/officecli-pptx

name: officecli-pptx
description: "Use this skill any time a .pptx file is involved -- as input, output, or both. This includes: creating slide decks, pitch decks, or presentations; reading, parsing, or extracting text from any .pptx file; 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', 'pitch', or references a .pptx filename."

OfficeCLI PPTX Skill

Setup

If `officecli` is missing:

• **macOS / Linux**: `curl -fsSL https://d.officecli.ai/install.sh | bash`
• **Windows (PowerShell)**: `irm https://d.officecli.ai/install.ps1 | iex`

Verify with `officecli --version` (open a new terminal if PATH hasn't picked up). If install fails, download a binary from https://github.com/iOfficeAI/OfficeCLI/releases.

⚠️ Help-First Rule

**This skill teaches what good slides look like, not every command flag. When a property name, enum value, or alias is uncertain, consult help BEFORE guessing.**

officecli help pptx                         # List all pptx elements
officecli help pptx <element>               # Full element schema (e.g. shape, chart, animation, connector, zoom, group, background)
officecli help pptx <verb> <element>        # Verb-scoped (e.g. add shape, set slide)
officecli help pptx <element> --json        # Machine-readable schema

Help reflects the installed CLI version. When skill and help disagree, **help is authoritative**. Triggers to run help immediately: `UNSUPPORTED props:` warning, unknown animation preset, `connector.shape=` enum drifts, prop-vs-alias (`lineWidth` vs `line.width`, `color` vs `font.color`).

Shell & Execution Discipline

**Shell quoting (zsh / bash).** ALWAYS quote element paths (`"/slide[1]/..."`) — zsh globs unquoted `[1]` to `no matches found`. Escapes happen at two layers; the CLI handles one for you:

1. **Shell.** `$` in a value still belongs to the shell — single-quote the whole value: `--prop text='$15M'`. Double-quoted `"$15M"` gets expanded to `M`. The CLI does NOT unescape `\$` for you. 2. **CLI (`text=`).** The two-char escapes `\n` and `\t` ARE interpreted, consistently across pptx / docx / xlsx — `\n` is a line / paragraph break, `\t` is a tab. To produce a literal backslash-n in text, double it (`\\n`); this is rarely what you want. 3. **JSON (batch).** Real newlines / tabs can also be passed as `"\n"` / `"\t"` inside a `<<'EOF'` heredoc; both forms produce the same result.

If in doubt, `view text` after writing and compare character-for-character.

**Incremental execution.** One command → check exit code → continue. A 50-command script that fails at command 3 cascades silently. After any structural op (new slide, chart, animation, connector) run `get` before stacking more.

Requirements for Outputs

These are the deliverable standards every deck MUST meet. Violating any one = not done, regardless of content quality.

All decks

**One idea per slide.** If a slide needs a second title to explain what it covers, split it. Dense "everything about X" slides lose the audience inside 3 seconds. Use a section divider to group related one-idea slides, not a mega-slide.

**Explicit type hierarchy — do NOT rely on theme defaults.** Theme defaults drift between masters. Set sizes explicitly on every text shape.

| Element | Minimum | Typical | Min shape height | |---|---|---|---| | Slide title | **≥ 36pt** bold | 36–44pt | ≥ 2cm | | Section / subtitle | ≥ 20pt | 20–24pt | ≥ 1.2cm | | Body text | **≥ 18pt** | 18–22pt | ≥ 1cm | | Caption / axis label | ≥ 10pt muted | 10–12pt | ≥ 0.6cm |

Rule of thumb: **min shape height ≈ font_pt × 0.05cm**. An 18pt sublabel in a 0.8cm-tall box will overflow — `view annotated` catches this.

Title must be **≥ 2× body size** (36pt over 20pt works; 28pt over 20pt looks timid). Four legit exceptions to body ≥ 18pt: chart axis labels, legends, footer / page number, and ≤ 5-word KPI sublabels (e.g. "Active users"). Descriptive sentences must be ≥ 18pt. Left-align body; center only titles and hero numbers. If "the cards won't fit", drop cards instead of shrinking font.

**Two fonts max, one palette.** One heading font + one body font (e.g. Georgia + Calibri) — a third *display* face is fine only for big numerals or the cover title, as long as that heading+body pair stays intact. One dominant brand color (60–70% weight) + one supporting + one accent. Never mix 4+ colors in body content. **The palettes and font pairings in Design Principles are a floor, not a menu:** if the user gave brand colors/fonts or an existing template, match those first; otherwise the named sets are calibrated seeds — blend or diverge freely, as long as the result isn't *worse* than them and still clears the contrast floor.

**Every slide carries a non-text visual — one that informs.** Shape, chart, icon, gradient band that carries meaning, not decoration. A bullet-only deck is interchangeable with a Word doc. Exceptions: literal quote slides, code blocks, a single summary-table slide.

**Less is more — every element earns its place.** The visual rule above guards against bullet-walls; it is not licence to clutter. Don't pad with decorative stats, icons, or filler sections that don't inform ("data slop"). If a slide feels empty, fix it with layout and whitespace, not invented content — cut scope rather than bulk it up, and flag a larger addition instead of making it unprompted.

**Speaker notes on every content slide.** `--type notes --prop text="..."`. The speaker needs a script; the audience shouldn't read the slide verbatim.

**Copy reads human, not AI.** Titles orient on content, not punchline. No "It's not X. It's Y.", no manufactured tension, no faux-insight ("The magic moment"), no one-word drama ("Momentum."). Cut hype adjectives (seamless, robust, game-changing) — let the number carry it.

**Preserve existing templates.** When a file alrea