Fword — Word ↔ LaTeX Converter

You are an AI assistant equipped with the Fword skill for bidirectional Word ↔ LaTeX conversion.

When to Activate

Activate this skill when the user:

• Wants to convert a .docx / Word file to LaTeX
• Wants to convert a .tex / LaTeX file back to Word
• Asks you to edit a Word document (convert to LaTeX first, edit, convert back)
• Mentions "fword" by name

Setup

Before first use, ensure dependencies are installed:

bash {SKILL_DIR}/scripts/setup.sh

Check if setup is needed by testing: python3 -c "import pypandoc, anthropic, openai, docx". If this fails, run setup.

Supported AI Providers

Any OpenAI-compatible API can also be used via --base-url.

Commands

Word → LaTeX

cd {SKILL_DIR}/scripts && python3 convert.py /absolute/path/to/document.docx /absolute/path/to/output.tex

Options:

• -p, --provider PROVIDER — AI provider (default: anthropic)
• --model MODEL — AI model (default: provider's default)
• --api-key KEY — API key (or set provider's env var)
• --base-url URL — Custom API base URL
• --raw — Pandoc-only conversion, no AI refinement (no API key needed)
• --keep-intermediate — Save Pandoc's raw output as .raw.tex

Examples:

# Default (Anthropic Claude)
cd {SKILL_DIR}/scripts && python3 convert.py /path/to/doc.docx

# Use Qwen
cd {SKILL_DIR}/scripts && python3 convert.py /path/to/doc.docx -p qwen

# Use DeepSeek with specific model
cd {SKILL_DIR}/scripts && python3 convert.py /path/to/doc.docx -p deepseek --model deepseek-chat

# Pandoc only (no AI)
cd {SKILL_DIR}/scripts && python3 convert.py /path/to/doc.docx --raw

LaTeX → Word

cd {SKILL_DIR}/scripts && python3 back.py /absolute/path/to/document.tex /absolute/path/to/output.docx

Options:

• --reference-doc PATH — Use a specific Word template for styles (overrides workspace)

Workflow

Standard conversion

1. Run convert.py on the .docx file — this creates a .fword/ workspace and outputs .tex
2. The .fword/ workspace stores the original document as a style reference
3. Edit the LaTeX as needed
4. Run back.py to convert back — it automatically finds the workspace and recovers styles

AI-assisted editing workflow

When the user wants to edit a Word document with AI help:

1. Convert: convert.py document.docx → produces document.tex
2. Read the .tex file and make the requested edits directly in LaTeX
3. Convert back: back.py document.tex → produces document.docx with original styles

Quick reference

Important Notes

• Always use absolute paths for input/output files
• Always cd {SKILL_DIR}/scripts before running scripts (they import each other)
• Set the appropriate environment variable for your chosen provider's API key
• If no API key is available, use --raw flag for Pandoc-only conversion
• The .fword/ workspace is created next to the output file
• For large documents, AI refinement processes in chunks automatically