/export-proposal

Purpose

Federal proposal work reviews in Word, prices in Excel, and briefs in PowerPoint. The authoring layer is markdown (humans + Claude collaborate best there), but the delivered artifacts must be native Office formats. This skill is the bridge.

When to run: After drafting is stable, compliance-check is clean (or has only documented Exceptions), and at least Pink + Red team passes have run. Export is the last step before submission, not a mid-draft step.

Workflow: .md → .docx/.xlsx/.pptx → (user-initiated) .pdf via Word's Save as PDF. The skill does not produce PDF directly — Word's native PDF export preserves formatting and styling in a way markdown-to-PDF converters do not.

Inputs

1. working/proposal-type.md — declares what artifacts this type produces. Drives format dispatch.
2. drafts/*.md — narrative sections to convert to Word
3. working/compliance-matrix.md — converts to Excel (sortable, filterable, shareable with teammates)
4. working/pricing-inputs.md — raw numbers for any Excel pricing artifact
5. graphics/*.html — rendered graphics (convert to PNG for Word embed)
6. reviews/gold-team-scorecard.md — optional export for internal review
7. my-company/templates/*.{docx,xlsx,pptx} — optional branded base templates (see Branded Templates below)

Format Dispatch by Proposal Type

Different types need different export bundles. Read working/proposal-type.md and apply this dispatch:

Process

Step 1: Preflight

1. Read working/proposal-type.md.
2. Check that drafts exist in drafts/. If empty, exit with: "No drafts to export. Run /proposal-writer first."
3. Check Gold Team status. If reviews/gold-team-scorecard.md doesn't exist, warn but proceed: "Gold Team has not been run. Recommend /red-team-review --mode=gold before final export."
4. Check compliance. If reviews/compliance-gaps.md shows Gap rows, warn: "N unresolved compliance gaps. Confirm Exceptions are documented before submission."

5. Pre-submit gate (blocking). Run the prose and structural lints against the drafts before producing any Office output:

   python scripts/prose-lint.py --proposal <slug>
   python scripts/lint-document-structure.py --proposal <slug>

   prose-lint.py exits 1 on a HIGH finding — the section-sign glyph, an em-/en-dash or -- used as sentence punctuation, or internal process vocabulary (e.g. "storyboard", "gold team", "narrative spine") leaking into customer-facing prose. lint-document-structure.py exits 1 on duplicate section numbers, broken figure references, or a missing classification/distribution marking. If either exits 1, stop and report the findings — do not render final/ output. Surface advisory prose-lint findings (marketing words, self-narration / performative-honesty commentary, prohibited-claim diction without a ledger cite, forbidden absolutes) to the user but do not block on them. After the Word docs are rendered (Step 4), re-run the structural lint and check-strengths.py --target docx against final/docx/ per CLAUDE.md's pre-submit gate.

6. Check for branded templates at my-company/templates/. If present, use them as base. If not, use professional defaults (documented below).

Step 2: Scaffold final/

Create (if not exists):

final/
├── docx/             ← Word documents
├── xlsx/             ← Excel workbooks
├── pptx/             ← PowerPoint decks (if any)
├── pdf/              ← User-produced PDFs via Word (placeholder dir)
├── graphics-png/     ← Rendered graphics for Word embed
└── PACKAGE.md        ← Manifest of every deliverable, its source, and its format

Step 3: Render graphics to PNG

For each graphics/*.html:

• Use headless Chrome (or equivalent) to render to PNG at 2x DPI for print quality
• Write to final/graphics-png/<name>.png
• Preserve the action caption separately (it goes in the Word doc text, not the image)

Step 4: Convert drafts to Word (.docx)

Use the shared Python conversion script — do NOT delegate to anthropic-skills:docx.

The workspace ships a tested, proposal-agnostic converter at tools/md_to_docx.py (uses python-docx). Invoke it via Bash:

cd /path/to/federal-proposal-copilot
python tools/md_to_docx.py --proposal <slug>

This produces:

• final/docx/<stem>.docx for every .md file in drafts/ (individual files)
• final/docx/full-proposal-combined.docx — all sections in alphabetical order, page-break separated

Common overrides:

# Explicit file order (when alpha sort is wrong):
python tools/md_to_docx.py --proposal <slug> \
  --files sec1-technical-approach.md sec2-management.md sec3-past-performance.md

# Combined only, custom name:
python tools/md_to_docx.py --proposal <slug> \
  --mode combined --combined-name "technical-volume"

# Individual files only (skip combined):
python tools/md_to_docx.py --proposal <slug> --mode individual

White paper heading normalization. When proposal_type: white-paper, the converter applies a heading demotion pass before the standard mapping:

• # H1 (title) → Word Body Text (paragraph style, not Heading 1)
• ## H2 → Word Heading 3
• ### H3 → Word Heading 4
• #### H4 → Word Heading 4 (same level — white papers rarely go deeper)

This matches the expected white-paper docx output without requiring manual heading demotion in Word.

Standard markdown → Word mapping (all other types):

• # H1 through ###### H6 → Word heading styles 1–6
• **bold**, *italic*, ***bold-italic***, `code` → inline runs
• - bullet / 1. numbered with leading spaces for nesting → List Bullet / List Number
• | table | pipe tables → Table Grid style, bold first row, auto column widths
• ``` fenced code blocks → verbatim monospace, auto-sized to fit the column
• > blockquote → indented italic (used for action captions)
• <!-- figure: NAME --> → embeds graphics/rendered/NAME.png, centered, fit to column
• other <!-- comments --> stripped; --- separators and *Note: lines skipped

After the script runs: Tell the user to open the .docx in Word, review formatting, then use File → Save As → PDF. Do NOT produce PDF directly — Word's PDF export preserves styling; markdown-to-PDF tools do not.

Optional HTML preview. python scripts/render-md-to-html.py --proposal <slug> renders the narrative drafts to self-contained HTML in final/html/ — a screen-review format that keeps graphics as crisp vector (HTML/SVG) rather than rasterized PNG. It is a review aid, not a submission format; the submission deliverable remains the .docx.

Step 4b: White-glove polish (mandatory). After the converter writes final/docx/, run the standard white-glove polish so every submitted document carries the format standard:

python tools/polish_docx.py --proposal <slug>

This applies content-proportional table column widths (fixed layout, 6.5" usable), repeating table header rows across page breaks, no mid-cell row splits, tightened cell spacing, 1" margins, and the running header/footer (title, company, Page X of Y). It is idempotent; re-run it after any re-export. For a visual QA before submission, export the .docx to PDF via Word and inspect the rendered pages (rasterize with pymupdf) for split rows, cramped columns, or orphaned headings.

Step 5: Produce Excel artifacts (.xlsx)

5a. Compliance Matrix → xlsx (always, when matrix exists)

Use the shared Python script — do NOT delegate to anthropic-skills:xlsx.

cd /path/to/federal-proposal-copilot
python tools/compliance_to_xlsx.py --proposal <slug>

This reads working/compliance-matrix.md and produces final/xlsx/compliance-matrix.xlsx with:

• Sheet 1 "Matrix" — all rows, auto-filter dropdowns, color-coded Status column (Covered = green, Drafted = blue, Planned = yellow, Partial = orange, Gap = red)
• Sheet 2 "Summary" — counts by status
• Sheet 3 "Gaps" — filtered view of Gap / Partial / Exception rows

5b. Pricing artifact → xlsx (when pricing_artifact in proposal-type is sbir-budget or far-cost-volume)

For sbir-budget:

• Check if an agency-provided budget template exists in inputs/00_priority/ (any .xlsx). If yes, populate that template with values from working/pricing-inputs.md using openpyxl.
• If no agency template, build from scratch using the line items in working/pricing-inputs.md.
• Write to final/xlsx/sbir-budget.xlsx.

For far-cost-volume:

• Build a CLIN × Period × Cost Element workbook from working/pricing-inputs.md.
• Include BOE hour tables as additional sheets.
• Write to final/xlsx/cost-volume-appendix.xlsx.

For ota-milestones:

• Produce an xlsx milestone schedule companion for PMO tracking.
• Write to final/xlsx/milestone-schedule.xlsx.

For rom, cso-commercial, none: skip xlsx pricing export.

Step 6: PowerPoint briefing (optional)

Only if the type or user explicitly requests it (e.g., ota-proposal often has a kickoff brief requirement):

1. Use the graphics PNGs + win themes from working/proposal-plan.md to build a 5-10 slide deck
2. Delegate to anthropic-skills:pptx
3. Write to final/pptx/<name>-brief.pptx

Step 7: Package manifest

Write final/PACKAGE.md:

# Submission Package — [Proposal Name]

**Type:** [type_id]
**Exported:** [timestamp]
**Gold Team pWin:** [from scorecard, if present]
**Compliance status:** [N Covered / M Drafted / K Planned / J Gap]

## Deliverables

| File | Source | Format | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| `docx/technical-volume.docx` | drafts/technical-approach.md + drafts/management-approach.md + graphics PNGs | Word | Primary narrative, reviews in Word, submits as PDF |
| `xlsx/compliance-matrix.xlsx` | working/compliance-matrix.md | Excel | Team coordination + submission appendix |
| `xlsx/sbir-budget.xlsx` | working/pricing-inputs.md | Excel | Primary pricing artifact (SBIR) |
| `graphics-png/fig1-architecture.png` | graphics/fig1-architecture.html | PNG (2x) | Embedded in Word |
| ... | | | |

## Submission Checklist

- [ ] Open each `docx/` file in Word; review formatting; Save As PDF to `pdf/`
- [ ] Verify xlsx files open without errors
- [ ] Verify graphics PNGs are legible at target print size
- [ ] Confirm compliance matrix shows zero `Gap` rows
- [ ] Confirm Gold Team rewrites have been applied
- [ ] Confirm proposal-type.md `page_target` is met (spot-check page count in Word)
- [ ] Cover page + CAGE/UEI/NAICS populated
- [ ] File naming matches agency submission requirements

Step 7b: Edit-readiness flag file (white paper only)

When proposal_type: white-paper, write final/edit-readiness.md after the package manifest. This gives the user a single checklist of items that require human confirmation before submission:

# Edit Readiness — [Proposal Name]

The following items require human confirmation before submitting. Export is complete; these are the things the tool cannot verify.

- [ ] **POC** — Is the point-of-contact name and email correct? (Current: [name from draft])
- [ ] **Distribution statement** — Is the classification / distribution statement appropriate for this audience?
- [ ] **Version of record** — Is this the version you intend to submit? (Exported: [timestamp])
- [ ] **Headline numbers** — Are the key statistics (cost figures, benchmark percentages) verified against primary sources?
- [ ] **Recipient** — Is the submission address / recipient confirmed?

Populate the bracketed fields from the draft content where available.

Step 8: Activity trail

Append to working/activity.md:

## <timestamp> — export-proposal — <N docx>, <M xlsx>, <K pptx>, <J PNG> → final/PACKAGE.md

Branded Templates (optional, recommended)

If you drop your own branded Office templates at my-company/templates/, export-proposal uses them as the base:

If any file is missing, a professional default is used (see reference/office-templates/ for the defaults).

Rules

• Do not produce PDF automatically. Word → PDF is a user step. The skill produces docx; the user opens Word and saves as PDF.
• Do not embed HTML graphics in Word. Always convert HTML → PNG first.
• Do not regenerate content. Export reads what's in drafts/ — it does not re-write, re-summarize, or improve. If content is wrong, fix it in .md and re-export.
• Never overwrite my-company/templates/. Those are user-provided.
• Always emit final/PACKAGE.md — it's the artifact index for the submission.
• Never remove or modify drafts/. The markdown is the source of truth; exports are derived.
• Single run = complete package. Don't do partial exports that leave final/ in a half-updated state. If a step fails, fail cleanly and leave final/ empty.

After Running

Tell the user:

1. What was produced (counts by format)
2. What to do next (open Word, review, save as PDF)
3. Any warnings (missing Gold Team, unresolved gaps, missing branded templates)
4. Path to final/PACKAGE.md as the index