creating-md-slides

name	creating-md-slides
description	Use when creating presentation slides, converting markdown to PDF/PPTX/HTML, or asked about Marp, Beamer, or reveal.js. Triggers on mentions of slides, presentations, decks, or requests to generate visual presentations from content.

Creating Markdown Slides

Convert Markdown to presentation slides in multiple formats (PDF, PPTX, HTML).

Workflow

digraph workflow {
    "Content request" -> "Write slides.md";
    "Write slides.md" -> "Run SlideGauge";
    "Run SlideGauge" -> "Fix issues (if any)";
    "Fix issues (if any)" -> "User reviews";
    "User reviews" -> "Ask: Ready to convert?";
    "Ask: Ready to convert?" -> "Convert to output format";
}

1. Generate markdown content based on user's request
2. Write to .md file (e.g., slides.md)
3. Run quality check (Marp slides only):

   uvx --from git+https://github.com/nibzard/slidegauge slidegauge slides.md --text
   

4. Fix any failing slides (score < 70) before proceeding
5. Tell user: "Created slides.md (score: X/100). Review and edit if needed."
6. Ask before converting: "Ready to convert to PDF/PPTX/HTML?"
7. Convert using appropriate tool

Quality thresholds: 70 = passing, 80 = good, 90+ = excellent. See marp-slide-quality skill for fix patterns.

Tool Selection

Scenario	Tool	Command
Modern slides, quick output	Marp	marp slides.md -o slides.pdf
Academic, math-heavy	Pandoc Beamer	pandoc slides.md -t beamer -o slides.pdf
Editable PowerPoint	Pandoc PPTX	pandoc slides.md -o slides.pptx
Web presentation	reveal.js	pandoc slides.md -t revealjs -s -o slides.html

Quick Commands

Marp (Recommended)

marp slides.md -o slides.pdf           # PDF
marp slides.md -o slides.pptx          # PowerPoint
marp slides.md -o slides.html          # HTML
marp slides.md --theme gaia -o out.pdf # With theme
marp slides.md -o out.pdf --allow-local-files  # With local images

Pandoc Beamer

pandoc slides.md -t beamer -o slides.pdf
pandoc slides.md -t beamer --pdf-engine=xelatex -o slides.pdf  # Better fonts
pandoc slides.md -t beamer -V theme:metropolis -o slides.pdf   # With theme

reveal.js

pandoc slides.md -t revealjs -s -o slides.html
pandoc slides.md -t revealjs -s -V theme=moon -o slides.html

Markdown Formats

Marp Format

---
marp: true
theme: default
paginate: true
---

# Slide Title

Content here

---

# Next Slide

- Bullet points
- More content

Pandoc/Beamer Format

---
title: Presentation Title
author: Author Name
---

# Section Title

## Slide Title

- Content
- More content

---

## Another Slide

Content continues

Audience Customization

Audience	Approach
manager	Executive summary, key metrics, recommendations
developer	Code examples, technical details
learner	Step-by-step, progressive complexity
general	Balanced, accessible language

Visual Styles

Style	Marp Theme	Use Case
professional	gaia	Corporate, structured
minimal	default	Clean, whitespace
academic	Beamer metropolis	Formal, math-friendly

Content Density

Length	Slides	Bullets/slide
brief	5-8	3-4
standard	10-15	4-6
detailed	20+	5-8

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
CJK characters broken	Use --pdf-engine=xelatex with CJK font
Images not loading (Marp)	Add --allow-local-files
Math not rendering	Add --mathjax for reveal.js