# Make Slides

> Builds a conference talk deck (Beamer or Marp markdown) from a paper draft - problem-first narrative, one claim per slide, figures reused straight from the paper's LaTeX source, sized to the real slot (12-20 minute full talk vs 5-minute lightning). Use when the user asks to make slides, build a presentation or talk deck for an accepted paper, turn a paper into a talk, prepare a conference present…

- **Type:** Skill
- **Install:** `agentstack add skill-shaishavmaisuria-research-paper-lifecycle-skills-make-slides`
- **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior
- **Seller:** [ShaishavMaisuria](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/shaishavmaisuria)
- **Installs:** 0
- **Category:** [Communication](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/communication)
- **Latest version:** 0.1.0
- **License:** Apache-2.0
- **Upstream author:** [ShaishavMaisuria](https://github.com/ShaishavMaisuria)
- **Source:** https://github.com/ShaishavMaisuria/research-paper-lifecycle-skills/tree/main/skills/make-slides
- **Website:** https://shaishavmaisuria.github.io/research-paper-lifecycle-skills/

## Install

```sh
agentstack add skill-shaishavmaisuria-research-paper-lifecycle-skills-make-slides
```

Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent.

## About

# Make Slides

Turn an accepted (or nearly-done) paper into a conference talk deck —
Beamer `.tex` or Marp markdown — built around a problem-first story, one
claim per slide, the paper's own figures, and a slide count the slot can
actually afford. The deck is the deliverable; the timed word-by-word
script and Q&A drill are separate skills (`write-talk-script`,
`rehearse-qa`).

## When to use

- The paper got accepted and a talk slot is coming: build the deck.
- The user has a slot length ("12 minutes plus 3 Q&A", "5-minute
  lightning") and needs a deck that fits it.
- An existing deck is overlong, text-heavy, or paper-shaped and needs to
  be cut down to a talk.

Related skills: `write-talk-script` (timed speaker script for the deck),
`rehearse-qa` (hostile/curious Q&A drill), `make-poster` (poster +
2-min/5-min pitches), `study-exemplars` (how strong papers at the venue
frame contributions), `verify-citations` (gate for any reference that
appears on a slide).

## Inputs

- The paper's main `.tex` file (preferred — figures are harvested from
  source) or the PDF plus the figure files.
- The slot length and Q&A split, from the venue's **presenter
  instructions or acceptance email**. This is the one fact the skill
  cannot look up: venue profiles do not encode talk slots (they change
  year to year and per track). If the user does not know it, stop and ask
  — see [references/venue-timing.md](references/venue-timing.md).
- Optional: `venues/conferences/.yml` for venue context (name, track,
  live URLs). Re-verify anything taken from a profile against the live
  `cfp_url` / venue site before the user relies on it.
- Output format choice: Beamer (LaTeX toolchain, vector figures reused
  as-is) or Marp (markdown, fast iteration, figures must be PNG/SVG).
  Decision guide: [references/deck-formats.md](references/deck-formats.md).

## Process

### 1. Pin down the slot, then budget the deck

Confirm slot minutes and Q&A minutes with the user (ask; never assert a
slot length from memory or from a venue profile — typical shapes and the
verification checklist are in
[references/venue-timing.md](references/venue-timing.md)). Then run, from
the repo root:

```
python3 skills/make-slides/scripts/slide_budget.py --minutes  --qa  \
    [--format auto|full|lightning] [--venue-profile venues/conferences/.yml] [--json]
```

It prints the content-slide target (~1 slide per speaking minute, hard max
1.25x) and a problem-first section allocation (minutes + slides per
section) in the full-talk shape (12-20 min) or the lightning shape
( [--strict] [--json]
```

Deterministic checks: pacing vs the slot, overfull slides (>100 words is
a document, not a slide), bullet overload, generic non-claim titles,
missing image files, Marp-unrenderable PDF images, tiny Beamer fonts.
Fix every RISK and re-run until RISK-free; resolve pacing by cutting or
merging slides, never by planning to talk faster.

### 6. Verify it builds, then hand off

Compile the deck if the toolchain is available (`latexmk -pdf` for
Beamer, `marp` CLI for Marp — commands in
[references/deck-formats.md](references/deck-formats.md)); otherwise say
explicitly that it was not compiled. Deliver the deck, the figure
inventory, and the lint report, and point the user at `write-talk-script`
to time the narration and `rehearse-qa` before the session. Remind them
to re-check slot length, room aspect ratio, and any pre-recording
requirement against the venue's presenter instructions.

## Output

- `talk/slides.md` (Marp) or `talk/slides.tex` (Beamer) — RISK-free under
  `deck_lint.py` for the stated speaking time, with speaker-note stubs
  and backup slides.
- `talk/assets/` — the paper figures the deck uses, harvested by
  `extract_figures.py` (converted for Marp).
- The slide budget and figure inventory as the paper trail for what was
  cut and why.

## Guardrails

- Never invent results, numbers, or comparisons for a slide; every figure
  and number traces to the paper or the user. Pending results get an
  explicit `[RESULT]` placeholder, flagged in the handoff.
- Never fabricate citations on slides; anything cited goes through
  `verify-citations`.
- Never assert slot lengths, room formats, or recording rules from memory
  or from a venue profile — presenter instructions and the acceptance
  email are ground truth; label anything unconfirmed as UNVERIFIED.
- Never bundle or paste another paper's slides or text as a template;
  exemplar study happens transiently via `study-exemplars`.
- Never upload or submit the deck anywhere on the user's behalf.

## Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

- **Author:** [ShaishavMaisuria](https://github.com/ShaishavMaisuria)
- **Source:** [ShaishavMaisuria/research-paper-lifecycle-skills](https://github.com/ShaishavMaisuria/research-paper-lifecycle-skills)
- **License:** Apache-2.0
- **Homepage:** https://shaishavmaisuria.github.io/research-paper-lifecycle-skills/

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.

## Pricing

- **Free** — Free

## Security capabilities

Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access:

- **Network access:** no
- **Filesystem access:** no
- **Shell / process execution:** no
- **Environment & secrets:** no
- **Dynamic code execution:** no

*"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.*


## Versions

- **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source.

## Links

- Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-shaishavmaisuria-research-paper-lifecycle-skills-make-slides
- Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/shaishavmaisuria
- Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse

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