Agent skill

DOCX Shell Extract

Extract text from DOCX files using shell commands when python-docx is unavailable

Install DOCX Shell Extract

skills CLI

$ npx skills add HKUDS/OpenSpace --skill docx-shell-extract -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install HKUDS/OpenSpace docx-shell-extract --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenSpace.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/benchmarks/gdpval/skills/docx-shell-extract .claude/skills/docx-shell-extract && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Paste into Claude Code

Install the "docx-shell-extract" agent skill from https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenSpace/tree/main/benchmarks/gdpval/skills/docx-shell-extract into .claude/skills/docx-shell-extract/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "docx-shell-extract", then confirm the skill loads.

Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

$skill-installer

$skill-installer install https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenSpace/tree/main/benchmarks/gdpval/skills/docx-shell-extract

Type this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add HKUDS/OpenSpace --skill docx-shell-extract -a codex

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install HKUDS/OpenSpace docx-shell-extract --agent codex

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenSpace.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/benchmarks/gdpval/skills/docx-shell-extract .agents/skills/docx-shell-extract && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.

Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/

Paste into Codex

Install the "docx-shell-extract" agent skill from https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenSpace/tree/main/benchmarks/gdpval/skills/docx-shell-extract into .agents/skills/docx-shell-extract/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "docx-shell-extract", then confirm the skill loads.

Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add HKUDS/OpenSpace --skill docx-shell-extract -a cursor

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install HKUDS/OpenSpace docx-shell-extract --agent cursor

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenSpace.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/benchmarks/gdpval/skills/docx-shell-extract .cursor/skills/docx-shell-extract && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.

Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/

Paste into Cursor

Install the "docx-shell-extract" agent skill from https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenSpace/tree/main/benchmarks/gdpval/skills/docx-shell-extract into .cursor/skills/docx-shell-extract/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "docx-shell-extract", then confirm the skill loads.

Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

gemini skills install

$ gemini skills install https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenSpace.git --path benchmarks/gdpval/skills/docx-shell-extract

--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add HKUDS/OpenSpace --skill docx-shell-extract -a gemini-cli

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install HKUDS/OpenSpace docx-shell-extract --agent gemini-cli

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenSpace.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/benchmarks/gdpval/skills/docx-shell-extract .gemini/skills/docx-shell-extract && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.

Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into Gemini CLI

Install the "docx-shell-extract" agent skill from https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenSpace/tree/main/benchmarks/gdpval/skills/docx-shell-extract into .gemini/skills/docx-shell-extract/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "docx-shell-extract", then confirm the skill loads.

Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install HKUDS/OpenSpace docx-shell-extract

Installs for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

skills CLI

$ npx skills add HKUDS/OpenSpace --skill docx-shell-extract -a github-copilot

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenSpace.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/benchmarks/gdpval/skills/docx-shell-extract .github/skills/docx-shell-extract && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.

GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into GitHub Copilot

Install the "docx-shell-extract" agent skill from https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenSpace/tree/main/benchmarks/gdpval/skills/docx-shell-extract into .github/skills/docx-shell-extract/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "docx-shell-extract", then confirm the skill loads.

GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add HKUDS/OpenSpace --skill docx-shell-extract -a opencode

OpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install HKUDS/OpenSpace docx-shell-extract --agent opencode

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenSpace.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/benchmarks/gdpval/skills/docx-shell-extract .opencode/skills/docx-shell-extract && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.

OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into OpenCode

Install the "docx-shell-extract" agent skill from https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenSpace/tree/main/benchmarks/gdpval/skills/docx-shell-extract into .opencode/skills/docx-shell-extract/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "docx-shell-extract", then confirm the skill loads.

OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

Facts

Skill name: docx-shell-extract
GitHub stars: 7.7k
Token cost: ~659 tokens
SKILL.md length: 222 words
Files: 2
Skills in repo: 199
Repo updated: Aug 12, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: MIT

At a glance

Extract text from DOCX files using shell commands when python-docx is unavailable

Works in 4 steps: Extract the document.xml content → Strip XML tags to get plain text → Clean up whitespace (optional) → …
Tasks that involve Word documents
SKILL.md covers When to Use This Skill, Core Technique, Step-by-Step Instructions and Complete Example, plus 3 more sections
Calls pandoc

What it does

DOCX Shell Extract is an agent skill from HKUDS/OpenSpace. Extract text from DOCX files using shell commands when python-docx is unavailable

Its SKILL.md is about 660 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 1 other file.

It sits in Documents & Office, covering Word documents. It works with Microsoft Word and python-docx. The repository describes itself as: "OpenSpace: The Skill Management Layer for AI Agents" -- https://open-space.cloud/. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

Tasks that involve Word documents

Example prompts

“/docx-shell-extract”

Requirements

Python 3

Workflow steps

4 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

Extract the document.xml content
Strip XML tags to get plain text
Clean up whitespace (optional)
Save to a text file (optional)

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 3827781. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
- pandoc
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md.
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

DOCX Shell Extract loads about 659 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 25 tokens; SKILL.md has 222 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~25
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~659

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from HKUDS/OpenSpace at commit 3827781, republished under its MIT licence (© HKUDS). 222 words, ~659 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/docx-shell-extract/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 1 other file; get the full folder from GitHub.

name: docx-shell-extract
description: Extract text from DOCX files using shell commands when python-docx is unavailable

DOCX Shell Extraction

When to Use This Skill

Use this pattern when you need to read or extract text from Microsoft Word (.docx) files in constrained environments where:

The python-docx library is not available
You cannot install additional Python packages
You need a quick, reliable shell-based solution

Core Technique

DOCX files are ZIP archives containing XML files. The main document content is stored in word/document.xml. You can extract and parse this using standard shell tools.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Extract the document.xml content

bash

unzip -p filename.docx word/document.xml

The -p flag pipes the content to stdout without extracting to disk.

Step 2: Strip XML tags to get plain text

bash

unzip -p filename.docx word/document.xml | sed 's/<[^>]*>//g'

This removes all XML tags, leaving the text content.

Step 3: Clean up whitespace (optional)

For cleaner output, add additional sed processing:

bash

unzip -p filename.docx word/document.xml | \
  sed 's/<[^>]*>//g' | \
  sed 's/&[^;]*;//g' | \
  sed 's/^[[:space:]]*//' | \
  sed 's/[[:space:]]*$//' | \
  sed '/^$/d'

This removes:

XML tags
XML entities (like &, <)
Leading/trailing whitespace
Empty lines

Step 4: Save to a text file (optional)

bash

unzip -p filename.docx word/document.xml | \
  sed 's/<[^>]*>//g' > output.txt

Complete Example

bash

# Extract text from a Word document
DOCX_FILE="report.docx"
OUTPUT_FILE="report_text.txt"

unzip -p "$DOCX_FILE" word/document.xml | \
  sed 's/<[^>]*>//g' | \
  sed 's/&[^;]*;//g' | \
  sed '/^$/d' > "$OUTPUT_FILE"

echo "Extracted text saved to $OUTPUT_FILE"

Verification

After extraction, verify the content was captured:

bash

# Check if output file has content
if [ -s "$OUTPUT_FILE" ]; then
    echo "Successfully extracted $(wc -l < "$OUTPUT_FILE") lines"
    head -5 "$OUTPUT_FILE"
else
    echo "Warning: Output file is empty"
fi

Limitations

This method extracts raw text without formatting
Complex layouts, tables, and images are not preserved
Some special characters may need additional handling
Works best for text-heavy documents

Alternatives to Explore

If this approach fails or the DOCX structure differs:

Check for word/document.xml existence: unzip -l filename.docx | grep document.xml
Some documents may use word/*.xml with different naming
Consider pandoc if available: pandoc filename.docx -t plain

Files

SKILL.md and 1 other file in benchmarks/gdpval/skills/docx-shell-extract of HKUDS/OpenSpace.

SKILL.md
.skill_id

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 3827781

Compare with similar skills

DOCX Shell Extract next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

DOCX Shell Extract compared with similar skills
Skill	Stars	Used in	Tokens	Auto-check	Licence	Repo updated
DOCX Shell Extract this skillHKUDS/OpenSpace	7.7k	—	~659	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	1 mo ago
Word Document Reader and WriterHKUDS/DeepTutor	41k	—	~2.5k	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	today
BiSheng DOCX Builderdataelement/bisheng	12k	—	~2.6k	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	today
DOCX ToolkitXiaomiMiMo/MiMo-Code	14k	—	~2.4k	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	5 days ago
Word DOCX ToolkitTokenRhythm/opensquilla	7.1k	—	~1.7k	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	3 days ago
Markdown to Word Convertercat-xierluo/SuitAgent	206	—	~559	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	1 mo ago

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Questions about DOCX Shell Extract

What does DOCX Shell Extract do?

Extract text from DOCX files using shell commands when python-docx is unavailable. DOCX Shell Extract is an agent skill from HKUDS/OpenSpace.

When should I use DOCX Shell Extract?

DOCX Shell Extract fits situations like: tasks that involve Word documents.

How do I install DOCX Shell Extract in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add HKUDS/OpenSpace --skill docx-shell-extract -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (benchmarks/gdpval/skills/docx-shell-extract in HKUDS/OpenSpace) into .claude/skills/docx-shell-extract in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install DOCX Shell Extract in Codex?

Run `npx skills add HKUDS/OpenSpace --skill docx-shell-extract -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (benchmarks/gdpval/skills/docx-shell-extract in HKUDS/OpenSpace) into .agents/skills/docx-shell-extract in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use DOCX Shell Extract in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add HKUDS/OpenSpace --skill docx-shell-extract -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/docx-shell-extract, .gemini/skills/docx-shell-extract, .github/skills/docx-shell-extract and .opencode/skills/docx-shell-extract in your project.

What does DOCX Shell Extract need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, DOCX Shell Extract needs the command-line tools its instructions call (pandoc). Our summary lists: Python 3.

Does DOCX Shell Extract access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is DOCX Shell Extract safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does DOCX Shell Extract use?

DOCX Shell Extract is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does DOCX Shell Extract use?

About 659 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 2.6k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to DOCX Shell Extract?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with DOCX Shell Extract: Word Document Reader and Writer (HKUDS/DeepTutor, 41k stars), BiSheng DOCX Builder (dataelement/bisheng, 12k stars), DOCX Toolkit (XiaomiMiMo/MiMo-Code, 14k stars) and Word DOCX Toolkit (TokenRhythm/opensquilla, 7.1k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains DOCX Shell Extract?

HKUDS (a GitHub organization) maintains it in HKUDS/OpenSpace, which has 7,749 GitHub stars. The repository holds 199 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on August 12, 2026.

Source: HKUDS/OpenSpace on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.

Install DOCX Shell Extract

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Requirements

Workflow steps

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

DOCX Shell Extraction

When to Use This Skill

Core Technique

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Extract the document.xml content

Step 2: Strip XML tags to get plain text

Step 3: Clean up whitespace (optional)

Step 4: Save to a text file (optional)

Complete Example

Verification

Limitations

Alternatives to Explore

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

More from HKUDS/OpenSpace

Related

Questions about DOCX Shell Extract