docx-mcp

MCP server for reading and editing Word (.docx) documents with track changes, comments, footnotes, and structural validation.

The only cross-platform MCP server that combines track changes, comments, and footnotes in a single package — with OOXML-level structural validation that no other server offers.

Features

Installation

# With pip
pip install docx-mcp-server

# With uvx (recommended for MCP)
uvx docx-mcp-server

Configuration

Claude Desktop / Claude Code

Add to your MCP settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "docx-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["docx-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Cursor / Windsurf / VS Code

Add to your MCP configuration file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "docx-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["docx-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

With pip install

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "docx-mcp": {
      "command": "docx-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

Document Lifecycle

Reading

Track Changes

Comments

Footnotes

Validation & Audit

Example Workflow

1. open_document("/path/to/contract.docx")
2. get_headings()                          → see document structure
3. search_text("30 days")                  → find the clause
4. delete_text(para_id, "30 days")         → tracked deletion
5. insert_text(para_id, "60 days")         → tracked insertion
6. add_comment(para_id, "Extended per client request")
7. audit_document()                        → verify structural integrity
8. save_document("/path/to/contract_revised.docx")

The resulting document opens in Microsoft Word with proper revision marks — deletions shown as red strikethrough, insertions as green underline, comments in the sidebar.

How It Works

A .docx file is a ZIP archive of XML files. This server:

1. Unpacks the archive to a temporary directory
2. Parses all XML parts with lxml and caches them in memory
3. Edits the cached DOM trees directly (no intermediate abstraction layer)
4. Repacks modified XML back into a valid .docx archive

This approach gives full control over OOXML markup — essential for track changes (w:ins/w:del), comments (w:comment + range markers), and structural validation that higher-level libraries like python-docx don't expose.

Requirements

• Python 3.10+
• lxml

License

MIT