Sidedoc
AI-native document format that separates content from formatting.
Sidedoc enables efficient AI interaction with documents while preserving rich formatting for human consumption. A .sidedoc file is a ZIP archive containing markdown content and formatting metadata that can reconstruct the original docx.
The Problem
Current document workflows force a tradeoff between AI efficiency and human usability:
- Reading documents: Extracting content for AI is expensive and loses formatting connections
- Creating documents: Tools like Pandoc generate docx from markdown, but it's one-way
- Iterative collaboration: Repeated extraction and regeneration is lossy and expensive
The Solution
Documents should have two representations that stay in sync:
- Markdown - optimized for AI reading and writing
- Formatted docx - optimized for human consumption
Changes to either propagate to the other.
Quick Example
# Extract a Word document to sidedoc format
sidedoc extract quarterly_report.docx
# AI edits the markdown content...
# Sync changes back, preserving formatting
sidedoc sync quarterly_report.sidedoc
# Rebuild the formatted Word document
sidedoc build quarterly_report.sidedoc
What's in a .sidedoc file?
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
content.md |
Clean markdown that AI reads/writes |
structure.json |
Block structure and mappings to docx paragraphs |
styles.json |
Formatting information per block |
manifest.json |
Metadata and version info |
assets/ |
Images and embedded files |
Get Started
See the Getting Started guide for installation and usage instructions.