Slideshow Creator

Quick facts

Classification: Utility | Version: 1.0.1 | Category: communication | License: Apache-2.0

Try it: /pm-skills:utility-slideshow-creator "Your context here"

Generate professional presentations (.pptx and .pdf) from a JSON deck specification. Zero design decisions at generation time - Claude selects slide types and fills content slots; all visual properties are pre-decided by the theme.

When to Use

• Creating slide decks for stakeholder updates, product reviews, team presentations
• Generating professional .pptx files from content briefs
• Producing consistent presentations without manual formatting
• Exporting presentations to PDF for sharing or archiving

When NOT to Use

• Creating complex data visualizations (use dedicated charting tools)
• Building interactive web presentations (this produces .pptx, not HTML)
• Editing existing PowerPoint files (this creates new decks from scratch)

How to Use

Invoke the skill by name (/pm-skills:utility-slideshow-creator on Claude Code, $utility-slideshow-creator on Codex):

/pm-skills:utility-slideshow-creator "Your context here"

Or reference the skill file directly: skills/utility-slideshow-creator/SKILL.md

Instructions

1. Read the content brief - Understand topic, audience, length, specific requirements
2. Plan the deck - Select slide types using the decision logic table. Assign dark/light variants for visual rhythm (alternate to avoid monotony).
3. Write the JSON deck specification - Fill content slots, respecting character limits from references/slide-types.md
4. Run the generation script - node scripts/generate-deck.js deck-spec.json
5. Optionally export PDF - node scripts/export-pdf.mjs deck-spec.json output.pdf
6. Report the output - Tell the user where the file(s) are

How It Works

Two-phase architecture:

1. Spec phase (Claude) - Read the content brief, select slide types using decision logic, write a JSON deck specification. Content slots have character limits calibrated to prevent overflow. This is the only phase that costs tokens.
2. Generation phase (Local script) - Run node scripts/generate-deck.js deck-spec.json to produce .pptx. Optionally run node scripts/export-pdf.mjs deck-spec.json for PDF. Deterministic rendering, zero token cost.

Both outputs come from the same JSON spec, so .pptx and .pdf always match.

18 Slide Types

#	Type Key	Purpose	Default Variant
1	title_dark	Opening slide (bold)	dark only
2	title_light	Opening slide (internal/lighter)	light only
3	section	Section divider	dark
4	content	Paragraph explanation	light
5	bullets	3-6 key points	light
6	two_col	Side-by-side comparison	light
7	stat	Single key metric	light
8	dual_stat	Two metrics compared	dark
9	quote	Testimonial or pull quote	dark
10	three_card	Three parallel concepts	dark
11	four_grid	Four concepts in 2x2 grid	dark
12	timeline	Dates or milestones (max 6)	light
13	process_flow	Sequential workflow (max 5)	light
14	agenda	Meeting agenda (max 7)	light
15	highlight	Key finding or executive summary	light
16	table	Tabular data	light
17	icon_rows	Feature list with markers (max 4)	light
18	closing	End slide	dark only

Full slot definitions and character limits: references/slide-types.md

Decision Logic (Quick Reference)

Content Pattern	Use
Opening the deck (bold)	title_dark
Opening the deck (internal)	title_light
Transitioning between topics	section
Paragraph explanation	content
List of 3-6 points	bullets
Side-by-side comparison	two_col
Single key metric	stat
Two metrics compared	dual_stat
Testimonial or pull quote	quote
Three parallel concepts	three_card
Four concepts in a grid	four_grid
Dates or milestones	timeline
Sequential workflow	process_flow
Meeting agenda	agenda
Key finding or summary	highlight
Tabular data	table
Feature list with markers	icon_rows
Ending the deck	closing

Full decision logic with variant strategy: references/decision-logic.md

JSON Deck Spec Format

{
  "title": "Q3 Product Update",
  "author": "Product Team",
  "footerText": "Internal . Q3 Review",
  "slides": [
    { "type": "title_dark", "title": "Q3 Product Update", "subtitle": "October 2026" },
    { "type": "stat", "stat": "94%", "label": "Customer satisfaction score", "accentColor": "secondary" },
    { "type": "bullets", "title": "What Shipped", "bullets": ["Feature A", "Feature B", "Feature C"] },
    { "type": "closing" }
  ]
}

Colors accept theme token names ("accent", "secondary", "tertiary", "warm") or 6-character hex strings ("2563EB").

Full schema and workflow: references/TEMPLATE.md and references/platform-rules.md

Output Contract

• Planning artifact: JSON deck specification (the file Claude writes)
• Final output: .pptx file (+ optional .pdf), generated locally from the spec
• Quality gate: All items in the quality checklist pass

References

File	Purpose
references/TEMPLATE.md	JSON deck specification template with field documentation
references/EXAMPLE.md	Worked example: Q3 Product Update deck (9 slides)
references/slide-types.md	All 18 slide types: content slots, character limits, variants
references/decision-logic.md	Content pattern → slide type mapping, variant strategy, deck sizing
references/platform-rules.md	pptxgenjs requirements, Google Slides compatibility, output format

Output Template

JSON Deck Specification Template

Deck Metadata

{
  "title": "",
  "author": "",
  "footerText": "",
  "outputFileName": "",
  "slides": []
}

Field Reference

Field	Type	Required	Notes
title	string	yes	Presentation title, used as .pptx metadata
author	string	no	Author name for .pptx metadata
footerText	string	no	Default footer text for all slides
outputFileName	string	no	Output filename. Default: title slugified + .pptx
slides	array	yes	Array of slide objects

Slide Object Structure

Every slide object has type (required) plus content slots defined in slide-types.md.

Common Optional Fields

Field	Type	Notes
variant	string	”dark” or “light” — see defaults per type in slide-types.md
notes	string	Speaker notes for presenter view (no character limit)
footer	string	Override deck-level footerText for this slide
slideNum	string	Override auto-incremented slide number

Color Values

Color fields (accentColor, leftColor, rightColor, card/item color) accept:

• Theme token names: "accent", "secondary", "tertiary", "warm", "primary", "primaryDark", "muted"
• 6-character hex strings: "2563EB", "0891B2" (no # prefix)

Slide Type Quick Reference

Type Key	Required Slots	Optional Slots
title_dark	title	subtitle
title_light	title	subtitle
section	title	variant
content	title, body	variant
bullets	title, bullets[]	variant
two_col	title, leftTitle, leftItems[], rightTitle, rightItems[]	variant
stat	stat, label	accentColor, variant
dual_stat	leftStat, leftLabel, rightStat, rightLabel	title, leftColor, rightColor, variant
quote	quote	attribution, variant
three_card	cards[3]	title, variant
four_grid	cards[4]	title, variant
timeline	title, milestones[]	variant
process_flow	title, steps[]	variant
agenda	items[]	title, intro, variant
highlight	title, highlight	context, accentColor, variant
table	title, headers[], rows[][]	variant
icon_rows	title, items[]	variant
closing	(none)	tagline, url

See slide-types.md for character limits and detailed slot definitions.

Example Output

Example: Q3 Product Update Deck

Example: Q3 Product Update Deck

This example walks through creating a 9-slide product update deck for an engineering all-hands meeting, demonstrating the spec-writing workflow from content brief to JSON output.

Content Brief

The product team needs a deck for the Q3 engineering all-hands covering:

• Customer satisfaction hit a record high (94%)
• Three major features shipped (real-time analytics dashboard, API rate limiting, bulk data import)
• Revenue grew 18% quarter-over-quarter
• Roadmap preview for Q4 (3 milestones)
• Key insight: teams using the analytics dashboard have 2.4x faster incident response times

Deck Planning

Slide Type Selection

#	Content	Type	Variant	Rationale
1	Opening	title_dark	dark	Bold external opener
2	Section: Metrics	section	dark	Topic transition
3	CSAT record	stat	light	Single metric spotlight
4	Revenue comparison	dual_stat	dark	Two numbers gain from comparison
5	Features shipped	bullets	light	3-6 point list
6	Feature details	three_card	dark	Three parallel concepts
7	Key insight	highlight	light	Executive takeaway
8	Q4 roadmap	timeline	light	Chronological milestones
9	Close	closing	dark	Standard ending

Variant Check

Dark-light alternation: D, D, L, D, L, D, L, L, D — slight imbalance at slides 7-8 (both light) but acceptable because highlight and timeline are visually distinct types.

JSON Deck Specification

{
  "title": "Q3 Product Update",
  "author": "Product Team",
  "footerText": "Internal -- Engineering All-Hands",
  "outputFileName": "q3-product-update.pptx",
  "slides": [
    {
      "type": "title_dark",
      "title": "Q3 Product\nUpdate",
      "subtitle": "Engineering All-Hands -- October 2026",
      "notes": "Welcome everyone. Quick overview of what shipped and what's ahead."
    },
    {
      "type": "section",
      "title": "Key\nMetrics",
      "variant": "dark",
      "notes": "Starting with our headline performance numbers."
    },
    {
      "type": "stat",
      "stat": "94%",
      "label": "Customer satisfaction -- highest score this year",
      "accentColor": "secondary",
      "variant": "light",
      "notes": "Up from 88% in Q2. Primary driver: faster support response times from the new dashboard."
    },
    {
      "type": "dual_stat",
      "title": "Revenue Growth",
      "leftStat": "$3.2M",
      "leftLabel": "Q2 recurring revenue",
      "leftColor": "muted",
      "rightStat": "$3.8M",
      "rightLabel": "Q3 recurring revenue",
      "rightColor": "accent",
      "variant": "dark",
      "notes": "18% QoQ growth. Bulk import feature drove 40% of new contract value."
    },
    {
      "type": "bullets",
      "title": "What Shipped in Q3",
      "bullets": [
        "Real-time analytics dashboard with customizable widgets",
        "API rate limiting with per-client quotas and alerting",
        "Bulk data import supporting CSV, JSON, and XML formats",
        "SSO integration for enterprise customers"
      ],
      "variant": "light",
      "notes": "Four major features. Each had full rollout with zero critical incidents."
    },
    {
      "type": "three_card",
      "title": "Feature Highlights",
      "cards": [
        {
          "title": "Analytics Dashboard",
          "bullets": ["Real-time metrics", "Custom widgets", "Export to PDF"],
          "color": "accent"
        },
        {
          "title": "API Rate Limiting",
          "bullets": ["Per-client quotas", "Automatic alerting", "Usage dashboard"],
          "color": "secondary"
        },
        {
          "title": "Bulk Import",
          "bullets": ["CSV, JSON, XML", "Validation preview", "Async processing"],
          "color": "tertiary"
        }
      ],
      "variant": "dark",
      "notes": "Deeper dive on the three headline features."
    },
    {
      "type": "highlight",
      "title": "Key Insight",
      "highlight": "Teams using the analytics dashboard resolve incidents 2.4x faster than teams using manual monitoring.",
      "context": "Based on analysis of 180 incidents across 45 teams during August-September. The effect is strongest for teams with 3+ custom dashboard widgets configured.",
      "accentColor": "accent",
      "variant": "light",
      "notes": "This is our strongest product-market signal this quarter."
    },
    {
      "type": "timeline",
      "title": "Q4 Roadmap",
      "milestones": [
        { "label": "OCT", "description": "Advanced filtering and saved views" },
        { "label": "NOV", "description": "Webhook integrations and event streaming" },
        { "label": "DEC", "description": "SOC 2 Type II certification complete" },
        { "label": "JAN", "description": "Public API v2 general availability" }
      ],
      "variant": "light",
      "notes": "Four milestones across the quarter. SOC 2 is the compliance gate for enterprise expansion."
    },
    {
      "type": "closing",
      "notes": "Thank you. Questions?"
    }
  ]
}

What This Deck Demonstrates

• Line break control: Title slide uses \n to split “Q3 Product” and “Update” onto separate lines for deliberate text wrapping
• Section dividers: The section slide creates a clear visual break before the metrics block, signaling a topic change to the audience
• Single vs comparative metrics: stat spotlights one number (CSAT score) while dual_stat places two numbers side-by-side for direct comparison (Q2 vs Q3 revenue)
• Parallel structure: three_card gives equal visual weight to three shipped features, avoiding the implicit ranking that a bullet list creates
• Highlight restraint: highlight is used exactly once for the strongest finding — overuse dilutes its impact
• Chronological milestones: timeline presents Q4 roadmap items in calendar order, making sequencing and dependencies visible
• Speaker notes on every slide: Notes provide presenter context without cluttering the slide surface — especially useful for stakeholder decks that get forwarded without the presenter
• Dark/light rhythm: Variants alternate to maintain visual energy; the consecutive light slides (7-8) work because highlight and timeline have distinct visual structures
• Character-limit compliance: All content respects the limits defined in slide-types.md — titles stay concise, bullets stay scannable, and the highlight sentence remains under the maximum length

Quality Checklist

• Every slide has a valid type key (one of the 18 defined types)
• All content slots respect character limits from references/slide-types.md
• Dark/light variants alternate for visual rhythm (no 3+ consecutive same-variant slides)
• Deck has a title slide (first) and a closing slide (last)
• Section dividers separate distinct topics in decks > 6 slides
• Speaker notes included for key slides (stats, highlights, transitions)
• JSON is valid (no trailing commas, proper quoting, correct nesting)
• Color values are valid theme tokens or 6-character hex strings (no # prefix)