slidesmith 0.4.5

An on-device MCP server that converts Markdown to pixel-perfect slide decks

Slidesmith MCP Server

An on-device Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that converts Markdown content into pixel-perfect slide decks with Tailwind/React components and print-ready PDFs. Built for AI-powered presentation creation with zero network dependencies.

🚀 Quick Start

Installation

# Install via uv (recommended - fastest)
uv tool install slidesmith

# Or via pipx
pipx install slidesmith

# Or via pip
pip install slidesmith

First-time Setup

# Install required browsers and templates
slidesmith setup

# Start the MCP server
slidesmith serve

Using with Claude Code

# Add to Claude Code (recommended - always uses latest version)
claude mcp add slidesmith -s project -- uvx slidesmith serve

# Alternative: Use specific version
claude mcp add slidesmith -s project -- uvx slidesmith@0.2.2 serve

# Legacy: Use pipx (if uv not available)
claude mcp add slidesmith -s project -- pipx run --spec slidesmith slidesmith serve

# Verify connection
claude --debug

Important: Using uvx (or pipx run) ensures Claude Code always fetches the latest version from PyPI on restart. This is the recommended approach for MCP servers to ensure you're always running the most recent updates. uvx is preferred over pipx run due to its superior performance.

✨ Features

• 🏠 Local-first: No Docker, no network I/O, no telemetry
• 🤖 AI-optimized: Designed for Claude Code to create professional presentations
• ⚡ Fast builds: Sub-second deck generation with Python renderer
• 🎨 Token-based theming: Easy brand customization via JSON
• ✅ Quality gates: Automated linting ensures pixel-perfect output
• 📄 Export ready: Generate print-quality PDFs with embedded fonts
• 🖼️ Rich components: Charts, timelines, metrics, and more
• 🔒 Fully offline: All assets bundled, no CDN dependencies

📚 MCP Tools

Deck Management

• list_templates - List available slide templates
• init_deck - Initialize a new slide deck (minimal, no auto-content)
• cleanup - Clean up deck workspace

Slide Management (v0.4.0+)

• add_slide - Add a new slide to the deck
• update_slide - Update an existing slide's content
• list_slides - List all slides with summaries
• remove_slide - Remove a slide and renumber
• reorder_slides - Reorder slides in the deck

Component Discovery (v0.4.0+)

• list_components - List all available components with descriptions
• get_component_doc - Get detailed component documentation
• preview_component - Preview component with sample data

Template Configuration (v0.4.0+)

• configure_template_defaults - Set default template behavior
• set_slide_template - Set template and display options per slide

Dynamic Content (v0.4.0+)

• generate_chart_data - Generate properly formatted chart data
• create_data_visualization - Create metrics/timeline visualizations
• compute_metrics - Perform calculations for displays
• generate_timeline - Generate timeline from events
• embed_asset - Embed images, icons, logos, diagrams

Theming

• theme_base - Get base theme tokens for a template
• apply_tokens - Apply custom theme tokens to a deck

Building & Export

• html_preview - Generate HTML preview of deck
• pdf_export - Export deck to print-ready PDF
• snapshot - Generate PNG screenshots of slides

Quality & Utilities

• slide_lint - Check slides for quality issues
• get_version - Get current Slidesmith version
• svg_icon - Get SVG icons from offline library

🎯 Example Usage

v0.4.0+ Workflow - Claude Does the Work

# 1. Initialize an empty deck
"Create a new deck using the markov-pro template"

# 2. Claude writes all the slides
"Add a title slide for TechVision AI startup pitch"
"Add a slide with our problem statement and market size"
"Create a slide showing our solution with a 3-column layout"
"Add a metrics slide showing 200% YoY growth with a bar chart"
"Create a team slide with photos and bios"

# 3. Fine-tune and export
"Update slide 4 to use a line chart instead"
"Apply a blue color scheme with Montserrat font"
"Export to PDF for investors"

Key Difference from Earlier Versions

• v0.3.x and earlier: SlideSmith auto-generated content and made layout decisions
• v0.4.0+: Claude explicitly creates every slide and component - full control

📦 What's Included

Templates

• markov-pro: Professional business template
• minimal: Clean, minimalist design
• tech: Modern tech presentation style

Components

• SlideBase - Standard slide container (1920x1080)
• Header/Footer - Consistent branding elements
• BarChart/PieChart - Data visualization
• Timeline - Event sequences
• MetricSection - KPI displays
• CardGrid - Feature showcases
• ImpactBox - Highlighted metrics
• And many more...

Example Decks

• Startup Pitch (10 slides) - Series B investor deck
• Product Demo (15 slides) - Feature showcase
• Company Overview (20 slides) - Corporate presentation

📝 Slide Format (v0.2.0+)

Slidesmith uses Markdown with a custom component syntax:

---
slide: 1
template: title
---

# My Presentation

## Subtitle Here

:::speaker-notes
These are my speaker notes
:::

Components

:::card title="Feature Card" icon=rocket color=blue
This is the card content
:::

:::columns ratio=2:1
Left column content

Right column content
:::

:::chart type=bar
labels: ['Q1', 'Q2', 'Q3', 'Q4']
data: [100, 200, 150, 300]
:::

See MIGRATION_GUIDE.md for converting from MDX format.

🛠️ Development

Setup Development Environment

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/markov/slidesmith.git
cd slidesmith

# Create virtual environment
python -m venv slidesmith-env
source slidesmith-env/bin/activate

# Install in development mode
pip install -e ".[dev]"

# Install Node dependencies
npm install

# Run tests
pytest

Project Structure

slidesmith/
├── slidesmith/          # Python MCP server
│   ├── tools/          # MCP tool implementations
│   ├── models.py       # Pydantic models
│   └── server.py       # FastMCP server
├── scripts/            # Node.js build scripts
├── templates/          # Slide templates
├── examples/           # Example presentations
└── tests/             # Test suite

🧪 Testing

# Run all tests
pytest

# Run with coverage
pytest --cov=slidesmith --cov-report=html

# Run specific test category
pytest tests/test_tools_unit.py -v

📋 Requirements

• Python 3.11+
• Node.js 18+
• macOS, Linux, or Windows
• 500MB free disk space

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

🔗 Links

• Documentation
• PyPI Package
• GitHub Repository
• Issue Tracker

🙏 Acknowledgments

Built with:

• FastMCP - MCP framework
• Playwright - Browser automation
• MDX - Markdown + JSX
• Tailwind CSS - Styling
• esbuild - Bundling

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Made with ❤️ for the MCP community