Last verified
PPTX Skill
ListedRead slide content and generate PowerPoint presentations directly from Claude Code
When it triggers
Use when creating or extracting content from PowerPoint presentations
"An outline goes in, a 20-slide deck comes out. I design from there, not from scratch."
What is the PPTX Skill?
The PPTX Skill is an Anthropic-built Claude Code skill that reads and creates Microsoft PowerPoint files. It extracts slide text, titles, and speaker notes from existing presentations and generates new .pptx files from outlines, which makes it a practical design and creative automation tool for content-heavy presentation work.
How does it work?
The skill uses a bundled OOXML library to parse and write the .pptx format. For reading, it walks the slide collection and extracts text runs from each shape, grouped by slide number with speaker notes appended. For generation, it takes a structured outline (from Claude or supplied by you), creates slide objects using a base theme, and writes the presentation to disk.
For multi-format workflows, the PPTX skill pairs with the PDF skill for extracting source material and the DOCX skill for producing written companion documents alongside a presentation.
When should you use it?
Use the PPTX skill when you need a content draft for a presentation quickly: converting a report, a meeting agenda, or a written proposal into slides. It also works for extracting presentation content for repurposing. The resulting .pptx files are standard Office Open XML and open correctly in PowerPoint, Keynote, and Google Slides.
Frequently asked questions
Can the PPTX skill create a presentation from an outline I describe?
Yes. Provide a slide-by-slide outline (title, bullet points, and optional speaker notes per slide) and the skill writes a .pptx file using a built-in default theme. For branded presentations, supply a template .pptx with your theme applied and the skill will use that theme's slide layouts.
Does the PPTX skill extract speaker notes along with slide text?
Yes. When reading a .pptx file, the skill extracts both visible slide content and the speaker notes for each slide. This makes it practical to repurpose presentation content into blog posts, documents, or study guides without manual transcription.
What design control does the PPTX skill offer for generated slides?
The skill controls content (text, bullet structure, speaker notes) but not visual design beyond the applied theme. Font choices and color schemes stay with the theme. For brand-specific visuals, treat the generated .pptx as a content draft and apply your design system in PowerPoint or Google Slides afterward.