python-docx
Modern Word document processing. The workhorse of .docx extraction.
MIT License
Credits & Attributions
“It’s not just about me and my dream of doing nothing.”
mcwaddams stands on the shoulders of giants — both technical and cinematic.
Open Source Dependencies
Section titled “Open Source Dependencies”The tools that make document extraction possible.
openpyxl
Excel XLSX file processing with full formula support.
MIT License
python-pptx
PowerPoint PPTX processing for slides and speaker notes.
MIT License
mammoth
Enhanced Word to HTML/Markdown conversion. Our fallback hero.
BSD-2-Clause
pandas
Data analysis powerhouse. Handles CSV and Excel fallbacks.
BSD-3-Clause
olefile
OLE Compound Document parsing for legacy .doc, .xls, .ppt.
BSD-2-Clause
xlrd
Legacy Excel XLS support. Because 2003 never really left.
BSD License
Pillow
Image processing for embedded graphics extraction.
HPND License
Framework & Tools
Section titled “Framework & Tools”| Project | Purpose | License |
|---|---|---|
| FastMCP | MCP server framework | MIT |
| Astro | This documentation site | MIT |
| Starlight | Documentation theme | MIT |
| Tailwind CSS | Styling | MIT |
Office Space
Section titled “Office Space”The cultural foundation of this project.
The References
Section titled “The References”| Reference | Location | Why It Fits |
|---|---|---|
| Milton Waddams | Project name | Relegated to the basement with legacy documents |
| TPS Reports | Test section | ”Testing Painful Stuff” — .doc from 1997 is painful |
| Red Swingline | Logo/branding | The small things that matter |
| ”Did you get the memo?” | Throughout | Clear documentation is essential |
| ”I could set the building on fire” | Footer | But we’d rather process documents |
| Pieces of Flair | Badge system | Gamification for the bureaucratic soul |
Key Quotes Used
Section titled “Key Quotes Used”“I was told there would be document extraction.”
Adaptation of Milton’s “I was told there would be cake” — except here, there actually is document extraction.
“Did you get the memo about the TPS reports?”
Our test section is literally called TPS Reports. Because testing legacy formats is painful, and we test it so you don’t have to.
“I believe you have my stapler…”
The persistence of caring about the small things. Like proper Unicode handling in a .doc from 1997.
Author
Section titled “Author”Ryan Malloy
Built by Ryan Malloy at Supported Systems.
- ryanmalloy.com — Personal site
- GitHub — Open source work
Read: AI Discernment vs AI Criticism — On building with AI while maintaining craft standards.
Special Thanks
Section titled “Special Thanks”The Python Community
Section titled “The Python Community”For building and maintaining the libraries that make Office document processing possible. Every commit to python-docx or openpyxl makes legacy document handling slightly less painful.
The MCP Ecosystem
Section titled “The MCP Ecosystem”For creating a protocol that lets AI agents access tools without reinventing the wheel. mcwaddams exists because FastMCP made it trivial to build.
Mike Judge
Section titled “Mike Judge”For creating Office Space and giving the tech industry a shared vocabulary for describing workplace dysfunction. The red stapler is a symbol of what happens when you ignore the people doing the actual work.
The hero image — featuring THE actual film slate and red Swingline from production — is courtesy of Mike Judge on X.
Additional Office Space screenshots and character images sourced from the Office Space Wiki. Initech logo from the Initech wiki page. Box of Flair merchandise image from the Office Space Box of Flair wiki page.
Swingline
Section titled “Swingline”For actually manufacturing a red stapler after the movie came out. Sometimes life imitates art. (Fun fact: the prop department painted a black stapler red because Swingline didn’t make that color in 1999.)
License
Section titled “License”mcwaddams is released under the MIT License.
MIT License
Copyright (c) 2024 Ryan Malloy
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copyof this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to dealin the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rightsto use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sellcopies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software isfurnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in allcopies or substantial portions of the Software.🔴
I believe you have my documentation…
Unlike Milton’s stapler, this one’s MIT licensed. Take it.