Yes. Claude reads Word files you upload to a chat, and Cowork reads Word files in a folder you connect. How much it gets depends on how the file reaches it. An upload gives Claude the text, but not the images inside. Anthropic doesn’t say whether comments and tracked changes come through. The Claude for Word add-in is the one route Anthropic documents as reading them. Claude Code can’t open a .docx with its own file reader; it needs a skill or a command.
Three things change the answer:
- Whether comments, tracked changes or images matter. If you only need the text, any route works. If the comments or redlines are the point, use Claude for Word, or tell Claude exactly how to read the file.
- Where you use Claude. A chat upload, Cowork in the desktop app, Claude Code in a terminal, or the add-in inside Word.
- .doc or .docx. The upload list includes DOCX but not the older .doc format, and Claude for Word needs .docx. Save old files as .docx first.
Uploading a Word file in the Claude app: text only
On claude.ai and in Claude Desktop, an uploaded Word file gives Claude its text. Images inside the file are not read. Anthropic’s upload guide lists DOCX among supported documents, with these limits:
- Up to 20 files per chat and 500 MB per file.
- 30 MB per file in a project’s files, where Claude gets extracted text only.
For documents other than PDFs, the guide says: “Claude extracts text only from these files. If they contain embedded images, Claude won’t be able to read or interpret them.” A screenshot, photo or scanned page pasted into the document won’t reach Claude. If those matter, save the document as a PDF: Claude reads both the text and the visual elements of PDFs up to 100 pages.
The guide doesn’t mention comments, tracked changes, footnotes or headers. Don’t assume they were part of what Claude read; check.
On paid plans with Code execution and file creation turned on, Claude can
also open files with code, using Anthropic’s built-in Word skill
(skills overview). Anthropic
publishes that skill,
and its instruction for reading a document is pandoc -t markdown file.docx.
By default, pandoc
accepts tracked changes and ignores comments: deleted text disappears, and
inserted text looks as if it was always there. With --track-changes=all, it
keeps insertions, deletions and comments, with each author and time.
Cowork: Word files in a connected folder
Cowork reads Word files where they are, without uploading. Anthropic’s Cowork page lists Word documents (.docx and .doc) among the files it understands. You need a paid plan, and the Claude Desktop app has to be open, because that’s how Claude reaches files on your computer (Cowork guide). The setup steps are in Can Claude Desktop access local files? Chat and Cowork are being merged into one Claude, so in newer versions you may not see a separate Cowork option.
Cowork loads the skills turned on for your Claude account (Cowork docs), so it can use the same Word skill, with the same pandoc default. Why folder access lives in the desktop app: Claude Desktop vs. the web app.
Claude Code: a .docx is a zip, so it needs a tool
Claude Code reads Word files through a skill or a command, not its own file reader. Its Read tool refuses files it treats as binary, and a .docx is a ZIP archive of XML files. On a .docx, the refusal reads:
This tool cannot read binary files. The file appears to be a binary .docx
file. Use a skill for this file type if one is available, or a shell
command or script that can read the format.Anthropic’s built-in document skills aren’t available in Claude Code, but the same skills are in Anthropic’s skills repository, which you can add as a plugin:
/plugin marketplace add anthropics/skills
/plugin install document-skills@anthropic-agent-skillsThe Word skill expects pandoc, LibreOffice and Poppler on your computer.
Pandoc is the one it uses for reading. On a Mac, install it with
brew install pandoc; the pandoc install page
covers Windows.
You can also skip the plugin and say how to read the file:
Read report.docx with pandoc --track-changes=all -t markdown.
List every comment and tracked change with its author.Without pandoc, Claude can unzip the file and read the XML: the body is in
word/document.xml, and comments are in word/comments.xml.
Deciding between the terminal and the app? See Claude Desktop vs. Claude Code.
Claude for Word: when comments and tracked changes matter
If the comments or redlines are what you need Claude to read, use the Claude for Word add-in. Anthropic’s documentation says it reads “text, comments, tracked changes, footnotes, tables, and bookmarks” in the document you have open. It can summarize what a counterparty changed, work through comment threads, and make its own edits as tracked changes.
- Plans: Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise.
- Word versions: Word on the web, Word for Windows with Microsoft 365 (Version 2205 or later), and Word for Mac 16.61 or later. It doesn’t run on iPad or Android, or on .doc files.
- Install: the Claude for Microsoft 365 listing on Microsoft AppSource, then sign in with your Claude account.
It works on the one document open in Word. Anthropic also says to use it only with documents you trust, because text, comments and tracked changes can hide instructions meant for Claude.
What each route reads
| Route | Text | Images inside | Comments and tracked changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upload in the Claude app | Yes | No | Not documented |
| Word skill or pandoc, default | Yes | Not documented | Changes shown as accepted, comments dropped |
Pandoc with --track-changes=all | Yes | Not documented | Yes, with author and time |
| Claude for Word | Yes | Not documented | Yes |
How to check what Claude read
Ask Claude to list what it found, then compare with the document. It’s the same idea as checking whether Claude read a whole PDF:
List every comment in this document with its author and the text it's
attached to. Then list every tracked insertion and deletion.
If you can't see comments or tracked changes, say so.Two more checks:
- Plant one. In a copy of the file, add a comment and a tracked change you’ll recognize. If Claude can’t quote them, it didn’t get them.
- Read the tool calls. In Cowork or Claude Code, expand the step where
Claude opened the file.
pandoc -t markdownwithout--track-changes=allmeans comments were skipped and deleted text was dropped.
Many Word files in one folder
When you need to know which of many Word files says something, the hard part is finding the right ones. Cowork and Claude Code decide which files to open from their names and folders, then read them one by one. StashBase prepares the Word files in a local folder as text that Claude can search and read. Keyword search works without an account or a key, and search by meaning turns on when you add an OpenAI or OpenRouter key. Connect it to Claude Desktop or Claude Code over MCP, or pick Claude in StashBase’s own Chat and write beside your documents with your existing Claude subscription. For comments and redlines inside one document, Claude for Word is the better fit.