OfficeReader-MCP

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that converts Microsoft Office documents (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) to Markdown format with intelligent image extraction and optimization.

Features

• Multi-Format Support: Word (.docx, .doc), Excel (.xlsx, .xls), PowerPoint (.pptx, .ppt)

• Intelligent Image Processing: Automatic extraction and optimization with WebP compression

• Format Preservation: Maintains document structure including headings, tables, lists, and formatting

• Metadata Extraction: Access document properties (author, title, creation date, etc.)

• Efficient Caching: Smart caching system for quick reuse of converted documents

• Cross-Platform: Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux

Supported Formats

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10 or higher

• Claude Desktop or Claude Code

Step 1: Install the Package

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Asunainlove/office-reader-mcp.git
cd office-reader-mcp

# Install in editable mode
pip install -e .

Step 2: Configure Claude

For Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop config file:

Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json macOS/Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "officereader": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "officereader_mcp.server"],
      "env": {
        "OFFICEREADER_CACHE_DIR": "/path/to/cache"
      }
    }
  }
}

For Claude Code

Add to your Claude Code settings:

Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\claude-code\settings.json macOS/Linux: ~/.config/claude-code/settings.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "officereader": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "officereader_mcp.server"],
      "env": {
        "OFFICEREADER_CACHE_DIR": "/path/to/cache"
      }
    }
  }
}

Step 3: Restart Claude

Restart Claude Desktop or Claude Code to load the MCP server.

Quick Start

After installation, you can use OfficeReader-MCP directly in your conversations with Claude:

Convert my Excel file at D:\Reports\sales_2024.xlsx to markdown

Extract text and images from D:\Presentations\keynote.pptx

Get metadata from my document at C:\Documents\report.docx

Available Tools

1. convert_document

Convert any supported Office document to Markdown format.

Parameters:

• file_path (required): Absolute path to the document

• extract_images (optional, default: true): Extract embedded images

• image_format (optional, default: "file"): How to handle images

  • "file": Save images to disk (recommended)

  • "base64": Embed images as base64 in markdown

  • "both": Both save and embed

• output_name (optional): Custom name for output files

Example:

Convert D:\Documents\report.xlsx with images

2. read_converted_markdown

Read the full content of a previously converted markdown file.

Parameters:

• markdown_path (required): Path to the markdown file

Example:

Read the markdown at D:\cache\output\report_abc12345\report_abc12345.md

3. list_conversions

List all cached document conversions with details.

Example:

List all converted documents

4. clear_cache

Clear all cached conversions to free up disk space.

Example:

Clear the document cache

5. get_document_metadata

Extract metadata from a document without full conversion (faster).

Parameters:

• file_path (required): Path to the document

Example:

Get metadata from D:\Documents\presentation.pptx

6. get_supported_formats

Get list of all supported file formats and extensions.

Example:

What file formats does officereader support?

Output Structure

Converted documents are organized in the cache directory:

cache/
└── output/
    └── document_name_abc12345/
        ├── document_name_abc12345.md    # Converted markdown
        └── images/
            ├── image_001.webp           # Optimized images
            ├── slide2_image_002.webp
            └── excel_image_003.webp

Image Optimization

Images are automatically optimized to reduce file size while maintaining quality:

• Max Dimensions: 1920×1080 pixels (configurable)

• Format: WebP (preferred) or PNG/JPEG fallback

• Quality: 80% for photos, 85% for JPEG, lossless PNG for graphics with transparency

• Typical Compression: 50-80% size reduction

• Smart Detection: Automatically distinguishes between photos and graphics

Technical Details

Architecture

OfficeReader-MCP/
├── src/officereader_mcp/
│   ├── server.py              # MCP server implementation
│   ├── converter.py           # Word converter (DocxConverter, OfficeConverter)
│   ├── excel_converter.py    # Excel to Markdown converter
│   ├── pptx_converter.py     # PowerPoint to Markdown converter
│   ├── image_optimizer.py    # Image compression utility
│   └── __init__.py           # Package initialization
├── test/
│   ├── test_converter.py     # Basic functionality tests
│   └── test_all_formats.py   # Comprehensive test suite
├── pyproject.toml            # Project configuration
└── README.md                 # Documentation

Dependencies

All dependencies are automatically installed when you run pip install -e .

Testing

Run Tests

# Basic converter test
python test/test_converter.py

# Comprehensive test suite for all formats
python test/test_all_formats.py

# Test with a specific document
python test/test_converter.py path/to/your/document.docx

Test Coverage

The test suite verifies:

• Module imports and initialization

• Converter functionality for all formats

• Image extraction and optimization

• File type detection

• Cache management

• Metadata extraction

Configuration

OfficeReader-MCP supports multiple configuration methods to customize cache locations and behavior.

Quick Configuration (Recommended)

1. Copy the example config file:

   cp config.example.json config.json

2. Edit config.json to set your cache directory:

   {
     "cache_dir": "D:/MyDocuments/OfficeReaderCache",
     "image_optimization": {
       "enabled": true,
       "max_dimension": 1920,
       "quality": 80
     }
   }

3. The config file will be automatically loaded on startup.

For detailed configuration options, see CONFIG.md.

Environment Variables

Example usage:

# Set custom cache directory
export OFFICEREADER_CACHE_DIR=/path/to/custom/cache

# Or in Windows
set OFFICEREADER_CACHE_DIR=C:\path\to\custom\cache

Note: Environment variables take priority over config file settings.

Usage Examples

Converting Excel with Multiple Sheets

User: Convert my Excel file at D:\Reports\Q4_sales.xlsx

Claude: I'll convert that Excel file. Each sheet will be converted to a separate
        section in the markdown with properly formatted tables...

[Output includes all sheets as markdown tables with preserved formatting]

Extracting PowerPoint Content

User: Extract all text and images from D:\Presentations\product_launch.pptx

Claude: Converting the PowerPoint presentation. I'll extract text from each slide,
        including speaker notes, along with all embedded images...

[Output includes slide-by-slide breakdown with images and notes]

Batch Processing

User: Convert all Office documents in D:\Documents\

Claude: I'll convert each document and cache the results for quick access...

[Processes all supported files and provides summary]

Troubleshooting

"Module not found" Error

# Reinstall the package
pip install -e .

Configuration Not Loading

1. Verify the config file location is correct

2. Check JSON syntax is valid (use a JSON validator)

3. Restart Claude Desktop or Claude Code completely

4. Check logs for error messages

Images Not Extracting

Possible causes:

• Document contains linked images (not embedded)

• Insufficient write permissions for cache directory

• Image format not supported by the document library

Solution:

# Verify cache directory is writable
ls -la /path/to/cache  # Unix/Mac
dir /path/to/cache     # Windows

# Check if images are embedded
# Use convert_document with extract_images=true explicitly

Encoding Issues

The converter uses UTF-8 encoding throughout. If you see garbled text:

• Check the source document encoding

• Ensure your terminal/console supports UTF-8

• Try converting with different system locale settings

Changelog

v2.0.0 (2024-11)

Major Features:

• Added Excel (.xlsx, .xls) support with multi-sheet conversion

• Added PowerPoint (.pptx, .ppt) support with slide extraction

• Implemented intelligent image optimization with WebP compression

• Added unified OfficeConverter interface for all document types

• Enhanced metadata extraction for all formats

Improvements:

• Smart caching system with hash-based file identification

• Lazy-loading of format-specific converters for better performance

• Better error handling and validation

• Comprehensive test suite for all formats

Tools:

• Added get_supported_formats tool

• Enhanced get_document_metadata for all formats

• Improved list_conversions with detailed cache information

v1.0.0 (2024-09)

• Initial release

• Word document (.docx, .doc) conversion

• Basic image extraction

• MCP server implementation

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Here's how you can help:

1. Report Bugs: Open an issue with details and steps to reproduce

2. Suggest Features: Describe your idea and use case

3. Submit Pull Requests:

   • Fork the repository

   • Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)

   • Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')

   • Push to your branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)

   • Open a Pull Request

Development Setup

# Clone and install with dev dependencies
git clone https://github.com/Asunainlove/office-reader-mcp.git
cd office-reader-mcp
pip install -e ".[dev]"

# Run tests
python test/test_all_formats.py

# Run linting (if configured)
black src/
ruff check src/

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Author

Asunainlove

• GitHub: @Asunainlove

• Repository: office-reader-mcp

• Issues: Report a bug

Acknowledgments

This project uses the following open-source libraries:

• Model Context Protocol (MCP) by Anthropic

• python-docx for Word processing

• openpyxl for Excel processing

• python-pptx for PowerPoint processing

• Pillow for image processing

Support

If you find this project helpful, please:

• ⭐ Star the repository

• 🐛 Report bugs and issues

• 💡 Suggest new features

• 🔀 Contribute code improvements

Happy converting! 🚀