adeu-redlining

Adeu: Track Changes for the LLM era

LLMs speak Markdown; reviewers speak "Track Changes."

Adeu is a docx ↔ LLM translator: a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server (Python and Node.js implementations) and accompanying SDKs that act as a Virtual DOM for Microsoft Word. It provides a two-way abstraction layer that lets AI agents freely edit document text without destroying the underlying formatting or complex DOCX XML.

While standard libraries like python-docx excel at generating documents from scratch, they fail at non-destructive redlining. Adeu solves this by translating .docx files into a token-efficient Markdown representation. This frees AI agents to focus entirely on document semantics instead of wasting tokens wrestling with OpenXML.

Adeu acts as an intelligent proxy, processing AI edits as safe, atomic transactions:

1. Read: Translates the document (from disk or live Word) into LLM-friendly CriticMarkup with a Semantic Appendix of defined terms, cross-references, and likely typos. The agent starts with semantic structure, not raw data.
2. Validate: Acts as a strict safety gate. It protects the document's integrity by automatically blocking ambiguous text matches or invalid structural changes before they touch the file.
3. Apply: Translates the AI's text edits into native Word Track Changes. Adeu handles the complex XML under the hood, ensuring existing layouts, fonts, and margin comments are perfectly preserved.

Built and maintained by the team at Adeu.

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Installation

Adeu can be installed directly into AI assistants as an MCP server, used as a Claude Code plugin or Agent Skill, or used locally as a developer toolchain.

Claude Code (Plugin)

Adeu ships as a Claude Code plugin with a built-in agent skill that teaches Claude how to use the engine effectively. Inside Claude Code:

/plugin marketplace add dealfluence/adeu
/plugin install adeu-redlining@adeu-skills

For best results, also connect either the Node MCP server (npx -y @adeu/mcp-server) or the Python MCP server (uvx --from adeu adeu-server). The plugin works without an MCP server too — it falls back to driving the uvx adeu CLI via Bash.

Other Skills-Compatible Agents (Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code Copilot, etc.)

Adeu's redlining skill follows the open Agent Skills specification and works with any compatible agent:

npx skills add dealfluence/adeu

The skill installs to your agent's skills directory and activates automatically when you ask Claude to redline, edit, or review a .docx file.

Claude Desktop

You can install Adeu directly into Claude Desktop using the official extension package:

1. Download the latest Adeu.mcpb file from the GitHub Releases page.
2. Open Claude Desktop and navigate to Settings > Extensions.
3. Click Advanced settings and find the Extension Developer section.
4. Click Install Extension..., select the downloaded .mcpb file, and follow the prompts.

Gemini CLI

Adeu is available as a native Gemini CLI extension. To install:

gemini extensions install https://github.com/dealfluence/adeu

Other MCP Clients (Cursor, Windsurf, etc.)

For IDEs or clients that configure MCP servers via JSON, you can use either the Node.js or Python backend:

Node.js

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "adeu": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@adeu/mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Python (Required for Live MS Word integration on Windows)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "adeu": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["--from", "adeu", "adeu-server"]
    }
  }
}

Smithery

To install Adeu using the Smithery package manager:

npx -y @smithery/cli install adeu --client claude

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Agent Workflows

Adeu provides agents with specific tools to read, review, and edit documents safely.