SlideDown

Write Markdown. Get Beautiful Slides.
Convert .md files into professionally-designed .pptx presentations.
Opens natively in Keynote, PowerPoint, and Google Slides.

Quick Start • Themes • Syntax • Examples • Claude Skill

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

hljs language-bash

npm install -g pptxgenjs

Convert

hljs language-bash

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

Midnight Aurora Noir

Neon Corporate Rosé

Minimal Ocean Brutalist

Custom Themes

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

Option A: Create a theme JSON manually

hljs language-json

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

hljs language-bash

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:

hljs language-bash

# 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:

hljs language-markdown

# 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!")

hljs language-ini


### 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

hljs language-graphql

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

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.

Made with ❤️ for developers who present

slidedown

SlideDown

Why SlideDown?

Quick Start

Install

Convert

Open

Themes

Dark Themes

Light Themes

Custom Themes

Option A: Create a theme JSON manually

Option B: Extract from an existing PPTX

Markdown Syntax

Claude Skill

Install as Skill

Usage in Claude

Project Structure

Design Principles

Roadmap

Contributing

License

Similar Packages

Tags

Original Author

Publisher