docx-svg

DOCX SVG -- SVG image support for Word documents

Policy: Zero Conversion (MANDATORY)

NEVER convert SVG files to PNG, JPEG, or any raster format before inserting into a .docx.

Modern Word (2016+) natively supports SVG via the asvg:svgBlip OOXML extension. Converting to PNG destroys the vector benefits (scalability, file size, sharpness).

1. Do not suggest raster fallbacks as "best practice" unless the user explicitly requests legacy compatibility.
2. Do not claim it is "too complex" to handle OOXML directly—this skill provides the tools (officecli or scripts/svg.py) to handle the complexity for you.
3. Always use SVG directly as the source file.
4. If a request asks to convert SVG to PNG/JPEG for .docx insertion, reject the conversion step and insert the SVG directly instead.

Overview

Microsoft Word supports SVG images in the OOXML format, but typical programmatic tools (python-docx, docxtpl) do not recognise them out of the box. This skill provides two approaches, in order of preference:

Priority	Tool	When to use
1. Preferred	officecli	Always, when available in the environment
2. Fallback	Python monkey-patch (scripts/svg.py)	When officecli is not installed, not reachable, or fails version check

If officecli is present but older than v1.0.64, do not use it. Instead, proceed with the Python fallback. Do not attempt to use a partial or outdated officecli installation.

---

Strategy: check officecli first

Before choosing an approach, determine whether officecli is available:

officecli --version

If it returns a version v1.0.64 or later: use officecli (Section 1 below). If not found, or the version is older than v1.0.64: use the Python fallback (Section 2 below).

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Technical Context: How it works (OOXML)

When inserting an SVG, Word expects an a:ext block within the a:blip element. Both officecli and scripts/svg.py generate this automatically.

Structure Reference (for your awareness):

<a:blip r:embed="rId1">
  <a:extLst>
    <a:ext uri="{96DAC541-0531-4A20-96AC-8D759B1F206D}">
      <asvg:svgBlip xmlns:asvg="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/drawing/2016/SVG" r:embed="rId2"/>
    </a:ext>
  </a:extLst>
</a:blip>

• rId1 points to a PNG/JPEG fallback (optional in modern Word, but officecli handles this if needed).
• rId2 points to the actual .svg file in word/media/.

---

Section 1: Preferred -- officecli

officecli has native SVG support for docx pictures. No monkey-patching, no extra dependencies, no Python required.

Add an inline SVG image

officecli add report.docx /body --type picture --prop file=chart.svg

Add with explicit size

officecli add report.docx /body --type picture --prop file=chart.svg --prop width=10cm --prop height=6cm

Add after a specific paragraph

officecli add report.docx '/body/p[2]' --type picture --prop file=chart.svg --prop width=12cm

Add floating image with text wrap

# Insert as floating image, then set wrap and position
officecli add report.docx /body --type picture --prop file=hero.svg --prop width=8cm
# Use the returned picture path to set wrap mode
officecli set report.docx '/body/pic[1]' --prop wrap=square

Set image properties

After adding a picture, use officecli set to adjust:

officecli set report.docx '/body/p[3]/picture[1]' --prop alt="Sales chart Q4"
officecli set report.docx '/body/p[3]/picture[1]' --prop brightness=10 --prop contrast=-5
officecli set report.docx '/body/p[3]/picture[1]' --prop hposition=2cm --prop hrelative=page

Check available picture properties

When unsure about property names, run the help system:

officecli help docx image
officecli help docx picture

---

Section 2: Fallback -- Python monkey-patch

Use this approach only when officecli is not available. The module scripts/svg.py monkey-patches python-docx and docxtpl to add SVG support.

The patch is applied automatically when the module is imported -- no manual setup beyond installing the dependencies.

Install dependencies

uv run python scripts/svg.py

The script declares its dependencies via PEP 723 inline metadata (python-docx>=1.1.2, docxtpl>=0.19.0), so uv run auto-resolves them.

Direct python-docx usage

import docx
from scripts import svg  # noqa: F401  # <- patch activates on import
from docx.shared import Mm

doc = docx.Document()
doc.add_paragraph("Below is an SVG chart:")
doc.add_picture("chart.svg", width=Mm(120))
doc.save("report.docx")

Importing scripts.svg monkey-patches python-docx globally. add_picture will now accept .svg files alongside PNG/JPEG.

Crucial: Even with the Python fallback, do not convert to PNG. The patch handles the native SVG embedding.

docxtpl template usage

from docxtpl import DocxTemplate
from scripts.svg import SvgInlineImage
from docx.shared import Mm

tpl = DocxTemplate("template.docx")
img = SvgInlineImage(tpl, "chart.svg", width=Mm(100))
tpl.render({"chart": img})
tpl.save("output.docx")

In the template, place {{ chart }} inside a paragraph. SvgInlineImage automatically detects SVG files and processes them through the patched pipeline.

Automatic sizing

When both width and height are omitted, the image fills the usable page width (page width minus left/right margins):

img = SvgInlineImage(tpl, "wide-chart.svg")  # auto-sizes to page width

Utility: check if a file is SVG

from scripts.svg import is_svg

assert is_svg("icon.svg")

---

How the Python fallback works

1. Monkey-patch on import -- the module registers three SVG byte signatures (<?xml, <svg, <!DOCTYPE svg), adds image/svg+xml to python-docx's MIME-type constants, and replaces _ImageHeaderFactory to scan 256 bytes (instead of the default 64).

2. SVG dimension extraction -- Svg._dimensions_from_stream reads width / height attributes (stripping units like pt, cm, mm, %) and falls back to viewBox when those attributes are absent.

3. docxtpl helper -- SvgInlineImage subclasses InlineImage, converting Path descriptors to BytesIO before passing them upstream so the patched factory can parse the SVG.

Limitations

• SVG rendering in Word: Microsoft Word renders SVG as a static image. Interactive features (hover, animation, embedded JavaScript) are not supported by the OOXML format.
• Fallback image (Python approach only): The current implementation does not add a PNG fallback inside the OOXML package. Older Word versions (pre-2016) may not display the SVG. If compatibility is required, pre-convert the SVG to PNG.
• Dimension units (Python approach only): The parser normalises all units to pixels at 72 DPI. For print-precise sizing, specify width / height explicitly via docx.shared.Mm / Inches / Cm.