/slideware

name: slideware
description: "Create visually rich, style-driven slide decks in two output formats: PowerPoint (.pptx via pptxgenjs + React icons) and HTML (single-file Reveal.js deck). Use any time the user asks for a slide deck, presentation, pitch deck, training module, keynote, .pptx file, HTML/web presentation, Reveal.js deck, browser slides, or slides to share via link — or wants slides generated from a brief/outline, references a 'style' or 'brandbook' (a .md/.css visual identity), a 'sample deck' to mimic, or asks to update/iterate on an existing deck (rebuild approach). Trigger on words like 'deck', 'slides', 'presentation', 'pptx', 'pitch', 'keynote', 'reveal', 'HTML deck', 'web presentation', or whenever a .pptx (or slide-deck .html) appears as input or output. Styles resolve from the knowledgeware plugin's shared registry — 5 generic defaults plus brandbooks (in styles/brands/ or the user's KNOWLEDGEWARE_BRANDS_DIR) managed by the brandware skill — so decks share one visual identity with knowledgebase sites and chartware diagrams. If the output format (PowerPoint vs HTML) is not stated and cannot be inferred from context, ASK the user before building."
license: MIT

slideware

Generate brandbook-driven slide decks in one of **two output formats**:

| Format | Engine | Output | Guide | |---|---|---|---| | **pptx** | pptxgenjs + React icons + sharp (Node.js) | Real `.pptx` — opens in PowerPoint, Keynote, Google Slides | [pptx/FORMAT.md](pptx/FORMAT.md) | | **html** | Reveal.js + js-yaml (Node.js) | Single self-contained `index.html` — any browser, hostable, share-by-link | [html/FORMAT.md](html/FORMAT.md) |

Opinionated about one thing in both formats: **don't make boring slides.** Plain bullets on white aren't worth your reader's time.

Step 0 — choose the format

Decide from explicit cues first:

• **pptx**: ".pptx", "PowerPoint", "Keynote", "Google Slides", a `.pptx` file as input/output, "they'll edit the slides afterward", corporate template workflows.
• **html**: "HTML", "Reveal", "web presentation", "browser", "host it", "share a link", "single file", embedding in a site, a slide-deck `.html` as input/output.
• **Iterating on an existing deck** → keep its current format unless asked to convert.

**If neither the request nor context settles it, ASK the user** ("PowerPoint file or an HTML deck you can open in a browser/host?") before building — the two outputs are not interchangeable deliverables. Don't silently default.

Then read **exactly one** format guide (`pptx/FORMAT.md` or `html/FORMAT.md`) and follow it. Each guide has its own workflow, layout archetypes, pitfalls, and scripts under its directory.

Style / brandbook resolution (shared by both formats)

"Style" and "brandbook" mean the same thing — .md files describing a visual identity (palette + type + layout). Path convention: `$PLUGIN` = the knowledgeware plugin root, two directories above this skill (`../../`).

1. **Explicit local path** — read directly. 2. **Bundled name** — discovered at runtime from the registry (shadow order: default < plugin brand < user brand):

• `$PLUGIN/styles/*.md` — 5 default generic styles (`style-1` through `style-5`)
• `$PLUGIN/styles/brands/*.md` — brandbooks (managed by the **brandware** skill)
• `$KNOWLEDGEWARE_BRANDS_DIR/*.md` — the user's own brands directory, if that env var is set (survives plugin updates)

Run `node $PLUGIN/scripts/list-styles.js` for the current list (`--default` / `--brands` / `--names` / `--json`). 3. **Website URL** — `node $PLUGIN/scripts/derive-style.js <url> -o ./brand.md` then load. Heuristic; verify against the live site. 4. **Google Drive URL** — `bash $PLUGIN/scripts/fetch-resource.sh <url> <dest>`. 5. **No style given** — if a `DEFAULT` marker exists (a one-line file naming a registry entry; `$KNOWLEDGEWARE_BRANDS_DIR/DEFAULT` wins over `$PLUGIN/styles/brands/DEFAULT`), use that brand and tell the user; otherwise pick `style-1` (Editorial Light) and tell the user. Don't otherwise fall back to brandbooks unless the user names one.

**Staging differs per format** (each guide shows the exact command):

• pptx consumes **tokens JSON** — `node $PLUGIN/scripts/load-style.js <name|path> -o style-tokens.json` (pre-built caches in `tokens/` next to each registry's brandbooks).
• html consumes a **YAML-frontmatter `style.md`** — `node $PLUGIN/skills/slideware/html/scripts/load-style.js <name|path> -o ./style.md` (converts any registry brandbook or CSS file).

**Fonts**: brandbooks name fonts; nothing embeds them. For pptx authoring/preview the fonts must be installed locally — `bash $PLUGIN/scripts/install-fonts.sh <brand|style|font name>` fetches them from Google Fonts (see brandware). HTML decks load Google Fonts via `<link>`, so viewers need nothing.

**Missing tooling**: pptx previews need LibreOffice + poppler (`render-slides.sh` errors with install hints when they're absent) and visual review needs Playwright browser tools. When any of these are missing, still build and deliver the deck, say which check was skipped, and point the user to the plugin README's "Optional tooling" section for install commands.

Anti-monotony rule (shared)

The point is **content-shape variety**, not visual-archetype rigidity. A deck that walks one consistent story can reuse a layout deliberately; a survey of unrelated topics should vary archetypes slide to slide. The failure mode is reaching for the same layout because the template defaulted to it. If you reuse an archetype twice without articulating why, swap one out. Archetype catalogs: [pptx/references/layout-patterns.md](pptx/references/layout-patterns.md) (12) · [html/references/layout-patterns.md](html/references/layout-patterns.md) (8).

Citations are clickable (shared)

When a slide cites a source that has a URL — footnote lines, resources/further-reading slides, figure or data attributions, quote sources — make it a **live hyperlink**, not plain text. HTML format: a real