name: powerpoint

description: "Use this skill any time a .pptx file is involved in any way — as input, output, or both. This includes: creating slide decks, pitch decks, or presentations; reading, parsing, or extracting text from any .pptx file (even if the extracted content will be used elsewhere, like in an email or summary); editing, modifying, or updating existing presentations; combining or splitting slide files; working with templates, layouts, speaker notes, or comments. Trigger whenever the user mentions \"deck,\" \"slides,\" \"presentation,\" or references a .pptx filename, regardless of what they plan to do with the content afterward. If a .pptx file needs to be opened, created, or touched, use this skill."

license: Proprietary. LICENSE.txt has complete terms

Powerpoint Skill

Quick Reference

Reading Content

`bash

Text extraction

python -m markitdown presentation.pptx

Visual overview

python scripts/thumbnail.py presentation.pptx

Raw XML

python scripts/office/unpack.py presentation.pptx unpacked/

`

Editing Workflow

Read editing.md for full details.

1. Analyze template with thumbnail.py

2. Unpack → manipulate slides → edit content → clean → pack

Creating from Scratch

Read pptxgenjs.md for full details.

Use when no template or reference presentation is available.

Design Ideas

Don't create boring slides. Plain bullets on a white background won't impress anyone. Consider ideas from this list for each slide.

Before Starting

• - Pick a bold, content-informed color palette: The palette should feel designed for THIS topic. If swapping your colors into a completely different presentation would still "work," you haven't made specific enough choices.
• - Dominance over equality: One color should dominate (60-70% visual weight), with 1-2 supporting tones and one sharp accent. Never give all colors equal weight.
• - Dark/light contrast: Dark backgrounds for title + conclusion slides, light for content ("sandwich" structure). Or commit to dark throughout for a premium feel.
• - Commit to a visual motif: Pick ONE distinctive element and repeat it — rounded image frames, icons in colored circles, thick single-side borders. Carry it across every slide.

Color Palettes

Choose colors that match your topic — don't default to generic blue. Use these palettes as inspiration:

For Each Slide

Every slide needs a visual element — image, chart, icon, or shape. Text-only slides are forgettable.

Layout options:

Data display:

Visual polish:

Typography

Choose an interesting font pairing — don't default to Arial. Pick a header font with personality and pair it with a clean body font.

Spacing

Avoid (Common Mistakes)

QA (Required)

Assume there are problems. Your job is to find them.

Your first render is almost never correct. Approach QA as a bug hunt, not a confirmation step. If you found zero issues on first inspection, you weren't looking hard enough.

Content QA

`bash

python -m markitdown output.pptx

`

Check for missing content, typos, wrong order.

When using templates, check for leftover placeholder text:

`bash

python -m markitdown output.pptx | grep -iE "xxxx|lorem|ipsum|this.(page|slide).layout"

`

If grep returns results, fix them before declaring success.

Visual QA

⚠️ USE SUBAGENTS — even for 2-3 slides. You've been staring at the code and will see what you expect, not what's there. Subagents have fresh eyes.

Convert slides to images (see Converting to Images), then use this prompt:

`

Visually inspect these slides. Assume there are issues — find them.

Look for:

For each slide, list issues or areas of concern, even if minor.

Read and analyze these images:

1. /path/to/slide-01.jpg (Expected: [brief description])

2. /path/to/slide-02.jpg (Expected: [brief description])

Report ALL issues found, including minor ones.

`

Verification Loop

1. Generate slides → Convert to images → Inspect

2. List issues found (if none found, look again more critically)

3. Fix issues

4. Re-verify affected slides — one fix often creates another problem

5. Repeat until a full pass reveals no new issues

Do not declare success until you've completed at least one fix-and-verify cycle.

Converting to Images

Convert presentations to individual slide images for visual inspection:

`bash

python scripts/office/soffice.py --headless --convert-to pdf output.pptx

pdftoppm -jpeg -r 150 output.pdf slide

`

This creates slide-01.jpg, slide-02.jpg, etc.

To re-render specific slides after fixes:

`bash

pdftoppm -jpeg -r 150 -f N -l N output.pdf slide-fixed

`

Dependencies