brycewang-stanford Marp Export Skill
Export existing Marp markdown files to PDF (default), HTML, PPTX, or PNG.
Quick Reference
# PDF (default) — requires Chrome/Chromium
npx @marp-team/marp-cli INPUT.md -o OUTPUT.pdf --theme-set ~/.claude/skills/marp-slides-creator/themes/ --allow-local-files --html
# HTML
npx @marp-team/marp-cli INPUT.md -o OUTPUT.html --theme-set ~/.claude/skills/marp-slides-creator/themes/ --html
# PPTX (editable, requires LibreOffice)
npx @marp-team/marp-cli INPUT.md -o OUTPUT.pptx --pptx-editable --theme-set ~/.claude/skills/marp-slides-creator/themes/ --allow-local-files
# PNG sequence
npx @marp-team/marp-cli INPUT.md --images png -o OUTPUT_DIR/ --theme-set ~/.claude/skills/marp-slides-creator/themes/
Workflow
Step 1: Locate Input File
Find the Marp markdown file. It must contain marp: true in YAML frontmatter.
# Verify it's a Marp file
head -5 INPUT.md # should show "marp: true"
Step 2: Theme Directory
Themes are stored in the marp-slides-creator skill:
THEME_DIR="$HOME/.claude/skills/marp-slides-creator/themes/"
Always use --theme-set "$THEME_DIR/" in all export commands.
Step 3: Detect Chrome/Chromium (for PDF/PPTX)
PDF and PPTX export require a Chrome/Chromium browser. Marp-cli auto-detects, but if it fails:
# macOS Chrome paths (check in order)
/Applications/Google\ Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google\ Chrome --version
/Applications/Chromium.app/Contents/MacOS/Chromium --version
/Applications/Microsoft\ Edge.app/Contents/MacOS/Microsoft\ Edge --version
# Set CHROME_PATH if auto-detection fails
export CHROME_PATH="/Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google Chrome"
If no browser found, fall back to HTML export and inform the user.
Step 4: Export
Default format is PDF. User can specify otherwise.
Output naming convention:
- Same directory as input file
- Same base name, different extension
- Example:
presentation.md→presentation.pdf
PDF export:
npx @marp-team/marp-cli INPUT.md \
-o OUTPUT.pdf \
--theme-set ~/.claude/skills/marp-slides-creator/themes/ \
--allow-local-files \
--html
HTML export:
npx @marp-team/marp-cli INPUT.md \
-o OUTPUT.html \
--theme-set ~/.claude/skills/marp-slides-creator/themes/ \
--html
Both PDF + HTML:
# Run sequentially
npx @marp-team/marp-cli INPUT.md -o OUTPUT.pdf --theme-set ~/.claude/skills/marp-slides-creator/themes/ --allow-local-files --html
npx @marp-team/marp-cli INPUT.md -o OUTPUT.html --theme-set ~/.claude/skills/marp-slides-creator/themes/ --html
Step 5: Verify & Report
# Check output exists and show file size
ls -lh OUTPUT.pdf OUTPUT.html 2>/dev/null
Report to user:
- Output file path(s)
- File size(s)
- Format(s) generated
- Any warnings from marp-cli
Key Flags Reference
| Flag | Purpose | When to use |
|---|---|---|
--theme-set DIR/ |
Load custom themes | When custom .css themes exist |
--allow-local-files |
Allow local images | PDF/PPTX with local assets |
--html |
Enable HTML tags in markdown | Always recommended |
--pptx-editable |
Editable PPTX output | PPTX format (needs LibreOffice) |
--images png |
Export as PNG sequence | PNG format |
--pdf-notes |
Include speaker notes in PDF | When notes are present |
--pdf-outlines |
Add bookmarks to PDF | For long presentations |
Error Handling
| Error | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
Chrome/Chromium not found |
No browser for PDF | Set CHROME_PATH or fall back to HTML |
theme not found |
Missing theme CSS | Check --theme-set path, use built-in theme |
Could not find an input |
Bad file path | Verify path and marp: true frontmatter |
| Blank/empty PDF | HTML tags without --html | Add --html flag |
Examples
# Export current project's slides to PDF
npx @marp-team/marp-cli slides_project/05_final/presentation.md \
-o slides_project/05_final/slides.pdf \
--theme-set ~/.claude/skills/marp-slides-creator/themes/ \
--allow-local-files --html
# Quick HTML export (no Chrome needed)
npx @marp-team/marp-cli my-talk.md -o my-talk.html --html
# Batch export all .md files in a directory
for f in slides/*.md; do
npx @marp-team/marp-cli "$f" -o "${f%.md}.pdf" --allow-local-files --html
done