version: "1.0.1" name: docx-read-fallback description: Use run_shell with python-docx as reliable fallback when read_file fails on .docx files

DOCX Read Fallback

When read_file or execute_code_sandbox fails to read .docx files, use run_shell with python-docx as a reliable workaround.

When to Use

• read_file fails, times out, or returns errors on .docx files
• execute_code_sandbox attempts to read the docx fail
• You need to extract text content from a Word document
• Multiple standard approaches have been exhausted

How to Use

Basic Text Extraction

python -c "import docx; doc = docx.Document('path/to/file.docx'); print('\n'.join([p.text for p in doc.paragraphs]))"

Using run_shell Tool

run_shell command="python -c \"import docx; doc = docx.Document('path/to/file.docx'); print('\n'.join([p.text for p in doc.paragraphs]))\"" timeout=60

Extract Paragraphs with Indices

python -c "import docx; doc = docx.Document('file.docx'); [print(f'P{i}: {p.text}') for i, p in enumerate(doc.paragraphs) if p.text.strip()]"

Extract Tables

python -c "import docx; doc = docx.Document('file.docx'); [[print([[cell.text for cell in row.cells] for row in table.rows]) for table in doc.tables]]"

Extract Headings (by style)

python -c "import docx; doc = docx.Document('file.docx'); [print(p.text) for p in doc.paragraphs if p.style.name.startswith('Heading')]"

Prerequisites

Ensure python-docx is available:

python -c "import docx; print('docx available')"

If not installed:

pip install python-docx

Tips

• Use absolute paths to avoid working directory issues
• Set appropriate timeout (30-60 seconds for large documents)
• Escape quotes properly when embedding in shell commands
• For large documents, extract content in chunks or filter by paragraph index
• This approach bypasses file type detection issues in read_file

Example Workflow

1. Try read_file on the .docx file
2. If it fails, verify python-docx availability
3. Use run_shell with the python-docx extraction command
4. Parse the stdout to get document content
5. Proceed with your analysis using the extracted text