python-redlines

Generate tracked-change "redline" .docx documents by comparing two Word files.

python-redlines is the pure-Python core. The comparison engines themselves are compiled .NET binaries shipped in separate, optional companion packages — install the one(s) you need as extras:

pip install python-redlines[docxodus]          # Docxodus engine
pip install python-redlines[ooxmlpowertools]    # Open-XML-PowerTools engine
pip install python-redlines[all]                # both

Binaries are prebuilt for each platform and embedded in the companion package's wheel — no .NET SDK and no local compilation are needed to install or use it.

Usage

from python_redlines import DocxodusEngine

engine = DocxodusEngine()
redline_bytes, stdout, stderr = engine.run_redline(
    "Author Name",
    original=open("original.docx", "rb").read(),
    modified=open("modified.docx", "rb").read(),
)

DocxodusEngine runs DocxDiff. The engine selector was removed in 1.0.0 along with WmlComparer. See the project README for supported settings.

From 2.0.0 onward, each extra pins its companion package to the same release version as the wrapper. For older releases, pin both packages explicitly (for example, python-redlines[docxodus]==0.3.0 and python-redlines-docxodus==0.3.0). Existing published metadata is unchanged.

2.0.0 bundles Docxodus v14.1.0. Python call signatures and supported settings are unchanged from 1.0.0, but comparison markup and revision granularity can differ. Review representative redlines when upgrading; see the 2.0.0 migration guide.

An unsuccessful engine exit raises EngineExecutionError, a subclass of subprocess.CalledProcessError. Its message includes the captured stderr and stdout; returncode, cmd, stdout/output, and stderr remain available.

If an engine's companion package is not installed, instantiating the engine raises EngineNotInstalledError with the pip install command to fix it.

See the project repository for details.