Refigure

refigure

Converters where figures survive.

DOCX/XLSX → Markdown that keeps charts and infographics machine-readable instead of losing them to OCR or a vision model: native OOXML chart data (numCache/strCache) recovers exact numbers with zero GPU calls, zero VLM calls, zero lost precision — by default, not as a fallback.

That default path is also why the base install (pip install "refigure[docx,xlsx]") is ~500x lighter than PyTorch-based alternatives (5.6MB vs. multi-GB) — the core conversion needs no ML model at all. That number is about the core architecture, not every distribution format: the Docker image trades it back deliberately, bundling VLM providers + LibreOffice for a turnkey composite-figure path (see Docker below).

VLM interpretation itself is there for the rare figure with no native data at all (a dashboard screenshot) — never required just to get real numbers out of a chart, on any distribution format.

Ships as a library, CLI, MCP server, and a one-click Claude Desktop bundle — every surface returns the same native-fidelity output, not a degraded summary for agents.

Features

• Native chart-data extraction — reads OOXML numCache/strCache directly; no rasterize/OCR/VLM step for charts, real numbers every time.
• Positioned zero-loss markers for composite figures (DOCX) — grouped shapes/infographics that mammoth would otherwise silently fragment into disconnected pieces get a clean marker instead, with position and any caption text preserved. Absent even in well-funded incumbents — see Docling issue #1287.
• Optional VLM interpretation (DOCX composite figures, [vlm] extra, --vlm/Config(use_vlm=True)) — cloud description + a real rendered mermaid diagram (26 supported diagram types — flowcharts, pie/xy charts, sequence/state/ER diagrams, Gantt/timeline/sankey/treemap and more, see Status below) on top of the zero-loss floor, for figures with no native chart data at all (e.g. a dashboard screenshot). Provider-agnostic — OpenRouter by default, or direct OpenAI/Ollama/vLLM/LM Studio/Anthropic via --vlm-provider ([vlm-direct] extra). --strict upgrades one specific failure (the system soffice/LibreOffice binary missing) from a graceful skip to a hard error; every other VLM failure still degrades.
• Rich, typed result — ConversionResult (markdown + warnings + chart/group counts + vlm_used), not a bare string.
• CLI included — refigure console command, stdin/stdout-first, native batch mode, typed exit codes (see below).
• MCP server included — refigure-mcp console command ([mcp] extra), stdio or Streamable HTTP, tools/resources/prompts, batch conversion with per-file isolation (see below).
• Docker image — ghcr.io/helgdemidov/refigure, both console commands on PATH, soffice/LibreOffice baked in — the VLM composite-figure path works turnkey, no manual LibreOffice install. Multi-arch — linux/amd64 + linux/arm64, native Apple Silicon (see below).
• `.mcpb` bundle for Claude Desktop — one-click install, no terminal (docx+xlsx only, see below).

Demo

Optional VLM interpretation — for a figure with no native chart data at all (a screenshot, not an OOXML chart part) AND no matching mermaid construct either (a dense radial sunburst — nothing in the 4 original mermaid types could represent it), --vlm both recovers the real content and produces a genuinely renderable diagram, not just recovered text:

Native chart-data extraction — real OOXML numCache, not a screenshot, not OCR:

Same extraction, from DOCX — Word embeds native charts too, not just Excel; refigure reads the same cached OOXML data either way:

Composite figures — positioned, zero-loss, even when the figure itself can't be rendered (no incumbent does this — see Docling issue #1287, open >1 year):

Quickstart

pip install "refigure[docx,xlsx]"

refigure report.docx                      # markdown to stdout

from refigure.docx import convert

result = convert("report.docx") print(result.markdown) print(f"{result.charts_found} charts, {result.groups_found} composite figures")

Or without a permanent install, via uv/uvx:

uvx --from "refigure[docx,xlsx]" refigure report.docx

Optional VLM interpretation, for a composite figure the chart engine can't reconstruct on its own (see Features above):

pip install "refigure[docx,vlm]"

export OPENROUTER_API_KEY=... # or --vlm-api-key-file/--vlm-provider refigure report.docx --vlm # needs the system soffice/LibreOffice binary too

Installation & usage

One converter, four ways to run it — pick whichever fits your pipeline. Click a heading to expand it.

CLI — a console command, stdin/stdout-first, native batch mode

refigure installs a console command — a thin wrapper over the same convert() used programmatically, no separate logic:

refigure report.docx                      # markdown to stdout

refigure report.docx -o report.md # markdown to a file cat report.docx | refigure --format docx # stdin, format hint required refigure reports/ -o out/ # batch: directory, walked recursively refigure a.docx b.xlsx -o out/ # batch: 2+ explicit sources

Batch mode (2+ sources, or a single directory) requires -o DIR, keeps going past a failed source by default (--fail-fast aborts on the first one instead), and always prints a summary (N/M converted, K failed) to stderr. --json emits the full result — markdown plus chart/group counts and warnings — instead of plain markdown. -v/-q control verbosity; --strict is forwarded to the same Config.strict the Python API uses.

Exit codes:

MCP server — for agents/IDEs that speak the protocol directly

refigure-mcp — the same converters as an MCP server, for agents/IDEs that speak the protocol directly instead of shelling out to a CLI or importing the library. Listed on the official MCP Registry as io.github.HelgDemidov/refigure:

pip install "refigure[mcp,docx,xlsx]"

refigure-mcp # stdio — the MCP client launches it

{

"mcpServers": { "refigure": { "command": "refigure-mcp" } } }

Or point the client at uvx instead, with no permanent install at all:

{

"mcpServers": { "refigure": { "command": "uvx", "args": ["--from", "refigure[mcp,docx,xlsx,vlm-direct]", "refigure-mcp"] } } }

refigure[full] is a shortcut for refigure[mcp,docx,xlsx,vlm-direct] — every tool, both formats, every VLM provider, one extras string.

Three tools — convert_docx, convert_xlsx, and convert_batch (multiple files in one call: one bad file reports its own error without aborting the rest) — each registered only if its format extra is actually installed. use_vlm/--vlm-provider and friends work the same as the CLI. A result too large to inline is stored and handed back as a refigure://conversion/{id} resource instead of inflating the tool response. Two prompts (ingest_for_rag, explain_conversion_warnings) help a client pick the right tool/VLM settings for the job.

Streamable HTTP is opt-in, for a shared/remote deployment — bearer-token auth is required, not optional:

echo "sk-... = alice" > tokens.txt

refigure-mcp --transport http --mcp-auth-token-file tokens.txt

Per-caller rate-limiting (protects the operator's own spend from a leaked/runaway token) applies automatically over HTTP, together with a fairness soft-cap once 2+ callers are configured; refigure-mcp --help covers every tuning flag (concurrency, timeouts, resource-store limits, batch size, VLM ceiling).

Docker — one image, CLI and MCP server both on PATH, soffice baked in

One image, both surfaces — refigure and refigure-mcp are already on PATH, no separate CLI/MCP builds to choose between. The one thing this format buys over pip/uvx that neither can: the system soffice/ LibreOffice binary the VLM composite-figure path needs is baked in, not a manual install. Multi-arch manifest (linux/amd64 + linux/arm64) — docker pull resolves the right layer automatically, including on Apple Silicon.

docker pull ghcr.io/helgdemidov/refigure:latest

Pin an exact version instead of :latest for reproducibility — e.g. :0.3.4 — see the package page for