| name | pptx-to-pdf |
| description | Convert PowerPoint decks to PDF with full visual fidelity (fonts, images, charts, theme, layout) by driving the real PowerPoint or LibreOffice engine. Use whenever the user asks to convert .pptx/.ppt to PDF, export slides or a deck as PDF, or 'turn this presentation into a PDF'. Triggers on /pptx-to-pdf, 'pptx to pdf', 'convert PowerPoint to PDF', 'export slides as PDF', 'save deck as PDF'. |
PPTX → PDF
Faithful PowerPoint → PDF conversion. Backed by scripts/convert-pptx-to-pdf.py, which
renders the deck through a real engine (not text extraction), so the PDF matches the
slides exactly — fonts, images, charts, SmartArt, theme, positioning.
When to use
- User wants a
.pptx/.ppt turned into a .pdf (single file or batch).
- User wants to share/print/archive a deck as a fixed-layout PDF.
Do not use the wiki-extract-pptx.py script for this — that pulls text out of a deck
for ingestion; it does not render slides.
Run it
uv run ~/.claude/scripts/convert-pptx-to-pdf.py "<abs path to deck.pptx>"
uv run ~/.claude/scripts/convert-pptx-to-pdf.py "<deck.pptx>" --output "<out.pdf>"
uv run ~/.claude/scripts/convert-pptx-to-pdf.py a.pptx b.pptx --outdir "<dir>"
uv run ~/.claude/scripts/convert-pptx-to-pdf.py "<deck.pptx>" --json
The script prints the absolute path of each produced PDF (one per line). Exit codes:
0 ok · 1 runtime/conversion error · 2 usage error. After converting, confirm the
PDF exists and report its path back to the user.
Engines (auto-detected)
--engine auto (default): PowerPoint if installed → else LibreOffice. PowerPoint is preferred because it honors PowerPoint's "shrink text on overflow" autofit; LibreOffice ignores autofit and can clip overflowing text boxes on export (verified 2026-06-04 — LibreOffice dropped the bottom of an autofit slide that PowerPoint rendered in full).- This machine has both PowerPoint (Office16) and LibreOffice installed, so
auto uses PowerPoint for full fidelity.
--engine libreoffice — force the free, fully-headless path (no PowerPoint session). Fine for decks that don't rely on autofit; risks clipping on dense slides.--engine powerpoint — force perfect fidelity.- No engine found → exit 1 with install hints.
Notes & limits
- PowerPoint path uses COM in the user's session; it only closes the deck it opened (never the user's other open decks) and leaves no orphaned process.
- A rendering engine must be present on the host (PowerPoint or LibreOffice).
- First run resolves wheels via
uv (~10–30s) and generates the PowerPoint type-library wrapper once; cached afterward.
- Self-check anytime:
uv run ~/.claude/scripts/convert-pptx-to-pdf.py --self-test (builds a 2-slide deck, converts, asserts a 2-page PDF, exits 0/1).
User-facing entry point
Slash command: /pptx-to-pdf <path-to-deck.pptx> (see commands/pptx-to-pdf.md) — same capability, user-invocable.
