Direct Python Execution for Document and Spreadsheet Tasks

When to Use This Skill

Use direct run_shell with Python scripts for document operations when:

• Reading or writing complex Excel files with multiple sheets
• Generating PDF reports, checklists, or forms
• Applying formulas, formatting, or data transformations
• Working with openpyxl, pandas, reportlab, fpdf2, or similar libraries
• The operation involves multiple steps that could exceed agent step limits
• You need precise control over error handling and debugging
• Complex scripts benefit from file-based execution for better reliability

Why Direct Execution?

The shell_agent tool can:

• Hit maximum step limits on complex multi-step operations
• Produce unexplained errors on formatting operations
• Fail on intricate spreadsheet reads/writes due to iterative parsing
• Fail to parse heredoc syntax correctly, causing 'unknown error' failures

Direct run_shell with Python is more reliable because it:

• Executes in a single step with no iteration limits
• Provides clearer, immediate error messages
• Handles complex operations without step constraints
• Gives full control over library imports and execution flow
• Writing scripts to .py files first avoids shell_agent parsing issues with heredocs

How to Use

Recommended Pattern: Write Script to File First

For complex multi-line scripts, especially when using shell_agent as executor:

# Step 1: Write the Python script to a file
cat > process_document.py << 'EOF'
import openpyxl
from openpyxl import Workbook

# Your spreadsheet code here
wb = openpyxl.load_workbook('file.xlsx')
# ... operations ...
wb.save('output.xlsx')
print('Success')
EOF

# Step 2: Execute the script
python3 process_document.py

Alternative Pattern: Inline Heredoc (Simple Scripts Only)

For short, simple scripts when NOT using shell_agent as the executor:

python3 << 'EOF'
import openpyxl
# Simple operation
wb = openpyxl.load_workbook('file.xlsx')
wb.save('output.xlsx')
print('Done')
EOF

Spreadsheet Examples

Example 1: Read and Transform Excel Data

Write to file first, then execute:

import pandas as pd

# Load data from specific sheet
df = pd.read_excel('input.xlsx', sheet_name='Revenue')

# Apply transformations
df['Net_Revenue'] = df['Gross_Revenue'] * (1 - df['Tax_Rate'])

# Save results
df.to_excel('output.xlsx', index=False, sheet_name='Processed')

Example 2: Multi-Sheet Operations with openpyxl

from openpyxl import load_workbook

wb = load_workbook('tour_data.xlsx')

# Iterate through sheets
for sheet_name in wb.sheetnames:
    ws = wb[sheet_name]
    for row in ws.iter_rows(min_row=2, max_col=5):
        pass

wb.save('tour_data_processed.xlsx')

Example 3: Complex Formatting Operations

from openpyxl import load_workbook
from openpyxl.styles import Font, PatternFill, Alignment

wb = load_workbook('report.xlsx')
ws = wb.active

header_fill = PatternFill(start_color='4472C4', fill_type='solid')
header_font = Font(bold=True, color='FFFFFF')

for cell in ws[1]:
    cell.fill = header_fill
    cell.font = header_font
    cell.alignment = Alignment(horizontal='center')

wb.save('report_formatted.xlsx')

PDF Generation Examples

Example 4: Basic PDF Report with reportlab

from reportlab.lib.pagesizes import letter
from reportlab.pdfgen import canvas
from reportlab.lib.styles import getSampleStyleSheet
from reportlab.platypus import SimpleDocTemplate, Paragraph, Spacer

# Create PDF document
doc = SimpleDocTemplate('report.pdf', pagesize=letter)
styles = getSampleStyleSheet()
story = []

# Add content
story.append(Paragraph('Monthly Report', styles['Heading1']))
story.append(Spacer(1, 12))
story.append(Paragraph('Generated successfully.', styles['Normal']))

# Build PDF
doc.build(story)
print('PDF created successfully')

Example 5: PDF Checklist with fpdf2

from fpdf import FPDF

# Create PDF instance
pdf = FPDF()
pdf.add_page()
pdf.set_font('Arial', 'B', 16)

# Title
pdf.cell(0, 10, 'Safety Checklist', ln=True, align='C')
pdf.ln(10)

# Checklist items
pdf.set_font('Arial', '', 12)
items = ['Check equipment', 'Verify connections', 'Test system', 'Document results']
for i, item in enumerate(items, 1):
    pdf.cell(5, 10, f'[ ] {item}', ln=True)

# Save
pdf.output('checklist.pdf')
print('Checklist PDF generated')

Example 6: Combined Spreadsheet + PDF Workflow

import pandas as pd
from reportlab.lib.pagesizes import letter
from reportlab.pdfgen import canvas

# Step 1: Process spreadsheet data
df = pd.read_excel('data.xlsx')
summary = df.describe()

# Step 2: Generate PDF report
c = canvas.Canvas('summary_report.pdf', pagesize=letter)
c.drawString(100, 750, 'Data Summary Report')
c.drawString(100, 730, f'Total Records: {len(df)}')
c.drawString(100, 710, f'Mean Value: {df.iloc[:, 0].mean():.2f}')
c.save()

print('Spreadsheet processed and PDF report generated')

Error Handling Pattern

Write to file first, then execute:

import sys
from openpyxl import load_workbook

try:
    wb = load_workbook('data.xlsx')
    ws = wb.active
    
    # Your operations here
    value = ws['A1'].value
    
    wb.save('output.xlsx')
    print(f"Success: Processed {ws.max_row} rows")
    
except Exception as e:
    print(f"Error: {str(e)}", file=sys.stderr)
    sys.exit(1)

Best Practices

1. Prefer file-based execution for complex scripts: write to .py file first, then execute via run_shell
2. Import only needed libraries to reduce execution time
3. Print clear success/error messages for debugging
4. Save intermediate results for complex multi-step transformations
5. Test with small data before scaling to large spreadsheets or documents
6. Use pandas for data manipulation and openpyxl for formatting when both are needed
7. Clean up temporary script files after execution if they won't be reused
8. Use PDF libraries appropriate to your needs: reportlab for complex layouts, fpdf2 for simple documents

When NOT to Use This Skill

• Simple single-cell reads/writes (use shell_agent or basic commands)
• Operations that require interactive user input
• Tasks where you need the agent to iteratively refine the approach
• Very simple text files (use basic shell commands instead)

Common Libraries

Library	Best For
openpyxl	Reading/writing .xlsx files, formatting, formulas
pandas	Data manipulation, analysis, merging datasets
xlrd	Reading older .xls files (read-only)
xlsxwriter	Creating new .xlsx files with advanced formatting
reportlab	Professional PDF reports with complex layouts
fpdf2	Simple PDF generation, checklists, basic documents
python-docx	Creating and editing Word documents

Troubleshooting

Issue: Heredoc syntax fails with 'unknown error' when using shell_agent

• Solution: Write the Python script to a .py file first, then execute it with python3 script.py. This pattern is significantly more reliable than inline heredoc execution when shell_agent is the executor.

Issue: FileNotFoundError

• Solution: Verify the file path is absolute or relative to the working directory

Issue: PermissionError

• Solution: Ensure the file is not open in another application

Issue: MemoryError on large files

• Solution: Process data in chunks using pandas chunksize parameter

Issue: Formatting not applying

• Solution: Ensure you're modifying cell styles before saving, and use .copy() for style objects

Issue: PDF text encoding errors

• Solution: Use Unicode-compatible fonts and ensure text is properly encoded (UTF-8)

Issue: PDF library not found

• Solution: Install required library with pip install reportlab or pip install fpdf2

Issue: Agent fails before tool execution (skill selector returns empty)

• Solution: Ensure the skill is properly registered and the task matches the skill's description. For document generation tasks, explicitly mention "PDF" or "spreadsheet" in the task description to trigger skill selection.