| name | theme-authoring |
| scope | co-deck |
| version | 1.0.1 |
| description | Entry point for creating a new co-deck theme or style. PM dispatches the appropriate workflow (Style Workflow or T-Stage) based on user request. Responds to: "create a new theme", "add a new style", "make a dark theme", "create a dark style", "add zen theme".
|
| status | active |
| owner | pm |
| last_reviewed | "2026-06-21T00:00:00.000Z" |
| prerequisites | pm |
Context
co-deck uses a two-layer system: Theme (HTML structure + rendering paradigm) and Style (CSS variable set). Authoring either requires a dedicated pipeline separate from the 11-Stage lecture production pipeline.
- Theme =
docs/html-themes/themes/<name>/ โ template.html + theme.json + pdf_layout_spec.json
- Style =
docs/html-themes/styles/<name>/ โ style.css + pdf_color_spec.json
- Registry:
docs/html-themes/THEMES.md โ must be updated after every addition
- Preview:
docs/html-themes/preview/preview.html?theme=X&style=Y
When to Use
| User says | Route |
|---|
| "create a new style", "add dark style", "add style variant" | Style Workflow |
| "create a new theme", "add zen variant", "new theme" | T-Stage (Theme Workflow) |
Style Workflow (lightweight, 3 steps)
Trigger: User requests a new visual style variant โ changes color, font, or spacing only.
Step S-1: PM โ collect style spec
Ask the user:
- Style name (kebab-case, e.g.,
dark-premium)
- Visual characteristics: background color, accent color, font, spacing intent
- Target audience / lecture type (used for THEMES.md "Best For" annotation)
Step S-2: PM dispatches Design
Design agent authors two files in docs/html-themes/styles/<name>/:
style.css:
- CSS variable overrides only โ no DOM structure changes
- Must define all required CSS variables from
docs/html-themes/base/base.css
- No hardcoded color or font values anywhere except in the variable declarations
pdf_color_spec.json:
- 12 role-based RGB color keys matching the CSS variables (see
THEMES.md schema)
- Keys:
background, card_dark through card_dark4, text_primary through text_meta, accent, border, white
- Used by
gen-slides-pdf.ts as Layer 2 in the 3-layer PDF merge
Step S-3: PM โ preview + approval + registration
- Provide preview link:
docs/html-themes/preview/preview.html?theme=pitch-enhanced&style=<name>
- Wait for user approval
- On approval:
- Add row to THEMES.md Styles table (include
pdf_color_spec.json path column)
- Update Compatibility Matrix in THEMES.md
- Add style name to
compatible_styles in each compatible theme's theme.json
- Update
docs/lecture-profile.md style options comment
T-Stage Pipeline (Theme Workflow, 5 steps)
Trigger: User requests a new HTML rendering paradigm โ a new theme changes the DOM skeleton, navigation, and TOC structure.
T-0: PM โ collect theme spec
Ask the user:
- Theme name (kebab-case, e.g.,
magazine, card-deck)
- Rendering paradigm: how are slides displayed? (scrollable, stacked, carousel, gridโฆ)
- Navigation: how does the user move between slides?
- TOC required? (yes / no)
- Which existing styles should be compatible?
T-1: PM dispatches html-build
html-build authors docs/html-themes/themes/<name>/template.html:
- Full HTML skeleton with
<!-- INJECT:CSS -->, <!-- INJECT:slideData -->, <!-- INJECT:slides --> placeholders
- Implements navigation JS (TOC, keyboard, buttons as appropriate)
- Implements renderSlide stub that html-build will fill during lecture production
- Must respect theme boundary: no CSS visual values โ CSS variables only
Also authors docs/html-themes/themes/<name>/pdf_layout_spec.json:
page: dimensions (default 338.7ร190.5mm 16:9; margin_mm: 0.0 for full-bleed themes)calibration.viewport_px: measure via Playwright (bun scripts/co-deck/measure-layout.ts) against template.html; set null if Playwright not available (px-based sizes will fall back to defaults)layout: all element position/size percentages derived from the HTML layoutfonts: title_pt, bullet_pt (mandatory); theme-specific sizes (e.g., punchline_pt for pitch-enhanced)slide_types: which slide types this theme uses (title, divider, punchline, standard)
T-2: PM dispatches design
design authors docs/html-themes/themes/<name>/theme.json:
{
"name": "<name>",
"version": "1.0.0",
"description": "...",
"rendering": { "paradigm": "...", "navigation": "...", "progress_indicator": "..." },
"content_rules": {
"max_bullets_per_slide": N,
"max_title_chars": N,
"recommended_slide_count": "X-Y",
"slide_type_usage": {
"standard": "All content slides (mandatory)",
"punchline": "Last content slide only โ single-statement message (โค1 line, no bullets)",
"divider": "Chapter/part boundaries only",
"profile": "Speaker intro only",
"title": "First slide (cover) only",
"contact": "Final slide only"
},
"notes": "..."
},
"compatible_styles": ["classic", "minimal"],
"incompatible_styles": [],
"toc_required": true|false,
"css_base": "docs/html-themes/styles/base.css"
}
T-3: PM dispatches storyline
storyline reviews and authors:
- content_rules validation: are
max_bullets, max_title_chars, and recommended_slide_count realistic for actual lecture production?
- recommended_structure: authors the
recommended_structure field in theme.json:
"recommended_structure": {
"pattern": "Cover โ [Part Divider โ 8-12 Content โ Summary] ร N โ Contact",
"audience_fit": ["practitioner", "graduate"],
"notes": "..."
}
- THEMES.md Best For: provides audience fit annotation for the Styles table
T-4: PM โ preview + approval + registration
- Provide preview link:
docs/html-themes/preview/preview.html?theme=<name>&style=classic
- Wait for user approval
- On approval:
- Add row to THEMES.md Themes table
- Update Compatibility Matrix in THEMES.md
- Add theme's
compatible_styles to each style's information in THEMES.md
- Update
docs/lecture-profile.md theme options comment
- Update
agents/html-build.md โ Available themes list
Registration Gate: After scaffolding, run bun scripts/co-deck/verify-new-theme.ts <name> to validate the theme passes all 5 checks: (1) structural validation, (2) manifest freshness, (3) THEMES.md marker consistency, (4) fixture HTML build + extraction round-trip, (5) PDF generation. Use --fast to skip checks 4โ5 during iterative development. Use --style <name> to test with a specific style (default: classic). Use --json for machine-readable output. Registration is blocked until the gate exits 0.
Execution Steps
Style Workflow (3 steps)
- S-1 (PM): Collect style name + visual characteristics from user (see Style Workflow section above)
- S-2 (design): Author
docs/html-themes/styles/<name>/style.css (CSS variable overrides) + pdf_color_spec.json (12 role-based RGB keys)
- S-3 (PM): Provide preview link โ user approval โ register in THEMES.md + update compatible_styles in theme.json files
T-Stage / Theme Workflow (5 steps)
- T-0 (PM): Collect theme name + rendering paradigm from user (see T-Stage Pipeline section above)
- T-1 (html-build): Author
template.html (HTML skeleton + navigation JS) + pdf_layout_spec.json (geometry, layout percentages, slide_types)
- T-2 (design): Author
theme.json โ content_rules + compatible_styles + slide_types
- T-3 (storyline): Validate content_rules + author
recommended_structure field in theme.json
- T-4 (PM): Provide preview link โ user approval โ register in THEMES.md + update all affected files
Output Format
Style Workflow outputs:
docs/html-themes/styles/<name>/style.css โ CSS variable override filedocs/html-themes/styles/<name>/pdf_color_spec.json โ 12 role-based RGB color keys- Updated
docs/html-themes/THEMES.md โ new row in Styles table + updated Compatibility Matrix
Theme Workflow outputs:
docs/html-themes/themes/<name>/template.html โ HTML skeletondocs/html-themes/themes/<name>/theme.json โ metadata + content_rules + recommended_structure + slide_typesdocs/html-themes/themes/<name>/pdf_layout_spec.json โ page geometry + layout percentages + font sizes + slide_types- Updated
docs/html-themes/THEMES.md โ new row in Themes table + updated Compatibility Matrix
Constraints
- PM is sole entry point: user says "create theme/style" โ PM routes to this workflow. Never invoke Design or html-build directly.
- Style workflow does NOT touch DOM: style.css must contain only CSS variable declarations
- T-Stage requires user approval (T-4) before THEMES.md registration โ do not register without approval
- THEMES.md must be updated atomically: theme row + compatibility matrix + lecture-profile comment in one step
- preview.html is the validation gate: PM must provide the preview link and confirm the user has viewed it before registering
Related Skills
html-build โ T-1 agent for template.html authoringdesign โ T-2/S-2 agent for theme.json and style.css authoringstoryline โ T-3 agent for content_rules validation and recommended_structure
Related Files
docs/html-themes/THEMES.md โ authoritative registrydocs/html-themes/preview/preview.html โ preview tooldocs/html-themes/base/base.css โ shared CSS variable foundationdocs/html-themes/themes/pitch-enhanced/ โ reference theme (PPT-engine hybrid)docs/html-themes/themes/zen/ โ reference theme (fullscreen stacked)
