/utility-slideshow-creator

name: utility-slideshow-creator
description: Generates professional presentations from a JSON deck specification using 18 slide types with dark/light variants, content-to-layout decision logic, and calibrated character limits. Ships with a default professional theme.
license: Apache-2.0
metadata:
  classification: utility
  version: "1.0.1"
  updated: 2026-06-10
  category: communication
  frameworks:
    - pptxgenjs
  author: product-on-purpose

<!-- PM-Skills | https://github.com/product-on-purpose/pm-skills | Apache 2.0 -->

Slideshow Creator

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 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`

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

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

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 va