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LibreOffice MCP Tools

LibreOffice MCP Tools

by passerbyflutter
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LibreOffice MCP Tools

npm version

WARNING

This project waswritten by GitHub Copilot and has not been fully reviewed by a human. Code may contain bugs, security issues, or unexpected behavior. Use at your own risk. Do not use in production without thorough review.

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that gives AI agents (Claude, Copilot, Gemini, Cursor, etc.) the ability to read, write, and edit Office documents via LibreOffice — with a token-efficient design that minimizes LLM context usage.

Inspired by the architecture of chrome-devtools-mcp.

✨ Features

  • 22 MCP tools covering reading, writing, spreadsheets, and presentations

  • Token-efficient design: outline-first navigation, range-based access, pagination

  • Broad format support: DOCX, DOC, XLSX, XLS, PPTX, PPT, ODT, ODS, ODP, RTF, CSV, TXT, PDF

  • Legacy format bridge: .doc, .xls, .ppt auto-converted via LibreOffice before parsing

  • No LibreOffice required for basic reads: native parsers handle DOCX, XLSX, PPTX directly

  • LibreOffice required for: legacy formats, PDF export, format conversion

Related MCP server: docx-mcp-server

📋 Supported Formats

Format

Extensions

Read

Write

Method

Word 2007+

.docx, .dotx

✅

✅

Native (mammoth read / JSZip OOXML write)

Word 97-2003

.doc, .dot

✅

✅

LibreOffice bridge

Excel 2007+

.xlsx, .xlsm

✅

✅

Native (ExcelJS)

Excel 97-2003

.xls

✅

✅

LibreOffice bridge

PowerPoint 2007+

.pptx

✅

✅

Native (JSZip OOXML)

PowerPoint 97-2003

.ppt

✅

✅

LibreOffice bridge

OpenDocument Text

.odt

✅

✅

LibreOffice bridge

OpenDocument Spreadsheet

.ods

✅

✅

LibreOffice bridge

OpenDocument Presentation

.odp

✅

✅

LibreOffice bridge

Rich Text Format

.rtf

✅

✅

LibreOffice bridge

CSV

.csv

✅

✅

Native

PDF

.pdf

✅ (text)

❌

LibreOffice CLI

Plain text

.txt

✅

✅

Native

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

  • Node.js 20+

  • LibreOffice (optional for basic DOCX/XLSX/PPTX reads; required for .doc/.xls/.ppt and format conversion)

    • Windows: Download LibreOffice

    • macOS: brew install --cask libreoffice

    • Linux: sudo apt install libreoffice or sudo dnf install libreoffice

Installation

Using npx (recommended — no install needed):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "libreoffice": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@passerbyflutter/libreoffice-mcp-tools"]
    }
  }
}

Global install:

npm install -g @passerbyflutter/libreoffice-mcp-tools

From source:

git clone https://github.com/passerbyflutter/libreoffice-mcp-tools
cd libreoffice-mcp-tools
npm install
npm run build

Configure your MCP client

Add to your MCP client configuration (e.g., Claude Desktop claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "libreoffice": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@passerbyflutter/libreoffice-mcp-tools"],
      "env": {
        "SOFFICE_PATH": "/path/to/soffice"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or use .mcp.json at your project root:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "libreoffice": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@passerbyflutter/libreoffice-mcp-tools"]
    }
  }
}

CLI Options

node build/bin/libreoffice-mcp.js [options]

  --libreoffice-path <path>   Path to soffice executable
                              (default: auto-detected or SOFFICE_PATH env)

🛠 Tool Reference

Document Management

Tool

Description

document_open

Open a file → returns docId handle. Auto-bridges legacy formats.

document_close

Release document handle and temp files

document_list

List all open documents

document_create

Create new empty document (writer/calc/impress)

document_save

Save to current or new path

document_export

Export via LibreOffice (PDF, HTML, CSV, etc.)

document_convert

Convert file format (DOC→DOCX, XLSX→CSV, etc.)

Reading (Token-Efficient)

Tool

Description

document_get_metadata

Title, author, word/page count, dates

document_get_outline

Headings (Writer) / sheet names (Calc) / slide titles (Impress)

document_read_text

Paginated document text as Markdown

document_read_range

Specific paragraph or slide range

document_search

Find text with surrounding context

Writing (Writer)

Tool

Description

document_insert_text

Insert at start/end/after heading

document_replace_text

Find & replace (first or all occurrences)

document_insert_paragraph

Insert paragraph at specific index

document_apply_style

Apply heading/paragraph style

Spreadsheet (Calc)

Tool

Description

spreadsheet_list_sheets

Sheet names with row/col counts

spreadsheet_get_range

Cell range as JSON + markdown table

spreadsheet_set_cell

Set cell value or formula

spreadsheet_set_range

Set 2D range of values

spreadsheet_add_sheet

Add new sheet

spreadsheet_get_formulas

Get formula expressions in range

Presentation (Impress)

Tool

Description

presentation_list_slides

Slide titles with index

presentation_get_slide

Full slide content (title, body, notes)

presentation_get_notes

Speaker notes

presentation_add_slide

Add new slide (requires LibreOffice)

presentation_update_slide

Update slide content

💡 Token-Saving Workflow

For maximum token efficiency, follow this pattern:

1. document_open(filePath) → get docId
2. document_get_metadata(docId) → understand size/type
3. document_get_outline(docId) → see structure
4. document_read_range(docId, startIndex=N, endIndex=M) → read specific section

Instead of dumping the entire document, you navigate to exactly what you need.

Spreadsheet workflow:

1. document_open(path) → docId
2. spreadsheet_list_sheets(docId) → see all sheets
3. spreadsheet_get_range(docId, sheetName="Sales", range="A1:D20") → targeted data

🏗 Architecture

src/
├── index.ts                # createMcpServer() — MCP server factory
├── LibreOfficeAdapter.ts   # soffice subprocess manager
├── DocumentContext.ts      # Open document registry
├── DocumentSession.ts      # Per-document state + format bridge
├── McpResponse.ts          # Response builder (text/JSON/markdown)
├── Mutex.ts                # Serializes LibreOffice subprocess calls
├── parsers/
│   ├── DocxParser.ts           # DOCX read → {paragraphs, outline, metadata} (mammoth)
│   ├── DocxOoxmlEditor.ts      # DOCX write → direct JSZip OOXML manipulation (format-preserving)
│   ├── XlsxParser.ts           # XLSX read/write via ExcelJS
│   ├── PptxParser.ts           # PPTX read → {slides[]} (JSZip XML)
│   └── PptxOoxmlEditor.ts      # PPTX write → add/update slides, create PPTX (JSZip OOXML)
├── formatters/
│   ├── MarkdownFormatter.ts
│   ├── JsonFormatter.ts
│   └── TableFormatter.ts   # Spreadsheet → Markdown table
└── tools/
    ├── documents.ts         # open/close/list/create
    ├── reader.ts            # metadata/outline/read/search
    ├── writer.ts            # insert/replace/style
    ├── spreadsheet.ts       # get/set cells/ranges/sheets
    ├── presentation.ts      # slides/notes
    └── converter.ts         # save/export/convert

🧪 Testing

# Create sample fixtures
node tests/create-fixtures.mjs

# Run smoke tests
npm test

📝 Environment Variables

Variable

Description

SOFFICE_PATH

Path to LibreOffice soffice executable

DEBUG

Set to lo-mcp:* for verbose logging

📄 License

MIT

Available Tools

27 tools
document_apply_styleC

Apply a heading or paragraph style to a specific paragraph by index.

Inputs: docId (required), paragraphIndex (required), style (required).

document_closeA

Close an open document and release its resources (including any temp files from format bridging).

Inputs: docId (required).

document_convertA

Convert a document file to a different format using LibreOffice CLI. Creates a new file; original is not modified. Useful for: DOC→DOCX, DOCX→PDF, XLSX→CSV, etc. LibreOffice must be installed.

Inputs: filePath (required), format (required), outputPath.

document_createB

Create a new empty document and open it. Returns a docId. Supports creating: writer (text document → .docx), calc (spreadsheet → .xlsx), impress (presentation → .pptx).

Inputs: documentType (required), filePath (required).

document_exportA

Export a document to a different format using LibreOffice. Supports exporting to: PDF, HTML, TXT, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, ODT, ODS, ODP, CSV. LibreOffice must be installed.

Inputs: docId (required), format (required), outputPath.

document_get_metadataA

Get metadata for an open document: title, author, page count, word count, format, file size, dates. Token-efficient: use this before reading document content to understand its size and structure.

Inputs: docId (required).

document_get_outlineA

Get the structural outline of a document:

  • Writer documents: headings hierarchy (H1, H2, H3...)

  • Calc spreadsheets: list of sheet names with row/column counts

  • Impress presentations: slide titles with index numbers Token-efficient: always call this before document_read_text to understand structure.

Inputs: docId (required).

document_insert_paragraphC

Insert a new paragraph at a specific index in a Writer document.

Inputs: docId (required), text (required), index (required), style.

document_insert_textB

Insert text into a Writer document at a specified position. Position options: 'start' (beginning), 'end' (end of document), or after a specific heading text.

Inputs: docId (required), text (required), position, headingText, +1 more.

document_listB

List all currently open documents with their docId, file path, format, and size.

Inputs: no named parameters.

document_openA

Open a document file and return a docId handle for use with other tools. Supports: .docx, .doc, .xlsx, .xls, .pptx, .ppt, .odt, .ods, .odp, .rtf, .csv, .txt, .pdf Legacy binary formats (.doc, .xls, .ppt, .odt, .ods, .odp, .rtf) are automatically converted via LibreOffice before parsing. Returns docId to use with all other document tools.

Inputs: filePath (required).

document_read_rangeA

Read a specific range of a document by paragraph index (for Writer) or slide index (for Impress). More token-efficient than document_read_text when you only need a specific section.

Inputs: docId (required), startIndex (required), endIndex.

document_read_textA

Read document content as Markdown text. For large documents, use limit/offset for pagination. Default returns up to 4000 characters. Use document_get_outline first to understand structure.

Inputs: docId (required), limit, offset, maxChars.

document_replace_textC

Find and replace text in a Writer document. Optionally replace all occurrences.

Inputs: docId (required), find (required), replace (required), replaceAll, +1 more.

document_saveB

Save the current state of a document to its file path (or a new path).

Inputs: docId (required), filePath.

document_searchA

Search for text within a document. Returns matching paragraphs/cells/slides with surrounding context.

Inputs: docId (required), query (required), limit.

presentation_add_slideC

Add a new slide to a presentation.

Inputs: docId (required), title (required), body, notes.

presentation_get_notesB

Get speaker notes for all slides or a specific slide.

Inputs: docId (required), slideIndex.

presentation_get_slideB

Get the full content of a specific slide: title, body text, and speaker notes.

Inputs: docId (required), slideIndex (required).

presentation_list_slidesA

List all slides in a presentation with their index and title. Token-efficient overview before reading content.

Inputs: docId (required).

presentation_update_slideC

Update the title or body text of an existing slide.

Inputs: docId (required), slideIndex (required), title, body.

spreadsheet_add_sheetC

Add a new sheet to a spreadsheet workbook.

Inputs: docId (required), sheetName (required), headers.

spreadsheet_get_formulasA

Get all formulas in a spreadsheet range (returns formula expressions, not computed values).

Inputs: docId (required), sheetName, range.

spreadsheet_get_rangeA

Read a range of cells from a spreadsheet sheet. Returns data as structured JSON and a markdown table. Use range like "A1:D10" for specific cells, or omit for paginated full sheet. Token-efficient: specify a range rather than reading the whole sheet.

Inputs: docId (required), sheetName, range, limit, +2 more.

spreadsheet_list_sheetsB

List all sheets in a spreadsheet with their names, row counts, and column counts.

Inputs: docId (required).

spreadsheet_set_cellA

Set the value or formula of a single cell in a spreadsheet. Changes are saved immediately.

Inputs: docId (required), cell (required), value (required), sheetName, +1 more.

spreadsheet_set_rangeC

Set multiple cell values in a spreadsheet. Provide a 2D array of values matching the range.

Inputs: docId (required), startCell (required), values (required), sheetName.

Tool Schema Changelog

Recent tool additions, removals, and schema changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

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    Deploy Server
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    TDQS

    A3.6/5.0

    Scored across 27 tools

    Disambiguation4/5

    Most tools have distinct purposes with clear boundaries, such as document operations versus presentation or spreadsheet tools. However, some overlap exists: document_read_text and document_read_range both handle reading content, and document_convert and document_export both involve format conversion, which could cause minor confusion in selection.

    Naming Consistency5/5

    Tool names follow a highly consistent verb_noun pattern with clear prefixes (document_, presentation_, spreadsheet_) that group related operations. All names use snake_case uniformly, making them predictable and easy to parse for agents.

    Tool Count3/5

    With 27 tools, the count is borderline high for a single server, potentially overwhelming for agents. While the tools cover a broad range of LibreOffice operations, the number feels heavy and could be streamlined by consolidating overlapping functions like reading or conversion tools.

    Completeness5/5

    The tool set provides comprehensive coverage for document, presentation, and spreadsheet workflows, including creation, reading, updating, conversion, and metadata operations. There are no obvious gaps; agents can perform full CRUD/lifecycle tasks across all supported file types without dead ends.

    Maintenance

    ActivityInactive
    ResponsivenessNo recent community issues

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