| name | sg-optimize |
| effort | low |
| description | Run quality analysis and automated improvement on drafted slide content. Use when you have drafted slides and want to improve quality, optimize readability, or get quality scoring before finalizing. |
| argument-hint | <presentation.md> [--output path] |
| allowed-tools | Bash, Read, Glob, Grep |
Slide Generator: Optimize Step
Run quality analysis and automated improvement on drafted slide content. Uses Claude with extended thinking (budget_tokens=4096, temperature=1.0) to score and improve content across 5 dimensions: readability, tone consistency, structure, redundancy, and citation quality.
Pre-loaded Context
Working directory:
!pwd
Available presentation files:
!ls -la *.md 2>/dev/null | grep -i pres || echo "No presentation files found"
Prerequisites
- Preflight:
sg --version must succeed before proceeding — if sg is missing, stop and tell the user this requires the private davistroy/slide-generator engine (owner-only; see ADR-0008)
slide-generator package installedANTHROPIC_API_KEY set in environment- A
presentation.md file from the draft step
Input Validation
Required:
<presentation.md> - Path to presentation markdown file
Optional:
--output <path> - Explicit output file path. If omitted, the sg engine chooses the output location itself — this is not documented in this repository (the engine lives in the private davistroy/slide-generator repo, ADR-0008/D23); run sg optimize --help to confirm current behavior before relying on it.
Instructions
- Verify input: Confirm the presentation markdown exists and contains slide content
- Run optimization:
sg optimize presentation.md
- Verify output: Confirm optimized file was created
- Report results: Show quality scores (before/after if available), improvements made
How It Works
The optimize step uses:
- Extended thinking: budget_tokens=4096 for deep analysis (temperature=1.0 required)
- 5-dimension scoring: Readability, tone, structure, redundancy, citations
- Representative sampling: For decks >15 slides, samples representative slides rather than processing all
- Batched optimization: Large decks optimized in batches with quality verification
- Assistant prefill: Forces structured JSON output for consistent scoring
Error Handling
| Error | Cause | Fix |
|---|
File not found | Wrong path | Check file path |
No slides detected | Malformed markdown | Verify presentation.md has proper slide markers |
Token limit exceeded | Very large deck | Set SG_OPTIMIZE_MAX_TOKENS=32768 or reduce slide count |
Output
The optimize step produces an improved presentation markdown file — at the --output path if given, otherwise wherever the sg engine defaults to (unconfirmed here; see sg optimize --help) — with:
- Improved readability (shorter sentences, clearer language)
- Consistent tone across all slides
- Reduced redundancy between slides
- Better structural flow and transitions
- Quality score summary
Next Step
After optimization completes, run graphics validation:
sg validate-graphics presentation.md
Or use /sg-validate-graphics to continue the pipeline.
