Artifact Deck

artifact-deck

OUTPUT CONTRACT

Produces ONE .html file. A slide deck is multi-slide by definition; all slides live inside the same file and are switched by JavaScript (arrow keys, click on the chrome, hash routing). NEVER one file per slide. NEVER a .md outline.

File extension is .html. File name typically <topic>-deck.html.

A single-file slide deck. Navigate with arrow keys, click the dots, or drag the URL hash. The reader can jump straight to slide N via #/N. The deck is presentation-mode by default — chrome stays minimal, content sits center-screen.

Read artifact-css/SKILL.md first for the full OUTPUT CONTRACT, design tokens, and class vocabulary. This skill uses no jQuery — slide nav is ~30 lines of vanilla JS.

When to reach for this skill

• User says "make me a deck for X", "Friday demo slides", "kickoff deck", "exec readout", "lightning talk".
• User has 5-15 short ideas they want to walk a viewer through in order.
• User wants something they can present in a meeting without firing up Keynote / Google Slides.

If they want a one-page summary, use artifact-report. If they want a clickable mockup with hotspots, use artifact-flow. If they want a long narrative, use artifact-explainer.

Anatomy of a deck

Built from four element types. Use them in order.

1. Header bar — fixed-position chrome at top with: deck title, current slide number / total, optional progress bar. Stays visible across all slides.
2. Slide container — a <section class="slide" id="s-N"> per slide. Only the active slide is visible. Each slide is its own flexbox-centered viewport (100vh - header).
3. Slide content — one of these shapes per slide:
   • Title slide — eyebrow + h1 + lead. The cover.
   • Statement slide — one giant headline. No subhead. Used when the slide is a single point.
   • Two-column slide — .grid-2 with image/code/list on each side.
   • Stat slide — .stats grid for 2-4 big numbers.
   • Timeline slide — small .timeline showing progression.
   • Code slide — .code-block with one focused snippet, mono large.
   • Closing slide — eyebrow + h2 + call-to-action.
4. Footer chrome — fixed-position bottom-right: prev / next buttons, slide counter, "Press → to advance" hint.

Five to fifteen slides is the right zone. Fewer = no point of a deck. More = it's an article.

Voice and density rules

1. One idea per slide. If a slide needs more than one h2, split it.
2. Big type. Body text below 18px shouldn't appear on a deck slide. The reader is 6 feet from a screen.
3. No paragraphs. A slide with three sentences of prose is a slide that should have been a stat or a bullet list.
4. No bullet soup. Three to five bullets max per slide. Beyond that, split.
5. Numbers, names, and verbs. A slide that says "We made progress on infrastructure" is a slide that should have been deleted. Replace with "Cut p99 latency 38% across 3 services."

Navigation contract

• → / Space / PageDown — next slide.
• ← / PageUp — previous slide.
• Home / End — first / last slide.
• Click anywhere on the slide chrome (not on a link or button) — next slide.
• Hash routing — #/3 jumps to slide 3. Updates as you navigate so the URL is shareable.
• F or ? — toggle a help overlay listing the shortcuts.

The JS that wires this is ~30 lines, included in the template.

Fallback contract

With JS disabled:

• All slides render stacked top-to-bottom (one after another).
• Each slide has its own scroll target.
• The header / footer chrome still renders but the prev/next buttons are dead.

Reader still gets the content. Just no presentation polish.

Common mistakes

• Slide deck as long-form article. If your slides are paragraphs, you wanted artifact-explainer.
• Two ideas per slide. Reader can't track. Split.
• Tiny screenshots. A 240×180 PNG on a 1920×1080 deck is unreadable. Either it fills 60%+ of the slide or it doesn't belong.
• No closing slide. Decks need a "what now" slide — next steps, links, contact. Otherwise the deck just stops.
• Auto-advance. Don't add timed advance. Presenter controls the pace.

After the artifact

Offer the plain-text outline alongside: one line per slide, prefixed with the slide number. Useful for speaker notes or for pasting into a thread that won't render the HTML.