Deckbuilder

[!IMPORTANT]
Deckbuilder is currently under active development and should NOT be considered production ready.

Create professional PowerPoint presentations from Markdown or JSON

Deckbuilder is a Python library, Command Line tool, and MCP server that generates PowerPoint presentations from structured content. Focus on your content - Deckbuilder handles the formatting and layout.

Create complete PowerPoint presentations from JSON or Markdown with YAML frontmatter in a single command.

- Advanced Formatting:bold,italic,___underline___,bold italic
- Language & Font updating: The ability to update the fonts and language of all slide objects using the command line tools using the CLI.
- Professional Tables: Custom styling with themes, colors, and precise dimension controls (column widths, row heights, table sizing).
- Supported Layouts: Progressive library of templates being added.

- Intelligent Layout Selection: Automatic layout recommendations based on content type
- Pattern-Based Architecture: Customize any layout with your own templates
- Rich Content Support: Tables, images, multi-column layouts with professional styling

- Automatic Image Fallbacks: Missing images? Deckbuilder generates professional placeholders automatically
- Smart Cropping: Face detection and intelligent composition for perfect image sizing
- Professional Filters: Business-appropriate styling with grayscale and other effects

- Professional Hierarchical Interface: Clean command structure (deckbuilder <command> <subcommand>)
- One-Command Setup:deckbuilder initcreates templates and configuration
- Context-Aware Paths: CLI args > env vars > current directory precedence
- Always Local Output: CLI outputs to current directory for predictable local development
- Global Arguments:-t/--template-folder,-l/--language,-f/--fontfor complete customisation
- Comprehensive Command Structure:

- deckbuilder template→ analyze, validate, document, enhance, list
- deckbuilder config→ show, languages, completion
- deckbuilder image→ generate, crop
- deckbuilder remap→ update existing PowerPoint files with language/font changes

# Initialize templates (one-time setup) This will create the default template and mapping JSON. deckbuilder init # Create presentation from markdown (outputs to current directory) deckbuilder create presentation.md # Use custom template folder (CLI arg overrides env vars) deckbuilder --template-folder /custom/templates create presentation.md # Create with custom language and font (supports both formats) deckbuilder create presentation.md --language "es-ES" --font "Arial" deckbuilder create presentation.md --language "Spanish (Spain)" --font "Times New Roman" # View supported languages deckbuilder config languages # Template management & intelligence deckbuilder template analyze default --verbose deckbuilder template validate default deckbuilder template list # Smart template recommendations available through MCP tools # Image generation with crop-first approach deckbuilder image generate 800 600 --filter grayscale deckbuilder image crop image.jpg 800 600 # Language and font remapping for existing PowerPoint files deckbuilder remap existing.pptx --language en-US --font Arial # View current configuration (shows path sources) deckbuilder config show # Get help deckbuilder --help

Add to your Claude Desktop configuration:

Option 1: Direct installation (recommended)

{ "mcpServers": { "deckbuilder": { "command": "deckbuilder-server", "env": { "DECK_TEMPLATE_FOLDER": "/Users/username/Documents/Deckbuilder/Templates", "DECK_TEMPLATE_NAME": "default", "DECK_OUTPUT_FOLDER": "/Users/username/Documents/Deckbuilder", "DECK_PROOFING_LANGUAGE": "en-AU", "DECK_DEFAULT_FONT": "Calibri" } } } }

- DECK_PROOFING_LANGUAGE: Set proofing language for spell-check and grammar (accepts both "en-AU" and "English (Australia)" formats)
- DECK_DEFAULT_FONT: Set default font family for all presentations
- Default Language: Australian English (en-AU) if not specified

--- layout: Title Slide --- # Deckbuilder Presentation ## Creating presentations with content-first intelligence --- layout: Four Columns title: Feature Comparison columns: - title: Performance content: "Fast processing with optimized algorithms" - title: Security content: "Enterprise-grade encryption and compliance" - title: Usability content: "Intuitive interface with minimal learning curve" - title: Cost content: "___Transparent___ pricing with proven ROI" --- --- layout: Picture with Caption title: Market Analysis media: image_path: "charts/revenue_growth.png" # Auto-fallback to PlaceKitten if missing alt_text: "Revenue growth chart" caption: "Q4 Revenue Growth - 23% increase" --- --- layout: Title and Content title: "Table Dimensions: Custom Column Widths" style: dark_blue_white_text row_style: alternating_light_gray border_style: thin_gray column_widths: [8, 6, 4, 5] row_height: 0.9 content: | Sales Performance Report with individual column width control: | Product Category | Q1 Sales | Q2 | Growth % | | Enterprise Software | $125,000 | $142,000 | +13.6% | | SaaS Solutions | $89,500 | $98,200 | +9.7% | | Cloud Services | $156,000 | $178,000 | +14.1% | | Mobile Apps | $67,300 | $73,800 | +9.7% | --- --- layout: Title and Content title: "Table Dimensions: Equal Column Distribution" style: light_blue_dark_text row_style: alternating_light_gray border_style: thin_gray table_width: 22 row_height: 0.9 content: | Team Performance Dashboard with equal column distribution: | Team Member | Projects | Completed | Success Rate | | Alice Johnson | 25 | 24 | 96% | | Bob Smith | 18 | 17 | 94% | | Carol Davis | 32 | 31 | 97% | | David Wilson | 21 | 20 | 95% |

{ "presentation": { "slides": [ { "type": "Title Slide", "title": "Deckbuilder Presentation", "subtitle": "Content-first presentation generation" }, { "type": "Title and Content", "title": "Key Benefits", "content": [ "Intelligent content analysis", "Semantic layout recommendations", "Professional template system" ] }, { "type": "Title and Content", "title": "Team Performance Dashboard", "table": { "column_widths": [6, 4, 5, 3], "row_height": 1.8, "data": [ ["Team Member", "Projects", "Completed", "Rate"], ["Alice Johnson", "25", "24", "96%"], ["Bob Smith", "18", "17", "94%"], ["Carol Davis", "32", "31", "97%"] ], "header_style": "dark_blue_white_text", "row_style": "alternating_light_gray", "border_style": "thin_gray" } } ] } }

from deckbuilder import Deckbuilder # Initialize engine db = Deckbuilder() # Create from markdown result = db.create_presentation_from_markdown( markdown_content=open("presentation.md").read(), fileName="My_Presentation" ) # Create from JSON result = db.create_presentation( json_data={"presentation": {"slides": [...]}}, fileName="JSON_Presentation" ) print(f"✅ Created: {result}")

Deckbuilder supports 20 proofing languages for spell-check and grammar. You can use either locale codes (en-AU) or full names (English (Australia)):

# View all supported languages (shows both formats) deckbuilder config languages

- English (United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia)
- Spanish (Spain, Mexico, Latin America)
- French (France, Canada)
- German (Germany, Austria, Switzerland)
- Italian, Portuguese (Brazil, Portugal)
- Chinese (Simplified, Traditional), Japanese, Korean
- Dutch, Russian, Arabic

# Set language and font globally (supports both formats) export DECK_PROOFING_LANGUAGE="en-AU" # Locale code format export DECK_PROOFING_LANGUAGE="English (Australia)" # Full name format export DECK_DEFAULT_FONT="Arial" # Or use CLI arguments (both formats work) deckbuilder create presentation.md --language "fr-CA" --font "Times New Roman" deckbuilder create presentation.md --language "French (Canada)" --font "Arial" # Check current settings (shows locale codes and descriptions) deckbuilder config show

Smart Image Fallback System- When images are missing or invalid, PlaceKitten automatically generates professional placeholders:

from placekitten import PlaceKitten pk = PlaceKitten() placeholder = (pk.generate(1920, 1080, image_id=1) .smart_crop(1920, 1080) .apply_filter("grayscale") .save("professional_placeholder.jpg"))

- ✅File Validation: Checks image existence, format, and accessibility
- ✅Professional Styling: Automatic grayscale filtering for business context
- ✅Smart Cropping: Computer vision-based cropping with face detection
- ✅Performance Optimized: Intelligent caching prevents duplicate processing
- ✅Seamless Integration: Zero user intervention required

- Content Analysis: Automatically analyzes your content to suggest the best layouts
- MCP Integration: Available through Claude Desktop with intelligent recommendations

- Better Image Sizing: Smart cropping ensures images fit perfectly without distortion
- Automatic Fallbacks: Professional placeholder images when your images are missing

- User Customization: Create custom layout patterns in{template_folder}/patterns/
- Dynamic Loading: All layouts now use flexible pattern files instead of hard-coded templates

Your Content (Markdown/JSON) ↓ ┌─────────────────────┐ │ Content Analysis │ ← Analyzes your content type and audience └─────────┬───────────┘ ↓ ┌─────────────────────┐ │ Template Selection │ ← Recommends best layouts for your content └─────────┬───────────┘ ↓ ┌─────────────────────┐ │ PowerPoint Engine │ ← Generates professional presentations └─────────┬───────────┘ ↓ Your Professional Presentation

- Title Slide- Opening slide with title and subtitle
- Title and Content- Rich text with headings, paragraphs, bullets
- Four Columns- Quad content areas with structured frontmatter
- Two Content- Side-by-side content areas
- Comparison- Left vs right comparison layout
- Table- Data tables with professional styling
- Section Header- Divider slides between topics
- Picture with Caption- Image-focused slides with smart fallbacks

🚧 Progressive Implementation (50+ Planned)

- Big Number displays, SWOT Analysis, Feature Matrix
- Timeline, Process Flow, Organizational Chart
- Dashboard, Metrics, Financial layouts
- And 40+ more business presentation layouts

SeeFeature Documentationfor detailed specifications.

git clone https://github.com/teknologika/deckbuilder.git cd deckbuilder python3 -m venv .venv source .venv/bin/activate # Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate pip install -e .[dev]

# Format code (required before commits) black --line-length 100 src/ # Check linting (required) flake8 src/ tests/ --max-line-length=100 --ignore=E203,W503,E501 # Run tests (required) pytest tests/

- Fork the repository
- Create feature branch:git checkout -b feature-name
- Follow code quality standards
- Add comprehensive tests
- Submit pull request with clear description

- Complete Documentation- Full documentation index
- Supported Templates- Complete layout library (26+ patterns)
- Deckbuilder Library- Python API reference and classes
- Command-Line Interface- CLI commands and usage examples
- MCP Server- Smart template recommendations and MCP tools
- PlaceKitten Library- Image processing with crop-first approach
- PlaceKitten Source- Technical implementation details

# Create templates folder deckbuilder init # Check configuration deckbuilder config

Apache License 2.0 - SeeLICENSEfile for details.

🚀 Get Started•📖 Documentation•🐛 Report Issues

Create high quality presentations using AI