Phase 4: Correct

SkillDocs & knowledge

Phase 4: Apply corrections to DOCX

Available today. Use it from your connected AI after setup.

Connect ahel once, and every AI you use reads what you have installed.

Then ask your AI: use the Phase 4: Correct skill

What this skill tells your AI

The instructions your AI receives, as published by edwinhu/workflows in skills/bluebook-audit/skills/audit-correct/SKILL.md and read by ahel’s review.

What this skill carries — grep references/ for any subject the names below miss: !d=${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}; command -v skill-toc >/dev/null 2>&1 && exec skill-toc "$d"; s=$HOME/.claude/skills/plugin-utils/bin/skill-toc; [ -x "$s" ] && exec "$s" "$d"; echo "(skill-toc unavailable: references and scripts are NOT listed here — install the plugin-utils plugin, or start a new session so its bin/ reaches PATH)"

Apply approved corrections to the DOCX file via lxml XML manipulation.

What This Phase Does

  1. Back up the original DOCX
  2. Apply corrections in order: a. Cross-reference resolution (fill [_] placeholders) b. Small caps for journal/periodical names (run-splitting) c. Small caps for book titles (italic -> small caps) d. Signal italic fixes e. Id. chain corrections f. Terminal period additions g. Other typeface fixes
  3. Write corrected DOCX

Run-Splitting Approach

When formatting a substring within a larger run:

  1. Find the run containing the target text
  2. Split into 3 runs: prefix (original) + target (new format) + suffix (original)
  3. Clone rPr from original run via deepcopy
  4. Add new formatting only to target run
  5. Set xml:space="preserve" on all <w:t> elements

Critical Gotchas

NBSP Variants

All search operations MUST handle \xa0 (non-breaking space):

def find_in_run(text, target):
    if target in text:
        return text.find(target)
    nbsp_target = target.replace(' ', '\xa0')
    if nbsp_target in text:
        return text.find(nbsp_target)
    # Try regex with [\s\xa0] for mixed
    import re
    pattern = re.escape(target).replace(r'\ ', r'[\s\xa0]')
    m = re.search(pattern, text)
    return m.start() if m else -1

footnoteRef Space Run Bug

The run after <w:footnoteRef/> often contains the full footnote text, not just a space. When replacing entire footnote content, keep ONLY the footnoteRef run and add an explicit space run.

Cross-Run Text

supra note 10 spans italic + roman runs. Target the specific run containing the text you need to change (e.g., just "note 10" in the roman run).

Multi-Split Footnotes

Some footnotes need multiple formatting changes in the same run (e.g., FN91: italic the letter title AND small-caps the annual report title, both in one roman run). Process splits sequentially left-to-right:

  1. First split creates 3 new runs from the original
  2. Second split finds target text in one of the NEW runs and splits again
  3. The find_run() search re-scans the footnote element each time, so it finds the new runs

Example: Jamie Dimon, Chairman & CEO Letter to Shareholders, in JPMorgan Chase & Co., 2023 Annual Report 1 (2024)

  • Split 1: "Chairman & CEO Letter to Shareholders" → italic (creates 3 runs)
  • Split 2: "JPMorgan Chase & Co., 2023 Annual Report" → small caps (splits the third run from Split 1)

Italic Spillover Cleanup

After all substantive fixes, clean up trailing/leading spaces in italic runs. Word displays these fine, but they cause Gemini annotation issues on re-audit:

# Find italic runs with trailing spaces
if text.endswith(' ') and is_italic:
    t.text = text.rstrip(' ')
    # Insert a new roman space run after

After each category of corrections, verify the fix was applied by reading back the modified XML. Silent failures from NBSP, run boundaries, or wrong-run targeting are common.

Skipping read-back verification is NOT HELPFUL — silent failures from NBSP or run boundaries mean the user's document still has errors.

Correction Facts

  • NBSP characters and run boundaries cause silent failures and wrong-run targeting — code that "applied" is not code that worked. A fix reported without XML read-back is an unverified claim presented as a correction.
  • Verification batched to the end can't attribute a failure to the fix that caused it; verify after each category.
  • Every footnote has a unique run structure — a pattern that worked on the last footnote proves nothing about this one.
  • One XML corruption destroys the whole document; skipping the backup gambles the user's manuscript to save seconds.

Gate: Exit Correct

Before proceeding to Verify phase:

  • Backup DOCX exists (original preserved)
  • Corrected DOCX exists
  • Per-category fix counts logged
  • Spot-check verification passed (at least 5 random fixes checked)

Next Phase

Read ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../../../skills/bluebook-audit/skills/audit-verify/SKILL.md and follow its instructions.

Signals

GitHub stars
21
Forks
4
Last commit
Sep 2026
Advanced
Catalog kind
skill
Gateway key
audit-correct
Source
github.com/edwinhu/workflows