slidedown

Why SlideDown?

Most presentation tools force you to choose: developer-friendly (Marp, Slidev) or design-quality (Canva, Gamma). SlideDown bridges that gap.

Markdown-native — write content, not wrestle with UI
6 professional themes — designed, not default
One command — no config files, no build steps
Keynote-compatible — .pptx opens natively on Mac
Git-friendly — your slides are just .md files
Smart layouts — auto-detects titles, quotes, tables, code blocks

Quick Start

Install

npm install -g pptxgenjs

Convert

node scripts/md2pptx.js your-talk.md your-talk.pptx midnight

Open

Double-click the .pptx file. It opens in:

Apple Keynote (Mac/iPad)
Microsoft PowerPoint (Windows/Mac/Web)
Google Slides (import)
LibreOffice Impress (Linux)

Themes

16 professionally-designed themes + custom theme support:

Dark Themes

| Theme | Vibe | Best For | |-------|------|----------| | midnight | Navy + indigo | Tech talks, product launches | | aurora | Purple-teal gradient | Conferences, creative talks | | sunset | Warm orange-amber | Startups, pitch decks | | forest | Deep green tones | Finance, sustainability | | noir | True black + white | Cinematic, premium | | neon | Dark + neon cyan | Futuristic, tech demos | | ocean | Deep blue to teal | Marine, trustworthy | | cherry | Deep cherry red | Bold, confident |

Light Themes

| Theme | Vibe | Best For | |-------|------|----------| | minimal | Clean off-white | Academic, corporate | | brutalist | Bold yellow + black | Manifestos, bold statements | | corporate | Navy on white | Professional, enterprise | | rose | Soft pink + rose | Modern, elegant | | terracotta | Warm earth tones | Organic, crafted | | lavender | Soft purple tones | Calm, creative | | paper | Warm parchment | Classic, literary | | sage | Muted green | Calm, balanced |

Custom Themes

Bring your own brand! Two ways to use custom themes:

Option A: Create a theme JSON manually

{
  "name": "My Brand",
  "bg": "FFFFFF",
  "text": "2D3748",
  "heading": "1A202C",
  "accent": "E53E3E",
  "headingFont": "Arial Black",
  "bodyFont": "Arial"
}

node scripts/md2pptx.js talk.md talk.pptx --theme-file brand.json

Option B: Extract from an existing PPTX

Already have a company template? Extract its colors and fonts automatically:

# Extract theme from any .pptx file
node scripts/extract-theme.js company-template.pptx -o brand.json -n "Acme Corp"

# Use it with SlideDown
node scripts/md2pptx.js talk.md talk.pptx --theme-file brand.json

The extractor reads the PPTX's color scheme (dk1, lt1, accent1-6), font pairs, and background — then generates a complete SlideDown theme.

See examples/custom-theme.json for the full format.

Markdown Syntax

SlideDown uses standard Markdown with a few conventions:

# Presentation Title
## Optional subtitle

---

## Slide Heading

Regular paragraph text with **bold** and *italic*.

- Bullet point one
- Bullet point two
- Bullet point three

---

## A Quote Slide

> This is a highlighted quote that stands out visually.

---

## Data Table

| Metric | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|--------|-----|-----|-----|
| Revenue | $2M | $3M | $4.5M |
| Users | 10K | 25K | 50K |

---

## Code Example

```python
def hello():
    print("Hello, SlideDown!")


### Syntax Reference

| Markdown | Slide Behavior |
|----------|---------------|
| `# Title` | Title/hero slide (centered, large) |
| `---` | New slide separator |
| `## Heading` | Slide heading |
| `> Quote` | Highlighted quote with accent border |
| `- Item` | Styled bullet point |
| `\| Table \|` | Auto-styled data table |
| ` ```lang ``` ` | Code block with dark background |
| `![alt](url)` | Embedded image |
| `<!-- notes: -->` | Speaker notes |
| `**bold**` | Bold emphasis |
| `*italic*` | Italic text |

## Examples

### Slide Types

The converter auto-detects content type and applies the appropriate layout:

<p align="center">
  <img src="docs/screenshots/slide-1.jpg" alt="Title Slide" width="400" />
  <img src="docs/screenshots/slide-2.jpg" alt="Quote Slide" width="400" />
</p>
<p align="center">
  <img src="docs/screenshots/slide-3.jpg" alt="Content Slide" width="400" />
  <img src="docs/screenshots/slide-4.jpg" alt="Table Slide" width="400" />
</p>
<p align="center">
  <img src="docs/screenshots/slide-5.jpg" alt="Bullets Slide" width="400" />
  <img src="docs/screenshots/slide-6.jpg" alt="Code Slide" width="400" />
</p>

### Try It

```bash
# Clone this repo
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/slidedown.git
cd slidedown

# Install dependency
npm install -g pptxgenjs

# Convert the demo presentation
node scripts/md2pptx.js examples/demo.md my-slides.pptx midnight

# Try other themes
node scripts/md2pptx.js examples/demo.md my-slides.pptx neon
node scripts/md2pptx.js examples/demo.md my-slides.pptx rose

# List all available themes
node scripts/md2pptx.js --list-themes

# Use a custom theme
node scripts/md2pptx.js examples/demo.md my-slides.pptx --theme-file examples/custom-theme.json

# Extract theme from existing company PPTX
node scripts/extract-theme.js company-template.pptx -o brand.json -n "My Company"
node scripts/md2pptx.js examples/demo.md my-slides.pptx --theme-file brand.json

Claude Skill

SlideDown also works as a Claude Skill — install it in Claude Code or Claude.ai Projects to convert Markdown to slides directly from your AI workflow.

Install as Skill

Download slidedown.skill from Releases and add it to your Claude Code or Claude.ai Project.

Usage in Claude

Just ask:

"Convert this markdown into a presentation using the sunset theme"

"Make slides from my README.md with the midnight theme"

"Turn these notes into a keynote presentation"

Claude will automatically use the SlideDown skill to generate a .pptx file.

Project Structure

slidedown/
├── README.md              # This file
├── SKILL.md               # Claude Skill definition
├── LICENSE                 # MIT License
├── package.json            # npm metadata
├── scripts/
│   ├── md2pptx.js          # Main converter (Markdown → PPTX)
│   └── extract-theme.js    # Extract theme from existing PPTX
├── references/
│   └── themes.md           # Theme color/typography specs
├── examples/
│   ├── demo.md             # Sample presentation
│   ├── pitch-deck.md       # Pitch deck example
│   ├── tech-talk.md        # Tech talk example
│   └── custom-theme.json   # Custom theme example
└── docs/
    └── screenshots/        # Theme & slide previews

Design Principles

No boring slides — every slide has visual elements, never just text on white
Typography hierarchy — clear size/weight contrast between title, heading, body
Color discipline — 60/30/10 rule for background, content, and accent
Layout variety — different layouts for titles, quotes, tables, code
Breathing room — generous margins and spacing
Consistent motif — each theme has a signature visual pattern

Roadmap

[x] 16 built-in themes (dark + light)
[x] Custom theme via JSON file
[x] Extract theme from existing PPTX
[ ] Mermaid diagram support
[ ] LaTeX/KaTeX formulas
[ ] Two-column split layout ()
[ ] Image auto-download and embedding
[ ] Chart generation from table data
[ ] CLI npm package (npx slidedown talk.md)
[ ] Community theme marketplace

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Ideas for contributions:

New themes
Layout improvements
Markdown syntax extensions
Bug fixes and edge cases

License

MIT License — see LICENSE for details.

Installation

Kompatibilitaet

Beschreibung