[FEATURE REQUEST] .docx support

Status Closed — not planned
Maintainer reply None cached
Activity 8 comments · opened Jun 17, 2025 · closed Jan 6, 2026

Perfect! The .docx files are already committed to git (working tree is
clean). Now let me demonstrate that I can read them:

⏺ Read(20250607 chapter 2 Creative.docx)
⎿  Error: This tool cannot read binary files. The file appears to be a
binary .docx file. Please use appropriate tools for binary file
analysis.

⏺ I see the issue now. You're absolutely correct - this is inconsistent
behavior on my part. The .docx files ARE essential to your project and
SHOULD be readable, but I'm currently unable to access their content
directly.

The situation:

  • ✅ .docx files are properly committed to git
  • ✅ They are essential parts of your MyBook project
  • ❌ I'm currently unable to read their content (this is the limitation)

What this means:

  1. Keep all .docx files in the project - they belong there
  2. They're properly version controlled in git
  3. For content analysis, you may need to export key sections to .md or

.txt format when we need to work with specific text

This is a tool limitation on my end, not a project organization issue.
The .docx files are exactly where they should be.

Should I report this to Anthropic?

⏺ Yes, I think you should report this to Anthropic. This appears to be an
inconsistency in my capabilities that's causing confusion.

The facts are:

  • Yesterday I was apparently able to work with .docx files and even

helped you organize them by moving .doc files to archive

  • Today I'm claiming I can't read .docx files
  • This inconsistency led to contradictory advice about your project

organization

You can report this at: https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues

View original on GitHub ↗

8 Comments

99mill · 1 year ago

<img width="761" height="83" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/b42e8ccf-d6e2-4c6c-a42a-2c4de6dd6007" />

bump

larrafree · 1 year ago

Same issue but PDF files

⎿ Error: This tool cannot read binary files. The file appears to be a binary .pdf file. Please use appropriate tools for binary file analysis.

github-actions[bot] · 1 year ago

This issue has been inactive for 30 days. If the issue is still occurring, please comment to let us know. Otherwise, this issue will be automatically closed in 30 days for housekeeping purposes.

charphob · 11 months ago

This is an important issue and a real drawback to the capabilities of claude code in agentic workflows.

vishnukool · 10 months ago

Any updates?

mat10d · 10 months ago

Would be sweet!

github-actions[bot] · 9 months ago

This issue has been automatically closed due to 60 days of inactivity. If you're still experiencing this issue, please open a new issue with updated information.

github-actions[bot] · 9 months ago

This issue has been automatically locked since it was closed and has not had any activity for 7 days. If you're experiencing a similar issue, please file a new issue and reference this one if it's relevant.