deck

name	deck
origin	adapted from https://github.com/scunning1975/MixtapeTools
targets	["claude","opencode","antigravity"]
description	Create or edit a Beamer slide deck. Use when the user asks to build, write, or edit a presentation or slide deck.

Deck

Build or edit a Beamer presentation following the Rhetoric of Decks principles.

---

Step 1: Read the Knowledge Base

Open and read the rhetoric.md file co-located with this skill (same folder as this SKILL.md) before doing anything else. It contains the rhetoric principles, slide architecture standards, and LaTeX style template that govern all decks. Use it as your benchmark throughout.

---

Step 2: Triage

Answer these three questions before touching any file:

Q1: New deck or editing existing?

• If editing: read the .tex file(s) first. Understand the existing palette, structure, and style before changing anything.
• If new: proceed to Q2.

Q2: Who is the audience?

Audience	Implications
Academic seminar	Maximum sparsity. One idea per slide, no exceptions. Titles carry the full argument. Appendix heavy.
Teaching lecture	Clarity over compression. Repetition is welcome. Progressive revelation — build up formally step by step. Check prerequisite chain.
Co-authors / working deck	More detail is acceptable. Document choices explicitly. Preserve uncertainty where it exists.
External / non-academic	Storytelling and visual impact over technical precision. Minimal jargon. Lead with the human stakes.

If unclear, ask the user before proceeding.

Q3: What is the tone?

• Default: use the Hamburg / Konstanz palette (Konstanz Seeblau + Hamburg red) and Metropolis theme from rhetoric.md
• If a different palette is explicitly requested, establish it before starting

---

File Naming

New decks get a descriptive, lowercase filename — no spaces, no generic names like deck.tex or slides.tex.

Format: topic_audience.tex

Example	Why it works
did_estimation_seminar.tex	Topic + audience in the name
macro_intro_lecture_03.tex	Course lecture with sequence number
chapter1_coauthor.tex	Working deck tied to a paper chapter
labor_supply_defense.tex	Defense/job talk clearly marked

If the project only has one deck, a short topic name is enough (parental_jobloss.tex). Add the audience suffix when there are multiple decks or when the audience materially changes the content.

The compile loop and open command use whatever filename is chosen — never hardcode deck.tex.

---

Step 3: Build or Edit

Follow the rhetoric principles in rhetoric.md throughout. Key constraints that are non-negotiable:

• One idea per slide
• Titles are assertions, not labels — read titles in sequence: does the argument come through?
• Lead with conclusions, support with evidence (Pyramid Principle)
• No bullets unless items are genuinely parallel
• Figures readable from the back of the room
• Consider whether a Devil's Advocate slide is appropriate (see rhetoric.md)

---

Step 4: Compile Loop

After every edit, run:

pdflatex -interaction=nonstopmode <filename>.tex 2>&1 | grep "Overfull" | grep -v "hyperref\|beamer"

Then check fatal errors:

grep "^!" <filename>.log

Fix all fatal errors before anything else.

For overflow warnings, apply the thresholds from rhetoric.md. Zero fatal errors required before distributing.

If the deck uses TikZ: before finalising, run the /tikz skill on each figure — it performs the label-collision, whitespace, and edge-clipping checks; don't re-derive them inline here.

---

Step 5: Figures

When the deck needs data visualisations:

1. Write an R script (generate_figures.R) using ggplot2, or a Python script using matplotlib
2. Use the same colour palette as the LaTeX deck, following the one-accent-with-tints rule in rhetoric.md: white background, series separated by the Seeblau tint ladder (not multiple hues), textures only beyond four series; Hamburg red reserved for semantic emphasis
3. Save figures as PDF to a figures/ subdirectory
4. Every figure: one message, direct labels, title states the finding
5. Always save the script — never generate a figure without preserving the code that created it

---

Step 6: Open and Review

open <filename>.pdf

Read all titles in sequence. Do they tell the argument? If not, fix the titles before anything else.