docgit

DocGit

Git-like version control for Microsoft Word documents — built as a local Office Web Add-in.

DocGit Preview

DocGit brings commit, branch, diff, rollback, and merge workflows to .docx files. It runs entirely on your local machine — no cloud, no SharePoint, no OneDrive. A task pane sidebar inside Microsoft Word gives you full version control without leaving the application.

Table of Contents

Key Features

Feature Description
Commit Snapshot any .docx with a message; SHA-256 hashed objects stored in .docgit/objects/
Branch Create and name branches; each branch is an independent commit pointer
Switch Move between branches; blocked if you have uncommitted changes
Diff Viewer Side-by-side HTML comparison of paragraphs, tables, and images across any two commits or branches
Rollback Two-step restore to any previous commit state
Merge Combine content from another branch with conflict detection
Log / Graph Full commit history and ASCII branch graph
Status See which files have changed since the last commit
Auto-start Server launches silently at Windows startup — add-in is always ready

Tech Stack

Layer Technology
Version control engine Python 3.10+, click, rich, python-docx
Local server Python Flask + Flask-CORS, HTTPS via mkcert
Add-in frontend Office.js (Word Web Add-in API), Vanilla JS, CSS
Packaging PyInstaller (exe), Inno Setup 6 (installer)
IPC REST JSON over https://127.0.0.1:5000
Storage Local filesystem — .docgit/ folder per document directory
SSL mkcert-generated localhost certificate, installed into Windows trust store

How It Works

Word’s task pane runs in a WebView2 (Edge) sandbox. It can only make HTTPS requests to trusted origins. DocGit solves this by running a local Flask server at https://127.0.0.1:5000 with a mkcert-generated certificate trusted by the machine.

Word Task Pane (Office.js)
        │  HTTPS JSON
        ▼
docgit_server.py  (Flask, port 5000)
        │  subprocess
        ▼
docgit.py  (CLI engine)
        │  reads/writes
        ▼
.docgit/  (index.json + objects/)

Every button click in the sidebar sends a JSON POST to the server. The server shells out to docgit.py (or docgit.exe in production), captures the output, and returns it as JSON. The sidebar displays the result in a terminal-style output panel.

Prerequisites

Installation

Option A — Installer (Recommended)

  1. Download DocGit_Setup.exe from the Releases page
  2. Right-click → Run as Administrator
  3. The installer will:
    • Install mkcert CA into Windows certificate trust store
    • Generate a trusted SSL certificate for localhost and 127.0.0.1
    • Grant read permissions on the install folder (C:\Program Files\DocGit)
    • Create a network share \\localhost\DocGitAddin for Word sideloading
    • Register the share as a trusted add-in catalog in Word’s registry
    • Add docgit_server.exe to Windows startup
  4. Open Microsoft Word
  5. Go to Insert → Add-ins → My Add-ins → Shared Folder
  6. Select DocGit → click Add

The sidebar will appear on the right side of Word. This step only needs to be done once — Word remembers the add-in.

If the “Shared Folder” tab does not appear in the Add-ins dialog:

The network share must be manually trusted in Word’s Trust Center:

  1. In Word, go to File → Options → Trust Center → Trust Center Settings
  2. Click Trusted Add-in Catalogs
  3. In the Catalog URL field, enter: \\localhost\DocGitAddin
  4. Click Add Catalog
  5. Check the Show in Menu checkbox
  6. Click OK and restart Word

The Shared Folder tab will now appear under Insert → My Add-ins.

First-time SSL trust: After install, open https://127.0.0.1:5000 in Edge and click Advanced → Proceed. This clears any remaining browser SSL warning.

Option B — Run from Source

# 1. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/CatOn60Hz/docgitt.git
cd docgitt

# 2. Create a virtual environment (recommended)
python -m venv venv
venv\Scripts\activate

# 3. Install Python dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt
pip install flask flask-cors pywin32

# 4. Generate SSL certificate
# Download mkcert.exe from https://github.com/FiloSottile/mkcert/releases
# Place it in the project root, then:
mkcert -install
mkcert localhost 127.0.0.1
# This creates localhost+1.pem and localhost+1-key.pem

# 5. Start the server
python docgit_server.py

Then load the add-in manually in Word via Insert → Add-ins → Shared Folder (you’ll need to create the share — see Building the Installer for the net share command).

Getting Started

1. Open a document folder in Word

Open any .docx file from the folder you want to version control. All commits, branches, and history for that folder are stored in a .docgit/ subdirectory.

2. Initialize the repository

In the DocGit sidebar, click Initialize Repository.

This creates:

your-folder/
└── .docgit/
    ├── index.json      ← branch/commit graph
    └── objects/        ← hashed .docx snapshots

3. Make your first commit

  1. Type a message in the Commit message field
  2. Click Commit

DocGit saves your document state. You can now make changes freely and roll back anytime.

4. Typical workflow

Edit document
    → Commit ("Added introduction section")
    → Branch ("feature-tables")
    → Edit more
    → Commit ("Added comparison table")
    → Switch back to main
    → Merge feature-tables

CLI Reference

The docgit CLI works standalone from any terminal. Run commands from the directory containing your .docx files.

Command Description
docgit init Initialize a new repository in the current directory
docgit commit <file> -m "message" Commit a specific file with a message
docgit commit -a -m "message" Commit all changed .docx files
docgit status Show modified / untracked files vs last commit
docgit log Print full commit history for current branch
docgit graph Print ASCII branch graph
docgit diff <file> Text diff of working file vs last commit
docgit branch List all branches
docgit branch <name> Create a new branch at current HEAD
docgit switch <branch> Switch to a branch (blocked if uncommitted changes)
docgit checkout <branch> Restore working files from branch HEAD
docgit rollback <commit-id> Restore working directory to a specific commit
docgit merge <branch> Merge another branch into current branch
docgit show <file> Show committed content of a file

Examples

# Initialize and make first commit
docgit init
docgit commit report.docx -m "First draft"

# Create a branch for edits
docgit branch review-edits
docgit switch review-edits
docgit commit report.docx -m "Reviewer comments applied"

# See what changed
docgit status
docgit log

# Roll back to a previous state
docgit rollback abc1234

# Merge back to main
docgit switch main
docgit merge review-edits

Troubleshooting

Sidebar shows blank / SSL error

The mkcert certificate is not trusted by Edge/WebView2.

1. Open https://127.0.0.1:5000 in Microsoft Edge
2. Click Advanced → Proceed to 127.0.0.1 (unsafe)
3. Reload the add-in in Word

“Not a docgit repository”

The document’s folder has not been initialized.

Click "Initialize Repository" in the sidebar

“Could not save the document”

Word’s sandbox sometimes blocks saveAsync if the document is locked by another process or syncing with OneDrive.

Press Ctrl+S in Word to save manually, then retry the commit.

Add-in not visible in Shared Folder

The network share may not exist or may not have correct permissions.

Run as Administrator:

net share DocGitAddin /delete /y
net share DocGitAddin="C:\Program Files\DocGit" /grant:Everyone,READ
icacls "C:\Program Files\DocGit" /grant "Everyone:(OI)(CI)R" /T

Then restart Word.

Server not running after reboot

Check the startup registry entry:

Get-ItemProperty "HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run" | Select-Object DocGitServer

If missing, start the server manually:

C:\Program Files\DocGit\docgit_server.exe

Old interface showing after update

The installed docgit_server.exe has static files baked in. After updating source files, rebuild and reinstall:

python build_installer.py
# Then run Output\DocGit_Setup.exe again

Switch blocked with “BLOCKED: uncommitted changes”

You must commit before switching branches. Either:

Contributing

  1. Fork the repository
  2. Create a branch: git checkout -b feature/your-feature
  3. Run the dev server: python docgit_server.py
  4. Make changes to static/ (live-reloaded) or docgit.py / docgit_server.py
  5. Test in Word with the add-in loaded
  6. Commit and open a pull request

License

MIT