superdoc-dev/superdoc-edit-docx

SuperDoc CLI (v1)

Use SuperDoc CLI for DOCX work. Use v1 commands (canonical operations and their helper wrappers). Do not default to legacy commands unless explicitly needed for v0-style bulk workflows.

Use superdoc if installed, or npx @superdoc-dev/cli@latest as a fallback.

First Step: Discover Exact Params

For unknown commands or flags, inspect runtime metadata first:

superdoc describe
superdoc describe command find
superdoc describe command "comments add"

Use describe command for per-command args and constraints.

Preferred Workflows

1) Edit an existing document (recommended for targeted changes)

superdoc open ./contract.docx
superdoc query match --select-json '{"type":"text","pattern":"termination"}' --require exactlyOne
superdoc replace --target-json '{"kind":"text","blockId":"p1","range":{"start":0,"end":11}}' --text "expiration"
superdoc save --in-place
superdoc close

• Use query match when you are modifying existing content and need an exact mutation target.
• After open, commands run against the active/default session when <doc> is omitted.
• Use superdoc session list|set-default|save|close for explicit session control.
• close on dirty state requires --discard or a prior save.

2) Generate or seed a document body (recommended for synthetic/probe docs)

Use open --content-override when you want to create a new body from Markdown, HTML, or plain text in one step.

superdoc open --content-override "# Probe Title\n\nALPHA01" --override-type markdown
superdoc save --out ./probe.docx
superdoc close

superdoc open template.docx \
  --content-override '<p>ALPHA01 <strong>BRAVO02</strong><br/>CHARLIE03</p>' \
  --override-type html
superdoc save --out ./probe.docx
superdoc close

• --content-override is the fastest way to seed paragraphs, headings, lists, and <br/> line breaks.
• Use --override-type markdown|html|text explicitly. open rejects --content-override without it.
• For generation, do not start with query match unless you are modifying content that already exists.

3) Generate incrementally, then reuse the insert receipt target

When you need deterministic inline formatting after seeding text, insert first, then reuse the returned target block/range.

superdoc open
superdoc insert --value "ALPHA01 BRAVO02 CHARLIE03"
superdoc format apply --block-id <from-insert-receipt> --start 8 --end 15 --inline-json '{"fontSize":16,"fontFamily":"Times New Roman"}'
superdoc format apply --block-id <from-insert-receipt> --start 16 --end 25 --inline-json '{"fontSize":10,"fontFamily":"Arial"}'
superdoc save --out ./probe.docx
superdoc close

• The insert receipt contains the resolved target under receipt.resolution.target.
• For a simple one-paragraph synthetic doc, direct --block-id --start --end formatting is usually shorter than re-querying.
• Use query match again only if later steps need to rediscover content by meaning, not by the range you just created.

4) Stateless one-off reads

superdoc get-text ./proposal.docx
superdoc get-markdown ./proposal.docx
superdoc info ./proposal.docx

5) Stateless one-off mutations

superdoc replace ./proposal.docx \
  --target-json '{"kind":"text","blockId":"p1","range":{"start":0,"end":5}}' \
  --text "Updated" \
  --out ./proposal.updated.docx

• In stateless mode (<doc> provided), mutating commands require --out unless using --dry-run.

6) Inline special nodes: tabs vs line breaks

• insert line-break inserts a real Word line break node inside the current paragraph.
• insert tab inserts a real Word tab node inside the current paragraph.
• Paragraph tab stops are different. Tab stops control layout positions; tab nodes are inline content characters that advance to the next tab stop.

superdoc insert line-break --block-id p1 --offset 12
superdoc insert tab --block-id p1 --offset 12

• Use format paragraph set-tab-stop / related paragraph formatting commands when you need the tab stop definitions themselves.
• Use the inline insert commands when you need actual w:br or w:tab content in exported DOCX.

Safety: preview before apply

• Use --dry-run to preview any mutation without applying it.
• Use --expected-revision <n> with stateful mutations for optimistic concurrency checks.

Common v1 Commands

Query & inspect

• Search/browse content: find --type text --pattern "..." or find --query-json '{...}'
• Find mutation target: query match --select-json '{...}' --require exactlyOne
• Inspect blocks: blocks list, get-node, get-node-by-id
• Extract content: get-text, get-markdown, get-html

Mutate

• Replace text: replace --target-json '{...}' --text "..."
• Insert inline text: insert --block-id <id> --offset <n> --value "..."
• Insert inline tab/line break nodes: insert tab, insert line-break
• Delete text/node: delete --target-json '{...}'
• Delete blocks: blocks delete, blocks delete-range
• Batch mutations: mutations apply --steps-json '[...]' --atomic true --change-mode direct
• Create paragraph: create paragraph --text "..." (with optional --at-json)
• Create heading: create heading --input-json '{"level":<n>,"text":"..."}'

Format

• Apply formatting: format apply --block-id <id> --start <n> --end <n> --inline-json '{"bold":true}'
• Shortcuts: format bold, format italic, format underline, format strikethrough

Lists

• List items: lists list, lists get
• Insert list item: lists insert --node-id <id> --position after --text "..."
• Modify: lists indent, lists outdent, lists set-level, lists set-type, lists convert-to-text

Comments

• Add/reply: comments add, comments reply
• Read: comments get, comments list
• Edit/resolve/move: comments edit, comments resolve, comments move, comments set-internal
• Delete: comments delete (canonical) or comments remove (alias)

Track changes

• List: track-changes list, track-changes get
• Decide: track-changes accept, track-changes reject, track-changes accept-all, track-changes reject-all

History

• history get, history undo, history redo

Low-level

• Direct invoke: call <operationId> --input-json '{...}' (JSON output only — --pretty is not supported)

JSON/File Payload Flags

Not all --*-file variants are available on every command. Use describe command <name> to check.

Always supported alongside their -json counterpart (use one, not both):

| Flag pair | Available on | |-----------|-------------| | --query-json / --query-file | find, lists list | | --address-json / --address-file | get-node, lists get | | --input-json / --input-file | call, create paragraph | | --at-json / --at-file | create paragraph |

--target-json is widely available on mutation commands but has no --target-file counterpart. Use flat flags (--block-id, --start, --end) as an alternative to --target-json.

Output and Global Flags

• Default output is JSON envelope.
• In JSON mode, command results are returned as a JSON envelope.
• Use --pretty for human-readable output (not supported by call).
• Use --quiet to suppress non-essential warnings in pretty mode.
• Global flags: --output <json|pretty>, --session <id>, --timeout-ms <n>, --quiet.
• <doc> can be - to read DOCX bytes from stdin.

Legacy Compatibility (Use Sparingly)

Legacy v0.x bridge commands still exist:

superdoc search <pattern> <files...>
superdoc replace-legacy <find> <to> <files...>
superdoc read <file>

Use these only when you specifically need v0-style behavior (especially multi-file glob search/replace). For new automations, prefer v1 operations.