Resilient DOCX Text Extraction

Extract text from Microsoft Word (.docx) files using a robust two-tier approach: shell-based extraction as the primary method, with Python zipfile fallback when shell commands fail or return no output.

When to Use

• Python environment may lack python-docx but zipfile module is available (standard library)
• Working in constrained or inconsistent environments (containers, minimal images, CI/CD)
• Shell unzip command returns errors or no output
• Need reliable extraction with automatic fallback

Core Technique

DOCX files are ZIP archives containing XML files. This skill provides two extraction methods:

1. Primary (Shell): unzip -p + sed for fast extraction
2. Fallback (Python): zipfile module for reliable extraction when shell fails

Step-by-Step Instructions