Google Slides Skill

porteden slides

Use porteden slides for Google Slides content operations and file management. Use -jc flags for AI-optimized output.

If porteden is not installed: brew install porteden/tap/porteden (or go install github.com/porteden/cli/cmd/porteden@latest).

Setup (once)

• Browser login (recommended): porteden auth login — opens browser, credentials stored in a local credentials file (~/.config/porteden/credentials.json, 0600)
• Direct token: porteden auth login --token <key> — stored in a local credentials file (~/.config/porteden/credentials.json, 0600)
• Verify: porteden auth status
• If PE_API_KEY is set in the environment, the CLI uses it automatically (no login needed).
• Slides access requires a token with driveAccessEnabled: true and a connected Google account with Drive scopes.

Slides commands (porteden slides)

Content

• Deck metadata (slide index + first-line titles): porteden slides info google:DECKID -jc
• Read deck text + speaker notes: porteden slides read google:DECKID
• Read structured (full Google Slides API JSON): porteden slides read google:DECKID --format structured -j
• Create new blank deck: porteden slides create --name "Q1 Review"
• Create in folder: porteden slides create --name "Kickoff" --folder google:0B7_FOLDER

File management

• Get export links (pptx, pdf, txt): porteden slides download google:DECKID -jc
• Share with user: porteden slides share google:DECKID --type user --role reader --email user@example.com
• Share publicly: porteden slides share google:DECKID --type anyone --role reader
• List permissions: porteden slides permissions google:DECKID -jc
• Rename: porteden slides rename google:DECKID --name "Q1 Review (final)"
• Copy (duplicate): porteden slides copy google:DECKID --name "Working copy" (optional --folder google:0B7_FOLDER)
• Delete (trash): porteden slides delete google:DECKID -y

Reading slides — text vs. structured

• --format text (default): slide bodies joined with \n\n---\n\n separators; speaker notes appended under each slide under a [Speaker notes] header. Cheap to call, agent-friendly.
• --format structured: raw Google Slides API JSON — slide object IDs, page elements, layouts, masters, character ranges. Use only when you need positions/IDs to feed back into another tool. The payload can be many KB even for small decks.

Notes

• Credentials persist in a local credentials file (~/.config/porteden/credentials.json, 0600 permissions) after login. No repeated auth needed.
• Set PE_PROFILE=work to avoid repeating --profile.
• -jc is shorthand for --json --compact: strips noise, limits fields, reduces tokens for AI agents.
• File IDs are always provider-prefixed (e.g., google:1BxiMVs0XRA5...). Pass them as-is.
• porteden slides info lists slides by index + the first non-empty text element on each slide as a working title. Use it to plan a content fetch or surface a navigable slide list.
• porteden slides read --format text is the default and the cheapest path; only ask for structured when you genuinely need slide IDs or page elements.
• No edit endpoint today. Slides cannot be modified through the CLI — presentations.batchUpdate is not exposed. Use the Slides UI for changes.
• Layouts, masters, and themes are only accessible via --format structured. Text mode strips them to keep the response useful.
• porteden slides create produces a blank deck — Google's Drive API doesn't support importing text content into Slides, so passing --content / --content-file returns UNSUPPORTED_IMPORT (400) with a clear server message. Create the deck blank, then add content via the Slides UI (no slides edit endpoint exists today).
• porteden slides download returns URLs only — no binary content is streamed. URLs are short-lived (~1 hour) and unauthenticated; re-fetch on every download.
• accessInfo in responses describes active token restrictions.
• delete moves to trash (reversible). Files can be restored from Google Drive trash.
• Confirm before sharing or deleting.
• Environment variables: PE_API_KEY, PE_PROFILE, PE_FORMAT, PE_COLOR, PE_VERBOSE.