mck-ppt-design-skill

Try it in 60 seconds · Use with your agent · Gallery · 简体中文 · Architecture

Your AI agent writes the story. This skill draws the deck and checks the file. The output is a real .pptx: native shapes, native charts, every element editable in PowerPoint, WPS or Keynote.

Prompt to deck. The slides and the gate result are real output; the terminal is a recreation. Data in the slides is illustrative.

What the output looks like

All six slides come from examples/freeform_showcase.py, rendered with LibreOffice. Data is illustrative. Fonts differ slightly in PowerPoint.

Why this exists

Ask an agent for a deck and you usually get text boxes on a white page, or a picture you cannot edit. This skill gives the agent a third path.

🚀 Try it in 60 seconds

No API key, no network. Needs Python 3.8+.

pip install "git+https://github.com/likaku/Mck-ppt-design-skill.git"
python -m mck_ppt demo        # writes mck_demo.pptx (13 slides, passes the built-in check)
python -m mck_ppt layouts     # lists every layout with a one-line description

Then the freeform example that produced the slides above:

git clone https://github.com/likaku/Mck-ppt-design-skill && cd Mck-ppt-design-skill
python examples/freeform_showcase.py out.pptx
python references/scripts/gate_check.py out.pptx .     # writes gate_result.json

The gate scripts live in references/scripts/ and are not part of the pip package; clone the repo to use them.

🤖 Use it with your agent

Then ask in plain language:

Make a 12-slide board deck on why our Q1 growth now depends on one channel. Action titles, one chart per argument, a source line on every slide.

用麦肯锡风格做一份 15 页的年度战略汇报：先给执行摘要，再分三章，最后列出需要决策的四件事。

The agent follows five stages, and two of the gates are scripts it cannot argue with:

flowchart LR
    A[S1 Brief] --> B[S2 Structure<br/>outline.json]
    B --> C[S3 Content<br/>content.json]
    C --> G1{{gate_check_s3.py}}
    G1 -->|pass| D[S4 Render]
    D --> G2{{gate_check.py}}
    G2 -->|pass| E[S5 Deliver]
    G1 -.->|fail| C
    G2 -.->|fail| D

Details in docs/HARNESS.md.

Two ways to build a deck

Both go through the same cleanup and the same gate. In our own tests the free-composition version of the same content looked clearly better; the layout version is faster.

from mck_ppt import MckEngine
from mck_ppt.constants import *

eng = MckEngine(total_slides=3)
eng.cover(title='Q1 strategy review', subtitle='Board presentation', date='2026')
eng.table_insight(
    title='Three shifts are restructuring the market',
    headers=['Dimension', 'Before', 'After'],
    rows=[['Distribution', 'Offline-first', 'Digital-first'], ['Pricing', 'Cost-plus', 'Value-based']],
    insights=['Digital channels now drive 60% of acquisition', 'Value pricing unlocks about 3x margin'])
eng.closing(title='Thank you')
eng.save('deck.pptx')

All 62 layout methods

Signatures: python -m mck_ppt layouts, or docs/GALLERY.md.

Guard rails enforced in code

• No connectors (they trigger PowerPoint repair prompts); lines are thin rectangles.
• Shadows, 3D and p:style are stripped after save.
• Same-row shapes keep the same font size; text never touches separator lines.
• Circular charts use native BLOCK_ARC, 3-4 shapes instead of thousands of rectangles.
• Every CJK run gets an East Asian font.

Full list: docs/ARCHITECTURE.md.

Known limitations (read before you rely on it)

• Gate is not a visual review. It misses some problems, for example a long title that wraps onto the subtitle. Render the deck and look at it.
• Layout methods use fixed text boxes. Long text overflows; some layouts are sparse (for instance big_number).
• Preview needs LibreOffice. scripts/render_preview.py uses LibreOffice and poppler. Install KaiTi and Arial for faithful output; without KaiTi the text falls back to another font and wrapping changes.
• Not supported: SmartArt, animations, slide masters.
• Layout QA is not clean yet. python run_qa_tests.py still reports layout errors on several layouts; they are tracked for v2.4.x.
• AI cover image needs a Tencent Cloud key and extra dependencies (pip install ...[cover-image]).

FAQ

Does it open in WPS and Keynote? The file uses standard shapes and charts. We test mainly in PowerPoint and LibreOffice; please open an issue if you see differences.

Chinese text looks different from the screenshots. The default East Asian font is KaiTi. If it is not installed, your viewer substitutes another font. Install KaiTi, or change the font in mck_ppt/constants.py.

Can I change the colors? Yes. Palette constants are in mck_ppt/constants.py.

Do I need an API key? No, except for the optional AI cover image.

Roadmap

• python -m mck_ppt demo, layouts, pip install from GitHub
• Free-composition example with native charts
• Publish to PyPI (pip install mck-ppt)
• Render-and-check step in the gate (catch text overlapping other shapes)
• Native chart helpers in the engine (clustered, stacked, waterfall)
• Theme switch (navy / graphite / warm)
• Import an existing .pptx and restyle it

Want something? Request a layout · Show a deck you built

Community

• Made a deck with it? Show it. Good ones get featured here.
• Bug or broken layout? Open an issue with the layout name, a 5-line repro and a screenshot.
• Chat: Discord · WeChat group (200+ members): add Kashinmoto
• Contribute: see CONTRIBUTING.md