Presentation Builder

Presentation Builder

Parent skill that handles intake, environment detection, routing, and asset repository management for the presentation family.

Companion Skills

• presentation-narrative — Outline generation, storytelling structure, slide sequencing
• presentation-datavis — Charts, data visualization, data-driven slides
• presentation-diagrams — Architecture diagrams, flowcharts, system visuals
• presentation-styling — Templates, branding, colour palettes, typography
• presentation-renderer — Final assembly, PPTX/HTML export, format conversion

1. Hard Rules

1. Never fabricate data. When data is missing, insert [PLACEHOLDER: description of needed data].
2. All output goes to <project>/.presentations/output/ (or ./presentations/output/ if no project root is detected).
3. Always generate a slide outline for user approval BEFORE building the full deck. No exceptions.
4. Offline-first. Never assume internet connectivity. Check the capability map first.
5. Deterministic renderers for diagrams and charts. Use Mermaid, Graphviz, matplotlib, or similar. AI image generation is permitted only for cover art and illustrations.
6. Action titles, not topic titles. Every slide title states the takeaway. One idea per slide.

2. Environment Detection

Runs once per session and caches the result as the capability map.

Detection Commands

Capability Map

Produces a JSON object conforming to capability-map-schema.md (see Reference Files). Example:

{
  "python_pptx": true,
  "marp_cli": false,
  "mmdc": true,
  "java": false,
  "powershell": false,
  "graphviz": true,
  "image_gen": "vertex-banana",
  "matplotlib": true,
  "internet": false,
  "timestamp": "2026-03-27T10:00:00Z"
}

Auto-Install Offer

If critical tools are missing but installable, offer to install them:

• pip install python-pptx matplotlib
• npm install -g @marp-team/marp-cli
• npm install -g @mermaid-js/mermaid-cli

Always ask the user before installing anything.

Gap Detection

Before routing to a child skill:

1. Verify target exists (check ~/.claude/skills/<path>)
2. If missing: follow gap-detection protocol at ~/.claude/skills/research-for-skills/gap-detection.md
3. If exists: invoke with context

3. Intake Process

Adapted from the GROW framework. Gather these four inputs before routing.

Goal

What are you presenting? Classify the presentation type:

• Status update
• Architecture decision / review
• Sales pitch / proposal
• Problem statement / proposal
• Project kickoff
• Retrospective
• Steering committee briefing
• Custom / other

Audience

Who sees this? Select the audience profile:

• Executive (C-suite, senior leadership)
• Technical (engineers, architects)
• Client / external stakeholder
• Mixed (technical + non-technical)
• Banking / regulatory

Reference audience-profiles.md for tone, depth, and terminology guidance per profile.

Context

Where does the content come from?

• Existing project artifacts: Read PROJECT.md, problem statements, design docs, user-provided documents
• Standalone topic: User describes the subject; no existing artifacts

Format

What output format?

• PPTX — PowerPoint file (requires python-pptx or Java)
• HTML — Marp-based HTML slides (requires Marp CLI)
• Both — Generate both formats

If the user does not specify, auto-select based on the capability map (prefer PPTX if python-pptx is available).

4. Routing Table

After intake is complete, route to the appropriate companion skill.

Multiple skills may be invoked in sequence or parallel depending on the request (see Orchestration Flow).

5. Asset Repository Management

Assets are resolved from a layered structure. Project-local overrides global.

Global Assets

~/.claude/skills/presentation-builder/assets/
  templates/       # Base slide templates
  logos/            # Reusable logos
  palettes/         # Colour palettes (JSON)
  tone-profiles/    # Writing tone definitions

Project-Local Assets

<project>/.presentations/
  templates/       # Project-specific templates
  logos/            # Project / client logos
  palettes/         # Project colour palettes
  tone-profiles/    # Project tone overrides
  output/           # Generated presentations

Resolution Order

1. Check <project>/.presentations/<asset-type>/ first
2. Fall back to ~/.claude/skills/presentation-builder/assets/<asset-type>/
3. Merge: project-local values override global values for matching keys

First-Use Setup

On first invocation in a project, create the .presentations/ directory structure:

mkdir -p .presentations/{templates,logos,palettes,tone-profiles,output}

The parent skill resolves the merged asset context before routing to any companion skill.

6. Orchestration Flow

The standard end-to-end flow for building a presentation:

1. Environment scan --> capability map (cached)
2. Intake --> goal, audience, context, format
3. Route to presentation-narrative --> slide outline generated
4. User approves outline (HARD RULE #3)
5. Dispatch in parallel:
   - presentation-diagrams (architecture/flow visuals)
   - presentation-datavis (charts/data slides)
   - presentation-styling (template, branding, layout)
6. All visuals complete --> presentation-renderer assembles final output
7. Output files written to .presentations/output/

Steps 5a, 5b, and 5c run in parallel when independent. The renderer waits for all upstream assets before assembly.

7. When NOT to Use This Skill

8. Reference Files

• ~/.claude/skills/presentation-builder/references/narrative-flows.md — Narrative arc templates and slide sequencing patterns
• ~/.claude/skills/presentation-builder/references/audience-profiles.md — Audience-specific tone, depth, and terminology guidance
• ~/.claude/skills/presentation-builder/references/capability-map-schema.md — JSON schema for the environment capability map

Anti-Patterns