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Pptx

  • 188k installs
  • 165k repo stars
  • Updated July 24, 2026
  • anthropics/skills

pptx is a skill for creating and editing PowerPoint presentations with design discipline, color-palette rules, and exhaustive visual QA loops.

About

pptx is a comprehensive skill for reading, editing, and creating PowerPoint presentations. It covers text extraction with markitdown, unpack-edit-pack workflows for templates, and from-scratch creation with pptxgenjs. The skill enforces design discipline: bold content-specific color palettes, high typographic contrast, visual motifs, and exhaustive QA via subagent visual inspection. Developers reach for pptx when any .pptx file is involved as input, output, or reference.

  • Text extraction via `python -m markitdown`, visual inspection via thumbnail grids, programmatic creation via pptxgenjs
  • Design directives: bold color palette (60-70% dominant, 1-2 supporting, 1 accent), visual motif per slide, no gradients
  • QA loop with subagent visual inspection catching overlaps, text overflow, low contrast, and placeholder content

Pptx by the numbers

  • 187,696 all-time installs (skills.sh)
  • +7,215 installs in the week ending Jul 28, 2026 (Skillselion tracking)
  • Ranked #11 of 690 Office & Documents skills by installs in the Skillselion catalog
  • Security screen: LOW risk (skills.sh audit)
  • Data as of Jul 28, 2026 (Skillselion catalog sync)
At a glance

pptx capabilities & compatibility

Capabilities
presentation design · slide creation · content extraction · template editing
Platforms
macOS · Windows · Linux
npx skills add https://github.com/anthropics/skills --skill pptx

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Listed on Skillselion
Installs188k
repo stars165k
Security audit3 / 3 scanners passed
Last updatedJuly 24, 2026
Repositoryanthropics/skills

How do you generate PowerPoint files with an AI agent?

Create, edit, analyze, and design PowerPoint presentations with comprehensive QA and design guidance

Who is it for?

Developers creating pitch decks, product documentation, or presentations who need design guidance and visual QA via subagents

Skip if: Static PDF export or presentations where generic white-background bullet-point slides are acceptable

When should I use this skill?

Any .pptx file is involved: creating deck, reading content, editing, or combining slides

What you get

Editable .pptx PowerPoint file with slides derived from supplied content or instructions

  • Editable .pptx file

Files

SKILL.mdMarkdownGitHub ↗

PPTX Skill

Quick Reference

TaskGuide
Read/analyze contentpython -m markitdown presentation.pptx
Edit or create from templateRead editing.md
Create from scratchRead pptxgenjs.md

---

Reading Content

# 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](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](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:

ThemePrimarySecondaryAccent
Midnight Executive1E2761 (navy)CADCFC (ice blue)FFFFFF (white)
Forest & Moss2C5F2D (forest)97BC62 (moss)F5F5F5 (cream)
Coral EnergyF96167 (coral)F9E795 (gold)2F3C7E (navy)
Warm TerracottaB85042 (terracotta)E7E8D1 (sand)A7BEAE (sage)
Ocean Gradient065A82 (deep blue)1C7293 (teal)21295C (midnight)
Charcoal Minimal36454F (charcoal)F2F2F2 (off-white)212121 (black)
Teal Trust028090 (teal)00A896 (seafoam)02C39A (mint)
Berry & Cream6D2E46 (berry)A26769 (dusty rose)ECE2D0 (cream)
Sage Calm84B59F (sage)69A297 (eucalyptus)50808E (slate)
Cherry Bold990011 (cherry)FCF6F5 (off-white)2F3C7E (navy)

For Each Slide

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

Layout options:

  • Two-column (text left, illustration on right)
  • Icon + text rows (icon in colored circle, bold header, description below)
  • 2x2 or 2x3 grid (image on one side, grid of content blocks on other)
  • Half-bleed image (full left or right side) with content overlay

Data display:

  • Large stat callouts (big numbers 60-72pt with small labels below)
  • Comparison columns (before/after, pros/cons, side-by-side options)
  • Timeline or process flow (numbered steps, arrows)

Visual polish:

  • Icons in small colored circles next to section headers
  • Italic accent text for key stats or taglines

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.

Header FontBody Font
GeorgiaCalibri
Arial BlackArial
CalibriCalibri Light
CambriaCalibri
Trebuchet MSCalibri
ImpactArial
PalatinoGaramond
ConsolasCalibri
ElementSize
Slide title36-44pt bold
Section header20-24pt bold
Body text14-16pt
Captions10-12pt muted

Spacing

  • 0.5" minimum margins
  • 0.3-0.5" between content blocks
  • Leave breathing room—don't fill every inch

Avoid (Common Mistakes)

  • Don't repeat the same layout — vary columns, cards, and callouts across slides
  • Don't center body text — left-align paragraphs and lists; center only titles
  • Don't skimp on size contrast — titles need 36pt+ to stand out from 14-16pt body
  • Don't default to blue — pick colors that reflect the specific topic
  • Don't mix spacing randomly — choose 0.3" or 0.5" gaps and use consistently
  • Don't style one slide and leave the rest plain — commit fully or keep it simple throughout
  • Don't create text-only slides — add images, icons, charts, or visual elements; avoid plain title + bullets
  • Don't forget text box padding — when aligning lines or shapes with text edges, set margin: 0 on the text box or offset the shape to account for padding
  • Don't use low-contrast elements — icons AND text need strong contrast against the background; avoid light text on light backgrounds or dark text on dark backgrounds
  • NEVER use accent lines under titles — these are a hallmark of AI-generated slides; use whitespace or background color instead

---

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

python -m markitdown output.pptx

Check for missing content, typos, wrong order.

When using templates, check for leftover placeholder text:

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:
- Overlapping elements (text through shapes, lines through words, stacked elements)
- Text overflow or cut off at edges/box boundaries
- Decorative lines positioned for single-line text but title wrapped to two lines
- Source citations or footers colliding with content above
- Elements too close (< 0.3" gaps) or cards/sections nearly touching
- Uneven gaps (large empty area in one place, cramped in another)
- Insufficient margin from slide edges (< 0.5")
- Columns or similar elements not aligned consistently
- Low-contrast text (e.g., light gray text on cream-colored background)
- Low-contrast icons (e.g., dark icons on dark backgrounds without a contrasting circle)
- Text boxes too narrow causing excessive wrapping
- Leftover placeholder content

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:

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:

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

---

Dependencies

  • pip install "markitdown[pptx]" - text extraction
  • pip install Pillow - thumbnail grids
  • npm install -g pptxgenjs - creating from scratch
  • LibreOffice (soffice) - PDF conversion (auto-configured for sandboxed environments via scripts/office/soffice.py)
  • Poppler (pdftoppm) - PDF to images

Related skills

Forks & variants (8)

Pptx has 8 known copies in the catalog totaling 1.4k installs. They canonicalize to this original listing.

How it compares

Choose pptx when stakeholders need editable slides; use PDF or markdown exports when PowerPoint format is not required.

FAQ

What file format does pptx produce?

pptx produces editable Microsoft PowerPoint .pptx files that open in PowerPoint and other compatible presentation applications for further editing.

What input does pptx accept?

pptx accepts agent instructions or structured content and assembles slides into a standard .pptx deck without requiring manual PowerPoint authoring.

Is Pptx safe to install?

skills.sh reports 3 of 3 security scanners passed. Review the Security Audits panel on this page before installing in production.

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