Google Slides

Google Slides

Uses the gog CLI for basic operations and scripts/slides.py for advanced edits (adding/editing slide content via the Slides API).

Auth Check

Before any Slides operation, verify auth is working:

gog slides info <any-presentation-id> --account david@hml.tech

If it fails, re-auth: gog auth add david@hml.tech --services gmail,calendar,drive,docs,sheets,contacts,tasks,people

Core Commands (via gog)

# Create a new blank presentation
gog slides create "My Presentation" --account david@hml.tech --json

# Get info about a presentation (slide count, title, etc.)
gog slides info <presentationId> --account david@hml.tech --json

# Export to PDF
gog slides export <presentationId> --format pdf --out /tmp/deck.pdf --account david@hml.tech

# Export to PPTX
gog slides export <presentationId> --format pptx --out /tmp/deck.pptx --account david@hml.tech

# Copy a presentation (e.g., to use a template)
gog slides copy <presentationId> "Copy Title" --account david@hml.tech --json

Adding/Editing Slide Content (via scripts/slides.py)

For adding text slides, batch updates, and reading full content, use scripts/slides.py.

# Add a text slide with title and bullet body
python3 scripts/slides.py add-slide <presentationId> \
  --title "Slide Title" \
  --body "• Bullet point one\n• Bullet point two"

# Add a slide at a specific position (0-indexed)
python3 scripts/slides.py add-slide <presentationId> --title "Intro" --insert-at 0

# Run arbitrary batch update requests from a JSON file
python3 scripts/slides.py batch <presentationId> requests.json

# Export via script
python3 scripts/slides.py export <presentationId> --format pdf --out /tmp/deck.pdf

# List comments with their anchors (e.g. which slide they are on)
python3 scripts/slides.py list-comments <presentationId>

# Resolve a comment and optionally leave a reply message
python3 scripts/slides.py resolve-comment <presentationId> <commentId> --reply "Fixed!"

Building a Deck from Scratch

Typical workflow:

1. Create presentation: gog slides create "Title" --json → get presentationId
2. Add slides one by one using scripts/slides.py add-slide
3. For rich content (images, shapes, formatting), write batch requests to a JSON file and run scripts/slides.py batch
4. Export: gog slides export <id> --format pdf --out /tmp/deck.pdf

For complex batch requests (images, shapes, text formatting), see references/batch_requests.md.

Getting Presentation ID

From a Google Slides URL: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/**<presentationId>**/edit

Notes

• gog slides uses the Drive API under the hood (no separate Slides scope needed)
• scripts/slides.py uses the Google Slides API directly and requires working gog auth tokens
• Set GOG_ACCOUNT=david@hml.tech in env to skip --account flag