Pptx Author

Step 2 — Author (pptx-author)

Write the deck as markdown where every slide names the exact template layout it should land on, using [HINT: layout_name]. This is the bridge between "I know my template's layouts" (Step 1) and "render the deck" (Step 3).

  STEP 1 — PROFILE          STEP 2 — AUTHOR           STEP 3 — RENDER
  pptx-profile              pptx-author               pptx-from-layouts
  ───────────────           ───────────────           ─────────────────
  your-template.pptx        slides.md (+ [HINT:])     slides.md + config
        │                         │                         │
        ▼                         ▼                         ▼
   catalog.py  ──catalog.md──▶  write & lint  ──slides──▶  generate.py ─▶ deck.pptx
        └────────────────── config.json ───────────────────▲   (validated)

You are here: Step 2. You need the layout-catalog.md from Step 1 (or use the bundled Inner Chapter layouts). Output is a slides.md the renderer consumes.

The contract

1. Slides are separated by ---. Each begins with a title and (optionally) a

hint.

1. # Slide N: Title or ## Title — the title. Make it a claim, not a

label ("Three briefs, one foundation" — not "Overview").

1. [HINT: layout_name] — names a real layout from the Step-1 catalog. Copy

the value verbatim from the catalog's Hint column. The engine fills that layout's actual placeholders.

1. Content matches the layout:

• column-* / grid-* layouts → [Column N: Header] blocks (or **Header**
• body lines).
• image-bearing layouts → [Image: path/to.jpg].
• tabular data → a markdown table.
• everything else → - bullets (the last resort, not the reflex).

Hints vs. Visual types — when to use which

| You have… | Author with | Why | |-----------|-------------|-----| | A profiled template + its catalog | [HINT: real-layout-name] | Precise: targets the exact layout. The "creating" path. | | No catalog / unsure of layouts | **Visual: type** (e.g. process-4-phase) | Semantic: the engine auto-picks a layout for that intent. |

[HINT:] always wins if both are present. A hint that doesn't match the template is ignored with a warning and falls back to auto-detection — so lint first.

Lint before you render

python scripts/lint_hints.py slides.md --config your-template-config.json
# or, against the Step-1 markdown catalog:
python scripts/lint_hints.py slides.md --catalog your-template-layout-catalog.md
# no flag → validates against the bundled Inner Chapter template

The linter flags, per slide: P0 unknown hint (with a "did you mean…?" suggestion — this will mis-render), P1 missing title, P2 bullets mixed with a table. Exit code 2 means fix-and-re-run.

Example

# Slide 1: Personas that respond like real humans

[HINT: title-cover]

### Inner Chapter

---

# Slide 2: Three outcomes the research must achieve

[HINT: column-3-centered-a]

[Column 1: Level-set the teams]
- Confirm what's known about each athlete

[Column 2: Capture room content]
- In-home video, voice clips, phone recordings

[Column 3: Deliver for leadership]
- A visceral understanding for senior stakeholders

---

# Slide 3: Why personas are the hard part

[HINT: content-image-right-a]

[Image: assets/persona-diagram.png]

- No world model — pattern-matching only
- Bias toward agreeableness — more positive than real consumers

Typography markers (inline)

| Marker | Result | | Marker | Result | |--------|--------|-|--------|--------| | {bold}text{/bold} | Bold | | {bullet:-} | Dash bullet | | {italic}text{/italic} | Italic | | {bullet:1} | Numbered | | {blue}text{/blue} | Brand color | | {level:N} | Indent level |

Then what

Hand slides.md (plus the template + config) to Step 3 — pptx-from-layouts:

python ../pptx-from-layouts/scripts/generate.py slides.md -o deck.pptx \
    --template your-template.pptx --config your-template-config.json --validate

For turning raw notes/source docs into a hint-tagged slides.md automatically, the pptx-outline-architect subagent does the heavy lifting.

Source & license

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

• Author: tristan-mcinnis
• Source: tristan-mcinnis/pptx-from-layouts-skill
• License: MIT

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