Presentation Builder

Use slides-grab when the user needs a real slide deck artifact, not just an outline. The workflow is HTML-first: plan the deck, generate slide HTML, review visually, then export to PPTX/PDF.

When to use this skill

Create a presentation from a topic, document, or brief
Iterate on slide design visually instead of editing raw PPT manually
Export approved decks to .pptx or .pdf
Maintain multi-deck workspaces under decks/<deck-name>/

Preflight

Install and verify slides-grab before authoring:

git clone https://github.com/vkehfdl1/slides-grab.git
cd slides-grab
npm ci
npx playwright install chromium
npm exec -- slides-grab --help

Minimum requirement: Node.js >= 18.

If slides-grab is already available in the current project, reuse the existing install instead of cloning again.

Workflow

1. Plan the deck

Collect:

presentation goal
audience
tone/style
target slide count
required source material

Create a concise outline, usually slide-outline.md, with:

slide number
slide title
key message
required visuals/data

Do not move to slide generation until the outline is approved.

2. Generate slide HTML

Use a dedicated workspace such as decks/<deck-name>/.

Create self-contained slide files:

decks/<deck-name>/
  slide-01-cover.html
  slide-02-problem.html
  slide-03-solution.html
  ...

Rules:

one primary idea per slide
keep HTML/CSS easy for agents to edit
inline only the assets/styles the deck actually needs
keep speaker notes or rationale outside slide body when possible

3. Build and review

After generating or editing slides:

slides-grab build-viewer --slides-dir decks/<deck-name>
slides-grab validate --slides-dir decks/<deck-name>

For visual iteration:

slides-grab edit --slides-dir decks/<deck-name>

Use the editor to select a region, request changes, and revise the corresponding HTML until the deck is approved.

4. Export artifacts

Only export after the design is approved.

slides-grab convert --slides-dir decks/<deck-name> --output decks/<deck-name>.pptx
slides-grab pdf --slides-dir decks/<deck-name> --output decks/<deck-name>.pdf

Report:

output file paths
validation status
any slides that still need manual polish

Core commands

slides-grab edit
slides-grab build-viewer
slides-grab validate
slides-grab convert
slides-grab pdf
slides-grab list-templates
slides-grab list-themes

All commands support --slides-dir <path>.

Guardrails

Follow the stage order: Plan -> Design -> Review -> Export
Do not export a deck the user has not approved
Fix source HTML/CSS when validation or conversion fails; do not patch exported binaries
Reuse the same deck directory through revisions to preserve stable iteration history

Example prompts

Create an 8-slide enterprise product deck in decks/acme-launch.
Audience: IT buyers.
Tone: confident, clean, technical.
Need PPTX and PDF exports after approval.

Turn this product brief into a 10-slide investor deck.
Use slides-grab, show me the outline first, then generate the deck in decks/series-a.

References

Source repo: https://github.com/vkehfdl1/slides-grab
Key workflow from upstream: plan -> design -> visual edit -> export

presentation-builder