OpenInky

OpenInky is an open-source Microsoft Word Add-in with a React-based sidebar AI assistant, primarily tailored for legal professionals and everyday writers. This was developed as a stealth fun project during the OpenLegalLab 2026.

Features

• Context-Aware AI Assistant: Highlight a specific portion of text, or leave your selection empty to process the entire document. The AI will strictly follow your custom or quick-action prompts to improve, simplify, or format the designated text.
• Native Track Changes Integration: OpenInky uses word-level differencing (jsdiff) to compute precise modifications. Unlike standard AI tools that blindly replace large blocks of text, OpenInky inserts human-like redlines back into your document via Word's native Track Changes API.
• Customizable LLM Endpoints: Seamlessly connect OpenInky to any OpenAI-compatible API endpoint directly from the settings pane.

Setup & Local Development

This project was scaffolded using the yo office React template and customized as a single-host Word Add-in.

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v16 to v20 recommended)
• Microsoft Word (Desktop or Online)

Running Locally

1. Clone the repository and install dependencies:

   npm install

2. Start the local development server:

   npm start

   This command will automatically spin up a local HTTPS server (on port 3000), sideload the add-in manifest into Microsoft Word, and open the application.

LLM Configuration

OpenInky does not lock you into a specific AI provider. You can securely configure your connection locally in the application:

1. Open the OpenInky Add-in in Word.
2. Click the gear icon to open Settings.
3. Provide your:
   • Base URL (e.g., https://api.openai.com/v1)
   • API Key
   • Model Name (e.g., gpt-5.2-turbo, llama-3)
4. Click Save. These settings are cached locally in your browser's local storage. (we use LiteLLM to expose a unified OpenAI-compatible endpoint)

Deployment

Deploying a Microsoft Office Add-in requires two separate components: hosting the Web Application and distributing the manifest.xml.

1. Build and Host the Web App

You need to host the compiled static assets on an HTTPS-enabled server (such as GitHub Pages, Vercel, Netlify, or Azure Static Web Apps).

1. Open webpack.config.js and locate the urlProd variable.
2. Update urlProd to the URL where you plan to host the app (e.g., https://openlegallab.github.io/openInky/).
3. Build the production application:

   npm run build

4. Upload the contents of the generated dist folder to your chosen hosting provider.

2. Distribute the Manifest

Once your web application is live, you must distribute the manifest.xml file located in the dist folder (the build process automatically replaces local https://localhost:3000 URLs with your urlProd production URL inside this file).

For Individual Use (Sideloading):

• Place the manifest.xml in a shared network folder.
• In Word, navigate to File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Trusted Add-in Catalogs.
• Add the network folder URL and check "Show in Menu".
• Restart Word, go to Insert > Get Add-ins > Shared Folder, and select OpenInky.
• (Alternatively, upload it directly using Word on the Web).

For Organization-Wide Use:

• A Microsoft 365 Admin can navigate to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
• Go to Settings > Integrated Apps.
• Click Upload custom apps and select the manifest.xml.
• Deploy it to specific users, groups, or the entire organization.

Contributing

We welcome improvements! See the TODO.md file for an outline of upcoming tasks, known bugs, and requested features.

Try the Demo

You can try OpenInky without setting up a local development environment! We have hosted a live version at https://openinky.raxal.io.

How to install the demo:

1. Download the manifest.demo.xml file from this repository.
2. Sideload it into Microsoft Word:
   • Word on the Web: Go to Insert > Add-ins > Manage My Add-ins > Upload My Add-in, and select the downloaded file.
   • Word Desktop (Windows): Create a shared network folder, place the XML file there, and add the folder path to Trust Center > Trusted Add-in Catalogs. Then go to Insert > Get Add-ins > Shared Folder.
   • Mac: Place the file in /Users/<username>/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Documents/wef.

Changelog

v0.2.1.0

• Live Demo Deployment: Added manifest.demo.xml to easily test the hosted version at https://openinky.raxal.io.
• Added an index.html redirect to the GitHub repository.

v0.2.0

• Native Tools Support: Direct API integration with Fedlex and Onlinekommentar to search and fetch legal data.
• External MCP Server Support: Configurable dynamically loaded tools from external MCP servers via SSE (Server-Sent Events) transports (e.g., Entscheidsuche).
• Anti-Hallucination Features: Improved LLM system prompts directing the AI not to invent results if an API search fails or returns zero matches.
• Full Source Transparency: Verwendete Tools UI clearly shows the raw, un-truncated retrieved content for full accountability.
• API UI Toggles: Easily turn Fedlex, Onlinekommentar, and External MCP servers on or off directly from the main task pane.

License

Licensed under the No-Resale Source Licence – see LICENSE.md.

Acknowledgements

This project incorporates tool logic translated from the following open-source projects:

• Fedlex MCP Client: Provides SPARQL querying and HTML extraction for Swiss federal laws.
• Onlinekommentar MCP: Provides API integration for searching and retrieving Swiss legal commentaries.