Hermes Agent Microsoft Office support comes from the bundled microsoft-office skill, which creates, reads and edits Word, PowerPoint and Excel files offline with Python libraries, so Microsoft Office itself is never needed. Since v0.23.0 on 5 November 2026, the three separate format skills are one skill, installed by default.
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This guide covers what the skill does, which files it handles, how to set it up, how the helpers work, the pitfalls the docs warn about, and when you need LibreOffice. Every command and file name here comes from the official Microsoft Office skill page in the Hermes docs.
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What the Hermes Agent Microsoft Office skill is
The skill lives at productivity/microsoft-office in the Hermes skills tree. The docs list it as bundled, which means it is installed by default. The skill page shows version 2.0.0, Nous Research as author, an MIT licence, and support for Linux, macOS and Windows. Its related skill is pdf.
The job is narrow and clear. It works on Office files, not on the Office apps. It never opens Word, PowerPoint or Excel on your machine, and it does not connect to Microsoft 365 online. It reads and writes the files directly with python-docx, python-pptx and openpyxl.
That makes it useful anywhere Hermes runs, including a server or a Docker sandbox with no Office licence at all.
What changed in v0.23.0
The v0.23.0 release notes say the Word, PowerPoint and Excel skills are now one microsoft-office skill. The same release cut the built-in skills on a fresh install from 58 to 44, and twelve niche skills moved to optional installs.
Two details matter if you upgraded rather than installed fresh. Old copies of the separate skills stay on disk until you remove them. And the release added hermes curator lock, which stops the agent from rewriting a skill you curated by hand.
The release also says the Docker image now adds tmux and the Office and PDF libraries, so containers come ready for document work. A patch, v0.23.1, followed on 9 November 2026, rolling up about 618 merged PRs.
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Which files it handles, and which it does not
This table follows the skill page:
| File type | Supported? | Typical jobs from the docs |
|---|---|---|
| Word .docx | Yes | Reports, letters, contracts, token templates, tracked changes, comments |
| PowerPoint .pptx | Yes | Pitch decks, brand-template decks, chart refreshes, speaker notes, slide PNGs |
| Excel .xlsx and .csv | Yes | Styled multi-sheet workbooks, formulas, charts, CSV conversion |
| Legacy .doc, .ppt, .xls | No | Convert first with LibreOffice |
| OpenDocument .odt, .odp, .ods | No | Not covered by this skill |
| WYSIWYG layout work | No | Out of scope |
For an old binary file, the docs give one conversion line when LibreOffice is installed: soffice --headless --convert-to docx (or pptx, or xlsx) followed by the file name. After that, the skill can work on the new copy.
Each format has its own reference file: references/word.md, references/powerpoint.md and references/excel.md. The agent loads the right one before it starts.
How to set it up, step by step
- Update Hermes. On v0.23.0 or later, the merged skill ships by default. Remove the old separate skills if they are still on disk.
- Check Python. The skill needs Python 3.10 or newer with python-docx, python-pptx and openpyxl.
- Let Hermes build the environment. When the hermes command is on your PATH, the skill builds a shared, pinned documents environment with hermes pm environment documents --extra documents --extra documents-pdf. The docs say it survives container restarts and never touches the Hermes install itself.
- Using Docker? The Hermes Docker image already ships the libraries, so this step is done for you.
- Add LibreOffice if you need PDFs. It is optional. Add poppler too if you want slide PNGs.
- Ask for a file. Tell Hermes what you need, for example a three-slide pitch deck or a styled sales workbook, and name the output path.
One warning from the docs: never pip install into the interpreter that runs Hermes, or into the documents environment. Hermes owns both.
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How the helpers work
Creation is driven by JSON specs. The agent writes a spec file, then runs a helper script: docx_create.py builds a Word file, pptx_create.py builds a deck, and xlsx_create.py builds a workbook. There is also csv_to_xlsx.py for turning a CSV into a workbook.
Reading back uses docx_read.py with a text or structure flag, pptx_read.py with an outline flag, and xlsx_read.py with a sheets or JSON flag. Editing uses docx_edit.py, pptx_edit.py, xlsx_edit.py and xlsx_restructure.py.
Templates have their own helpers. docx_template.py fills token placeholders in a Word template, and pptx_from_template.py builds a deck from a brand template.
For review work there are docx_revisions.py, docx_comments.py and docx_validate.py on the Word side, pptx_render.py for slide PNGs, and xlsx_recalc.py plus xlsx_to_csv.py for Excel.
Every helper is an argparse command-line tool with a help flag. Each one prints JSON to stdout and exits non-zero on failure, which makes it easy for the agent to check its own work.
Where LibreOffice comes in
LibreOffice is the optional extra that covers three jobs: PDF export, Excel recalculation and slide rendering. The docs give the PDF line as soffice --headless --convert-to pdf --outdir out/ followed by the file, and it works for .docx, .pptx and .xlsx.
Without it, there is no pure-Python route to PDF. The skill says so rather than approximating. The helpers that need LibreOffice report what is missing and exit cleanly.
The docs also note that fonts missing on the host get swapped, so render-check a deck before you send it anywhere. If you need PDFs read rather than written, the Hermes Agent PDF reader guide covers that side.
Pitfalls the docs warn about
- Never unzip and edit the XML. Office files are zip packages, and raw text swaps corrupt them. Edit through the helpers.
- Nothing computes fields or formulas. Word page fields and Excel formulas are filled in by the Office app when the file opens, or by xlsx_recalc.py, which needs LibreOffice.
- Text is split into runs. A find-and-replace across differently formatted text takes the formatting of the first run.
- Write specs as UTF-8. The helpers read UTF-8 explicitly.
The checks the docs ask for are simple. Re-read every output. Run docx_validate.py after tracked-change or comment work and expect exit code 0. Render decks with pptx_render.py and check the images with vision_analyze. List Excel formulas with xlsx_read.py and its formulas flag.
Getting files back in chat
On messaging platforms like Slack, Telegram or Discord, the Deliverable Mode docs say the gateway spots file paths in the agent's reply and uploads the files as native attachments. The docs name the microsoft-office skill as the producer of Word documents, spreadsheets and decks.
So you can ask from your phone for a weekly sales workbook and get the .xlsx back in the same chat. If you run Hermes inside the Agent OS, this becomes one more tool your agents can reach for. And to pick a model that follows long specs well, the scores on Goldie Bench are a useful starting point.
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My verdict on Hermes Agent and Office files
This is a practical, well-scoped skill. It does one thing: it turns plain requests into real .docx, .pptx and .xlsx files without any Office install, and it checks its own output.
The limits are clear too. It will not open legacy formats directly, it cannot export PDF or recalculate formulas without LibreOffice, and it does not drive the Office apps. If you know that going in, it fits reports, decks and spreadsheets well. My video on the Hermes Agent 0.23 release covers the wider update this change shipped in.
If you want help planning a document workflow around it, book a free AI strategy session.
FAQ
Does Hermes Agent work with Microsoft Office files?
Yes. The bundled microsoft-office skill creates, reads and edits Word, PowerPoint and Excel files.
Do I need Microsoft Office installed?
No. The skill uses python-docx, python-pptx and openpyxl offline. LibreOffice is only needed for PDF export, recalculation and slide rendering.
When did Word, PowerPoint and Excel become one skill?
In v0.23.0, released on 5 November 2026. Old copies of the separate skills stay on disk until you delete them.
Can it open old .doc or .xls files?
Not directly. Convert them first with soffice in headless mode, then work on the new .docx, .pptx or .xlsx copy.
How do I make a PowerPoint deck with it?
The agent writes a JSON spec and runs pptx_create.py with an output path. Then pptx_render.py renders the slides so they can be checked.
Will it fill in Word templates?
Yes. docx_template.py fills token placeholders in Word templates, and pptx_from_template.py builds decks from a brand template.
Start with one real file you make every week, and let Hermes Agent Microsoft Office support build it for you.
