# PowerPoint Decks

Create, read and edit .pptx and .potx presentation files.

- Repository: https://github.com/anthropics/skills (186321 stars)
- Category: Documents
- License: see repository
- Last updated: 2026-10-28
- Runs scripts: yes, review before use

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add anthropics/skills --skill pptx -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add anthropics/skills --skill pptx -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add anthropics/skills --skill pptx -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add anthropics/skills --skill pptx -g -a gemini-cli -y`
Claude Code plugin marketplace: `/plugin marketplace add anthropics/skills`

## Description

Use this skill any time a .pptx or .potx file is involved in any way, as input, output, or both. This includes: creating slide decks, pitch decks, or presentations; reading, parsing, or extracting text from any .pptx or .potx file (even if the extracted content will be used elsewhere, like in an email or summary); editing, modifying, or updating existing presentations; combining or splitting slide files; working with templates (.potx), layouts, speaker notes, or comments. Trigger whenever the user mentions \"deck,\" \"slides,\" \"presentation,\" or references a .pptx or .potx filename, regardless of what they plan to do with the content afterward. If a .pptx or .potx file needs to be opened, created, or touched, use this skill.

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

# PPTX creation, editing, and analysis

A `.pptx` is a ZIP archive of XML files. Choose your approach by task:

| Task | Approach |
|---|---|
| **Create** a new deck | Write a `pptxgenjs` script, see gotchas below |
| **Edit** an existing deck, or build from a template | unzip → edit `ppt/slides/slideN.xml` → zip |
| **Read** content | `markitdown deck.pptx` (one block per slide under `<!-- Slide number: N -->` markers); visual grid: `python scripts/thumbnail.py deck.pptx` |

## Scripts

Paths are relative to this skill's directory. Everything else is plain Python, `node`, or shell.

| Script | What it does |
|---|---|
| `scripts/thumbnail.py deck.pptx [prefix]` | Labeled grid of every slide, for picking template layouts. `.pptx` only. Pass `prefix`, it defaults to `thumbnails`, which overwrites the grids of any other deck done in the same directory |
| `scripts/add_slide.py unpacked/ slide2.xml [--after slideN.xml]` | Duplicate a slide (or a `slideLayoutN.xml`) with all the package bookkeeping. Also takes a `.pptx` directly with `-o out.pptx` |
| `scripts/clean.py unpacked/` | Delete slides, media, and rels no longer referenced. Run **after** `<p:sldIdLst>` is final |
| `scripts/office/validate.py deck.pptx [--original src.pptx]` | Schema, relationship, content-type, chart and slide checks; each failure names its fix. Pass `--original` for any template-derived deck, it baselines the schema checks against the template, so the template's own XSD errors don't read as yours |
| `scripts/office/soffice.py --headless --convert-to pdf deck.pptx` | LibreOffice wrapper, bare `soffice` hangs in this sandbox |

## Creating with pptxgenjs, gotchas

`pptxgenjs` is preinstalled, do not run `npm install` first; write the script and `require('pptxgenjs')` directly. Only if that require fails: `npm install pptxgenjs`. The model knows the API; these are the footguns:

The rest: https://github.com/anthropics/skills/blob/HEAD/skills/pptx/SKILL.md