kipt saves them as Markdown in your own private GitHub repo, and one command installs every skill into Claude Code or Codex:
npx skills add https://github.com/<you>/<repo>.git --all -g
Similar skills
- Claude PDF skill for reading, filling and creating PDFs.
- Claude Excel skill for spreadsheets.
- Claude PowerPoint skill for decks.
- Skill creator for writing your own document skill.