Create, edit, and manipulate Word documents (.docx) programmatically. Use when someone asks to "generate a Word document", "create a report in docx", "mail merge", "fill Word template", "extract text from Word", "convert markdown to Word", "add tables to Word", or "automate document generation". Covers python-docx for file manipulation, docxtpl for templates, and Microsoft Graph API for cloud documents.
This skill helps AI agents create and manipulate Word documents programmatically. It covers generating .docx files with python-docx, template-based document generation with docxtpl, mail merge, and managing Word documents in SharePoint/OneDrive via Microsoft Graph API.
pip install python-docx
from docx import Document
from docx.shared import Inches, Pt, Cm, RGBColor
from docx.enum.text import WD_ALIGN_PARAGRAPH
from docx.enum.table import WD_TABLE_ALIGNMENT
from docx.enum.section import WD_ORIENT
doc = Document()
# --- Page setup ---
section = doc.sections[0]
section.page_width = Cm(21) # A4
section.page_height = Cm(29.7)
section.top_margin = Cm(2.5)
section.bottom_margin = Cm(2.5)
section.left_margin = Cm(3)
section.right_margin = Cm(2)
# --- Title ---
title = doc.add_heading('Quarterly Business Report', level=0)
title.alignment = WD_ALIGN_PARAGRAPH.CENTER
# --- Subtitle / metadata ---
meta = doc.add_paragraph()
meta.alignment = WD_ALIGN_PARAGRAPH.CENTER
run = meta.add_run('Q1 2026 — Confidential')
run.font.size = Pt(12)
run.font.color.rgb = RGBColor(0x66, 0x66, 0x66)
doc.add_page_break()
# --- Table of Contents placeholder ---
doc.add_heading('Table of Contents', level=1)
doc.add_paragraph('(Update field after opening in Word: Ctrl+A → F9)')
doc.add_page_break()
# --- Section with paragraphs ---
doc.add_heading('Executive Summary', level=1)
p = doc.add_paragraph()
p.add_run('Revenue grew ').font.size = Pt(11)
p.add_run('23% year-over-year').bold = True
p.add_run(', reaching $4.2M in Q1 2026. ')
# Bullet list
doc.add_heading('Key Highlights', level=2)
for item in ['Revenue: $4.2M (+23% YoY)', 'New customers: 847', 'Churn rate: 2.1% (down from 3.4%)']:
doc.add_paragraph(item, style='List Bullet')
# Numbered list
doc.add_heading('Priorities for Q2', level=2)
for i, item in enumerate(['Launch enterprise tier', 'Hire 3 senior engineers', 'Expand to EU market'], 1):
doc.add_paragraph(item, style='List Number')
# --- Table ---
doc.add_heading('Financial Summary', level=1)
table = doc.add_table(rows=1, cols=4, style='Light Grid Accent 1')
table.alignment = WD_TABLE_ALIGNMENT.CENTER
# Header row
headers = ['Metric', 'Q1 2025', 'Q1 2026', 'Change']
for i, header in enumerate(headers):
cell = table.rows[0].cells[i]
cell.text = header
for paragraph in cell.paragraphs:
for run in paragraph.runs:
run.bold = True
# Data rows
data = [
['Revenue', '$3.4M', '$4.2M', '+23%'],
['Customers', '2,140', '2,987', '+40%'],
['MRR', '$283K', '$350K', '+24%'],
['Churn', '3.4%', '2.1%', '-38%'],
]
for row_data in data:
row = table.add_row()
for i, value in enumerate(row_data):
row.cells[i].text = value
# --- Image ---
doc.add_heading('Growth Chart', level=2)
doc.add_picture('/path/to/chart.png', width=Inches(5.5))
last_paragraph = doc.paragraphs[-1]
last_paragraph.alignment = WD_ALIGN_PARAGRAPH.CENTER
# --- Header and Footer ---
header = section.header
header_para = header.paragraphs[0]
header_para.text = 'Company Inc. — Confidential'
header_para.alignment = WD_ALIGN_PARAGRAPH.RIGHT
header_para.runs[0].font.size = Pt(8)
header_para.runs[0].font.color.rgb = RGBColor(0x99, 0x99, 0x99)
footer = section.footer
footer_para = footer.paragraphs[0]
footer_para.text = 'Page '
footer_para.alignment = WD_ALIGN_PARAGRAPH.CENTER
# Save
doc.save('quarterly-report-q1-2026.docx')
pip install docxtpl
Create a Word template (template.docx) with Jinja2 tags:
{{ company_name }}
Date: {{ report_date }}
Dear {{ client_name }},
Please find the summary of your account below:
{% for item in line_items %}
- {{ item.description }}: ${{ item.amount }}
{% endfor %}
Total: ${{ total }}
{% if notes %}
Notes: {{ notes }}
{% endif %}
from docxtpl import DocxTemplate
doc = DocxTemplate('template.docx')
context = {
'company_name': 'Acme Corp',
'report_date': 'March 1, 2026',
'client_name': 'Sarah Chen',
'line_items': [
{'description': 'Web Development', 'amount': '12,500'},
{'description': 'UI/UX Design', 'amount': '4,200'},
{'description': 'Hosting (Annual)', 'amount': '1,800'},
],
'total': '18,500',
'notes': 'Payment due within 30 days.',
}
doc.render(context)
doc.save('invoice-sarah-chen.docx')
import csv
from docxtpl import DocxTemplate
# Generate personalized documents from CSV
with open('clients.csv') as f:
clients = list(csv.DictReader(f))
for client in clients:
doc = DocxTemplate('offer-letter-template.docx')
doc.render({
'name': client['name'],
'position': client['position'],
'salary': client['salary'],
'start_date': client['start_date'],
'manager': client['manager'],
})
doc.save(f"offers/offer-{client['name'].replace(' ', '-').lower()}.docx")
print(f"Generated offer for {client['name']}")
from docx import Document
doc = Document('report.docx')
# Extract all text
full_text = '\n'.join(para.text for para in doc.paragraphs)
# Extract with structure
for para in doc.paragraphs:
if para.style.name.startswith('Heading'):
level = para.style.name.replace('Heading ', '')
print(f"{'#' * int(level)} {para.text}")
elif para.text.strip():
print(para.text)
# Extract tables
for table in doc.tables:
for row in table.rows:
row_data = [cell.text for cell in row.cells]
print(' | '.join(row_data))
# Extract images
import io
from docx.opc.constants import RELATIONSHIP_TYPE as RT
for rel in doc.part.rels.values():
if "image" in rel.reltype:
image_data = rel.target_part.blob
with open(f'extracted_{rel.target_ref}', 'wb') as f:
f.write(image_data)
// Create Word document in OneDrive/SharePoint
const newDoc = await graphClient
.api(`/drives/${driveId}/root:/Documents/report.docx:/content`)
.put(fs.readFileSync('local-report.docx'));
// Convert Word to PDF
const pdfStream = await graphClient
.api(`/drives/${driveId}/items/${itemId}/content?format=pdf`)
.getStream();
// Co-authoring: get temporary edit link
const editLink = await graphClient
.api(`/drives/${driveId}/items/${itemId}/createLink`)
.post({ type: 'edit', scope: 'organization' });
// Opens in Word Online for collaborative editing
User prompt: "Create a Q4 2025 quarterly report for Athena SaaS. Revenue was $3.8M (up 18% YoY), 2,400 active customers, churn dropped to 1.9%. Include an executive summary, financial table, and priorities for Q1 2026."
The agent will write a Python script using python-docx that creates an A4 document with 2.5cm margins, a centered title "Quarterly Business Report — Q4 2025", a subtitle "Athena SaaS — Confidential" in gray, then a page break. The Executive Summary section uses bold runs for key figures ("Revenue grew 18% year-over-year, reaching $3.8M"). A Financial Summary table with the Light Grid Accent 1 style has columns for Metric, Q4 2024, Q4 2025, and Change, populated with Revenue ($3.2M / $3.8M / +18%), Customers (1,980 / 2,400 / +21%), and Churn (2.6% / 1.9% / -27%). A Priorities section uses numbered list style with items like "Launch enterprise SSO by February" and "Expand sales team to cover EMEA." Headers and footers are set with "Athena SaaS — Confidential" and page numbers. The file saves as athena-q4-2025-report.docx.
User prompt: "I have an offer letter template at ./templates/offer-letter.docx and a CSV at ./data/new-hires.csv with columns name, position, salary, start_date, and manager. Generate individual offer letters for each person."
The agent will write a Python script using docxtpl that loads the template and reads the CSV with csv.DictReader. For each row, it renders the template with the context {'name': 'Elena Vasquez', 'position': 'Senior Backend Engineer', 'salary': '$165,000', 'start_date': 'March 17, 2026', 'manager': 'David Park'} (and so on for each hire). Each rendered document saves to ./offers/offer-elena-vasquez.docx with the filename derived from the name field. The script prints a summary like "Generated 8 offer letters in ./offers/" and handles edge cases like missing fields by logging warnings instead of crashing.
Light Grid Accent 1, etc.) for consistent lookdoc.add_page_break() before major sections?format=pdf is most reliable