docxlite

docxlite is a small layer on top of python-docx for reading, previewing, searching, and editing Word documents from Python. It gives .docx files a notebook-friendly markdown preview, adds simple markdown insertion, and supports tracked insertions and deletions with author attribution.

It is designed for document automation workflows where an agent or notebook needs to make precise edits to Word files without losing the structure that matters: paragraphs, tables, runs, formatting, and revision metadata.

Installation

Install latest from pypi

$ pip install docxlite

How to use

from docxlite import *

Create or open a Word document using DocxDocument. In a notebook or solveit dialog, the document renders as markdown so you can inspect its contents without downloading and opening Word.

doc = DocxDocument()
p = doc.add_paragraph('Hello from docxlite')
doc

add_md parses a small markdown subset and adds formatted runs to an existing paragraph. It supports bold, italic, bold-italic, and underline.

p = doc.add_paragraph()
p.add_md('This has **bold**, *italic*, and <u>underline</u>.')

Tables render as markdown tables, and add_row accepts cell values directly. Cell contents can use the same inline markdown formatting as paragraphs.

tbl = doc.add_table(rows=0, cols=3)
tbl.add_row('Name', 'Value', 'Notes')
tbl.add_row('Apples', '42', '**crisp**')
tbl

Documents are iterable in body order. That matters because python-docx exposes doc.paragraphs and doc.tables separately, which loses the interleaving of paragraphs and tables in the original file.

for block in doc:
    print(type(block).__name__, block._text[:40] if hasattr(block, '_text') else '')

Paragraph Hello from docxlite
Paragraph This has bold, italic, and underline.
Table Name  Value   Notes
Apples  42  crisp

search returns the matching document blocks themselves, not detached search results. You can search for text, then edit the returned paragraph or table directly.

hits = doc.search('bold')
hits[0]

Tracked changes

Call set_tracking(author) to make insertions and deletions appear as Word tracked changes. Use set_tracking(None) when you want edits to be applied directly.

set_tracking('AI Editor')
hits[0].insert_after('Inserted with tracking enabled.')
doc

Deleting with tracking enabled marks content as deleted instead of removing it. Deleted text appears in the markdown preview using revision spans, and Word will show it as a tracked deletion.

doc.search('Hello')[0].delete()
doc

LLM Integration

docxlite ships with a pyskills integration for LLM agents. Importing docxlite.skill exposes the document classes and editing methods to the tool system, and enables tracked changes with set_tracking('AI Editor') by default so agent edits are reviewable in Word.

from docxlite.skill import *

The skill uses the same API as regular docxlite; the difference is that the relevant classes and methods are registered for safe tool access. That lets an LLM search, preview, insert, delete, and save .docx files while preserving revision metadata.

skill_doc = DocxDocument()
skill_doc.add_paragraph('Inserted through the docxlite pyskill')
skill_doc

Saving

Save the edited document with the normal python-docx API.

doc.save('example.docx')