v1.0.0 — Initial release: six-layer RTL hardening
Initial release of claude-arabic-docs
A Claude skill that fixes the class of MS Word rendering bugs no docx generation library handles by default. Tested on Word for Mac and Word for Windows with two production legal documents (~30 pages of Arabic).
What's in this release
- SKILL.md — the full rule catalog (six layers) with rationale
- scripts/harden_rtl.py — idempotent post-processor; injects every RTL setting Word actually checks
- scripts/arabic_numerals.py — converts Western digits + Latin punctuation to Arabic conventions, while protecting IBANs, emails, license codes
- examples/sample-output.docx — generated Arabic test document
- examples/build_test_arabic.js — the docx-js code that produced it
- assets/before-after.png — visual of what the skill fixes
Install
- Download claude-arabic-docs.skill from the Assets below
- In Cowork: click the skills picker, choose Install Skill, select the .skill file
- In Claude Code: copy the folder to ~/.claude/skills/
The six layers it injects
| # | Layer | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | settings.xml themeFontLang | Master switch — Word's RTL pipeline only engages when this is set |
| 0 | docDefaults rPr lang | Tells Word the complex-script language |
| 0.5 | docDefaults pPrDefault | Default direction for the Normal style |
| 1 | Section bidi | Section-level reading direction |
| 2 | Table bidiVisual | Flips column order so first cell renders on the right |
| 3 | Paragraph + run flags | Element-level RTL |
| 5 | Logical alignment (start/end) | Word for Mac re-interprets physical right as logical end — use start/end instead |
Full rationale and discovery history in CHANGELOG.md and SKILL.md.
License
MIT — use it, fork it, improve it. PRs welcome.