--- title: "OfficeCLI vs planning-with-files" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/iofficeai-officecli-vs-othmanadi-planning-with-files" tools: ["iofficeai-officecli", "othmanadi-planning-with-files"] --- # OfficeCLI vs planning-with-files *GraphCanon updated Aug 19, 2026* ## Verdict Pick OfficeCLI if officeCLI is a single binary CLI tool for AI agents to automate Microsoft Office file formats like docx, pptx, and xlsx without needing an installation of Office. It's written in C# under the Apache-2.0 license; pick planning-with-files if a tool designed for providing persistent file-based planning in long-running AI coding tasks. [OfficeCLI](https://officecli.ai) reports 29k GitHub stars, 2.0k forks, and 82 open issues, last pushed Aug 13, 2026. [planning-with-files](https://www.skills.sh/othmanadi/planning-with-files/planning-with-files) has 26k stars, 2.2k forks, and 9 open issues, last pushed Aug 19, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [OfficeCLI's repository](https://github.com/iOfficeAI/OfficeCLI) and [planning-with-files's repository](https://github.com/OthmanAdi/planning-with-files). | | [OfficeCLI](/tools/iofficeai-officecli.md) | [planning-with-files](/tools/othmanadi-planning-with-files.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | First and best Office suite for AI agents to automate Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files. | Persistent file-based planning for AI coding agents | | Stars | 28,777 | 26,250 | | Forks | 1,953 | 2,199 | | Open issues | 82 | 9 | | Language | C# | Shell | | Adopt for | OfficeCLI is a single binary CLI tool for AI agents to automate Microsoft Office file formats like docx, pptx, and xlsx without needing an installation of Office. It's written in C# under the Apache-2.0 license. | A tool designed for providing persistent file-based planning in long-running AI coding tasks. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | OfficeCLI is distributed under the Apache-2.0 license, granting permissions to use, share, and modify the software freely. | MIT | | Categories | AI Agents, Developer Tools | AI Agents, Developer Tools | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [OfficeCLI](/tools/iofficeai-officecli.md) | [planning-with-files](/tools/othmanadi-planning-with-files.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Days since push | 5d | 0d | | Open issues (now) | 82 | 9 | | Stars delta | +9.2k (30d) | +691 (30d) | | Open issues delta | +50 (30d) | +4 (30d) | | Owner type | Organization | User | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/iofficeai-officecli/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/othmanadi-planning-with-files/trust.md) | ## Shared compatibility - **Node.js**: [OfficeCLI](/tools/iofficeai-officecli.md) - Node.js runtime; [planning-with-files](/tools/othmanadi-planning-with-files.md) - Node.js runtime ## Decision facts: OfficeCLI - **Requirements:** Runs cross-platform (macOS/Linux/Windows), with embedded .NET runtime for a self-contained solution. - **Adopt for:** OfficeCLI is a single binary CLI tool for AI agents to automate Microsoft Office file formats like docx, pptx, and xlsx without needing an installation of Office. It's written in C# under the Apache-2.0 license. - **License detail:** OfficeCLI is distributed under the Apache-2.0 license, granting permissions to use, share, and modify the software freely. ## Decision facts: planning-with-files - **Pricing:** freemium - Freely available under MIT License; community-supported. - **Adopt for:** A tool designed for providing persistent file-based planning in long-running AI coding tasks. ## Choose when ### Choose OfficeCLI if… - OfficeCLI is primarily C#; planning-with-files is Shell. - License: OfficeCLI is Apache-2.0, planning-with-files is MIT. - Requirements: Runs cross-platform (macOS/Linux/Windows), with embedded .NET runtime for a self-contained solution.. - Tags unique to OfficeCLI: agent, ai, cli, docx. - When you need to programmatically interact with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files using AI agents without requiring a full Microsoft Office suite installation. ### Choose planning-with-files if… - planning-with-files is primarily Shell; OfficeCLI is C#. - License: planning-with-files is MIT, OfficeCLI is Apache-2.0. - Pricing: Freely available under MIT License; community-supported.. - Tags unique to planning-with-files: agent-skills, ai-agents, coding-agent, multi-agent-systems. - - When your coding agent needs to retain plans across sessions without context loss. ## When NOT to use OfficeCLI - When your application strictly needs features or integrations only available through a full Office Software Development Kit (SDK). - If you are looking for a tool that operates purely as part of an existing Microsoft Office installation, as OfficeCLI functions independently and doesn’t require or integrate with these installations. ## When NOT to use planning-with-files - - When you do not need persistent storage for plans, such as short tasks where context is unlikely to be lost. - - For projects that strictly prohibit the use of external file storage for tracking progress due to security concerns. - - If your workflow heavily relies on in-memory planning strategies that are more suitable than disk-based solutions. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between OfficeCLI and planning-with-files? OfficeCLI: First and best Office suite for AI agents to automate Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files.. planning-with-files: Persistent file-based planning for AI coding agents. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose OfficeCLI over planning-with-files? Choose OfficeCLI over planning-with-files when OfficeCLI is primarily C#; planning-with-files is Shell; License: OfficeCLI is Apache-2.0, planning-with-files is MIT; Requirements: Runs cross-platform (macOS/Linux/Windows), with embedded .NET runtime for a self-contained solution.; Tags unique to OfficeCLI: agent, ai, cli, docx; When you need to programmatically interact with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files using AI agents without requiring a full Microsoft Office suite installation. ### When should I choose planning-with-files over OfficeCLI? Choose planning-with-files over OfficeCLI when planning-with-files is primarily Shell; OfficeCLI is C#; License: planning-with-files is MIT, OfficeCLI is Apache-2.0; Pricing: Freely available under MIT License; community-supported.; Tags unique to planning-with-files: agent-skills, ai-agents, coding-agent, multi-agent-systems; - When your coding agent needs to retain plans across sessions without context loss. ### When should I avoid OfficeCLI? When your application strictly needs features or integrations only available through a full Office Software Development Kit (SDK). If you are looking for a tool that operates purely as part of an existing Microsoft Office installation, as OfficeCLI functions independently and doesn’t require or integrate with these installations. ### When should I avoid planning-with-files? - When you do not need persistent storage for plans, such as short tasks where context is unlikely to be lost. - For projects that strictly prohibit the use of external file storage for tracking progress due to security concerns. - If your workflow heavily relies on in-memory planning strategies that are more suitable than disk-based solutions. ### Is OfficeCLI or planning-with-files more popular on GitHub? OfficeCLI has more GitHub stars (28,777 vs 26,250). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are OfficeCLI and planning-with-files open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (OfficeCLI: Apache-2.0, planning-with-files: MIT). ### Where can I find alternatives to OfficeCLI or planning-with-files? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [OfficeCLI alternatives](/tools/iofficeai-officecli/alternatives) and [planning-with-files alternatives](/tools/othmanadi-planning-with-files/alternatives) ([OfficeCLI markdown twin](/tools/iofficeai-officecli/alternatives.md), [planning-with-files markdown twin](/tools/othmanadi-planning-with-files/alternatives.md)), ranked by typed relationship edges rather than popularity votes. ### Is there a machine-readable version of this comparison? Yes. The markdown twin at [this comparison](/compare/iofficeai-officecli-vs-othmanadi-planning-with-files.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, OfficeCLI or planning-with-files? OfficeCLI: Very active. planning-with-files: Very active. Compare maintenance labels, days since push, and release cadence in the trust section below - stars alone do not measure maintenance. ### Where are the full trust reports for OfficeCLI and planning-with-files? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [OfficeCLI trust report](/tools/iofficeai-officecli/trust); [planning-with-files trust report](/tools/othmanadi-planning-with-files/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=iofficeai-officecli`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=iofficeai-officecli) - LLM index: [/llms.txt](/llms.txt) - Full corpus: [/llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt) _GraphCanon - The knowledge graph for AI development. https://www.graphcanon.com/_