Presentation Skill

Before running npm ci for the first time, or after any package.json change, run a Trivy scan on the lockfile:

trivy fs --scanners vuln,secret \
  --severity HIGH,CRITICAL \
  ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}

If Trivy reports HIGH or CRITICAL CVEs, invoke /security-review:security-review before proceeding.

If Trivy is not yet set up, invoke /security-review:trivy-scan.

Step 1 — Install Dependencies

Dependencies are local to this project — they do not install globally.

cd ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}

# Node dependencies (first time, or after package.json changes)
npm ci

# Python dependencies (uv manages Python + venv automatically)
uv sync

Verify the install:

npm run install-check
# Should print: deps ok

uv run python -m markitdown --help
# Should print markitdown usage

Step 2 — Run the Intake Questionnaire

Read PRESENTATION_STYLE.md now if you haven't already.

Work through the intake questionnaire with the user before writing any slide code. Do not proceed until all required questions are answered:

• Company template deck? (file path if yes)
• Internal or external presentation?
• Audience?
• Single thesis (one sentence)?
• Narrative arc?
• Talk length?
• 3–5 key ideas?
• Visuals already in mind?
• (External only) About Me, legal disclaimer, context-setting content?

Confirm the proposed narrative arc with the user before proceeding.

Step 3 — Derive Design System from Template (if provided)

If the user provided a company template deck, extract the brand's visual identity before generating any slides. If no template was provided, skip to Step 4 — the defaults in design_system.js will be used.

3a. Extract text and structure

cd ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}
uv run python -m markitdown <path-to-template>.pptx

Note the slide titles, ordering conventions, and any recurring text patterns (e.g. footer text, disclaimer wording).

3b. Convert template to images

cd ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}

# macOS with Microsoft PowerPoint:
osascript -e 'tell application "Microsoft PowerPoint" to save active presentation in POSIX file "/tmp/template.pdf" as save as PDF'
# macOS/Linux with LibreOffice:
soffice --headless --convert-to pdf --outdir /tmp <path-to-template>.pptx

rm -f /tmp/template-slide-*.jpg
pdftoppm -jpeg -r 150 /tmp/template.pdf /tmp/template-slide

3c. Inspect and extract brand elements

Read every template slide image. Identify:

• Color palette — primary, accent, background, and text colors (note hex values by visual inspection)
• Typography — title font, body font, and approximate sizes
• Layout patterns — how title slides, chapter breaks, and content slides are structured (margins, alignment, use of accent bars or shapes)
• Recurring elements — logos, footer bars, decorative shapes

3d. Update design_system.js

Edit PALETTE, FONTS, SIZE, and the slide helper functions in src/design_system.js to match the template's brand. Preserve the helper function signatures so build_deck.js remains compatible.

Step 4 — Generate the Deck

4a. Configure src/build_deck.js

Edit the CONFIG block at the top of src/build_deck.js:

const CONFIG = {
  title:    "<thesis from intake Q4>",
  author:   "Alexandros Bantis",
  fileName: "<topic-date>.pptx",   // e.g. "agentic-systems-2026-04.pptx"
};

4b. Design principles to follow while writing slide code

These come from PRESENTATION_STYLE.md — they are non-negotiable:

• No sentences on slides. Titles, short labels, stats, code, and visuals only.
• One idea per slide. If you can't decide which visual to use, the slide has two ideas — split it.
• Chapter-break slides are title-only. Use addChapterSlide() from design_system.js. Sparse by design.
• Every content slide needs a visual. Use addImagePlaceholder() with a detailed image brief if real images aren't available yet.
• External presentations must include: About Me slide, legal disclaimer slide, 2–4 context-setting slides before the problem statement.
• Vary layouts. Don't repeat the same column pattern more than twice in a row. Use stat callouts, two-column, full-bleed placeholder, and diagram slides to maintain visual rhythm.

4c. Build the deck

cd ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}
node src/build_deck.js
# Output: output/<filename>.pptx

Step 5 — QA Loop

Assume there are problems. Your job is to find them.

5a. Content check

cd ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}
uv run python -m markitdown output/<filename>.pptx

Check: correct slide order, no missing titles, no leftover placeholder text, thesis present in title and conclusion.

5b. Visual check — convert to images

cd ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}

# Convert .pptx to PDF
# macOS with Microsoft PowerPoint installed:
osascript -e 'tell application "Microsoft PowerPoint" to save active presentation in POSIX file "/tmp/deck.pdf" as save as PDF'
# macOS/Linux with LibreOffice:
soffice --headless --convert-to pdf --outdir output output/<filename>.pptx

rm -f slide-*.jpg
pdftoppm -jpeg -r 120 output/<filename>.pdf slide

ls -1 "$PWD"/slide-*.jpg

Inspect every slide image. Look for:

• Text overflow or cutoff at box boundaries
• Overlapping elements
• Placeholder boxes too close to text
• Inconsistent margins (< 0.5" from edges)
• Low-contrast text or icons
• Accent lines under titles (anti-pattern — remove immediately)

5c. Fix and re-verify

After any fix:

1. Re-run node src/build_deck.js
2. Re-run the soffice + pdftoppm commands (must regenerate PDF before images reflect changes)
3. Re-inspect only the affected slides

Do not declare success until at least one full fix-and-verify cycle completes with no new issues found.

Step 6 — Deliver

# The .pptx is in output/ — present it to the user
ls ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/output/

If the user wants the file uploaded to Google Drive, use the gws CLI or the Google Drive API. That workflow is outside this skill's scope — hand off the file path.

Reference

• Design principles: PRESENTATION_STYLE.md (this directory)
• Dependencies and external links: references/dependencies.md