Create Slide

Create a slide in open-slide

This skill owns the workflow for drafting a new deck. The technical reference — file contract, 1920×1080 canvas, type scale, palette, layout, assets — lives in the slide-authoring skill. Read that skill whenever you need details on how a page is structured. This skill assumes you'll consult it before writing code.

You only write files under slides/<id>/. Never modify package.json, open-slide.config.ts, or existing slides.

Step 1 — Pick a theme

List files under themes/. If any theme markdown files exist (anything other than README.md), call AskUserQuestion with each theme id as an option plus a final "no theme — design from scratch" option. (AskUserQuestion holds at most 4 options — with 4+ themes, offer the 3 most topic-relevant plus "no theme"; the auto-added "Other" lets the user name any omitted theme.)

• If the user picks a theme: read themes/<id>.md end-to-end. The theme's palette, typography, layout, and Title/Footer components are now authoritative — copy them directly into the slide. If the theme declares a webfont import, load it per references/webfonts.md in slide-authoring (module-level, slide-keyed injection) — don't let the slide silently fall back to system fonts. Also set theme: '<theme-id>' on the meta export in index.tsx (e.g. export const meta: SlideMeta = { title: '…', createdAt: '…', theme: '<theme-id>' }; — createdAt per the file contract in slide-authoring) so the slide back-links to the theme (chip on the slide card + listing on /themes/<id>). In Step 2, skip the aesthetic direction question (the theme already commits to one direction); you still need the topic itself, so confirm it before moving on. Page count and text density are independent of theme — ask those normally. For motion, if the theme's Motion section commits to a philosophy, present it as the "(Recommended)" option and reuse the theme's paste-ready keyframes; the user can still override.
• If the user picks "no theme", or themes/ contains no theme markdown files: proceed to Step 2 unchanged.

If you skip the aesthetic question because a theme was picked, restate the theme name in Step 2 so the user can correct course before you start writing.

Step 2 — Clarify requirements (MUST ask before writing code)

Before writing any code, lock in the four key style decisions below via AskUserQuestion. They shape every downstream choice (layout, type scale, asset needs, motion code), so locking them in up front avoids rework. Only skip a question when it's already unambiguously answered — by the user's original message, or by a theme picked in Step 1 (a theme settles aesthetic direction, so ask only the remaining three) — and if you skip, restate your assumption so they can correct it.

Topic comes first. A meaningful aesthetic recommendation requires knowing what the deck is about. If the user's initial request is thin ("make me a deck", "draft some slides"), make a separate AskUserQuestion call first to gather topic, audience, and any draft outline. Skip this only if the topic is already clear from the user's message — in which case restate your reading of the topic in the next call so they can correct course.

Then ask these four in a single AskUserQuestion call (multi-question form):

1. Aesthetic direction — propose 3 visual directions tailored to this topic. Do not pull from a fixed preset list. Each option must combine a vibe word + a concrete visual cue (palette, typography, motif) so the user can picture it; bare labels like "minimal" or "corporate" alone are too vague. The three options should feel meaningfully different from each other — not three flavors of the same idea.

   How options should shift with topic:

   • "Intro to Rust for backend engineers" → rust-orange technical editorial (warm rust/charcoal, mono headings, code-grid layout) · blueprint dev-doc (cyan grid on near-black, monospace, schematic feel) · brutalist terminal (lime-on-black, ASCII rules, no-nonsense)
   • "Q2 product roadmap for stakeholders" → calm corporate clean (off-white, single accent, generous whitespace) · confident editorial (large display serif, tight grid, one bold accent) · data-forward dashboard (charts as hero, muted neutrals + status colors)
   • "Kindergarten parent night" → playful crayon (paper texture, hand-drawn accents, primary colors) · soft pastel storybook (peach/mint, rounded type, illustrated icons) · warm photo-led (full-bleed kid photos, simple captions)

   Mark the option that best fits the topic and audience as "(Recommended)" so the user has a sensible default. (AskUserQuestion already auto-adds "Other" — don't add a generic catch-all yourself.)

2. Page count — rough length. Offer brackets: 3–5 (short), 6–10 (standard), 11–20 (deep dive). The auto-added "Other" covers custom counts.

3. Text density per page — how much copy lives on each page? Offer: minimal (one line / big number), light (heading + 2–3 bullets), standard (heading + 4–5 bullets or short paragraph), dense (multi-column / detailed). This directly drives type scale and layout.

4. Motion — does the user want CSS/React animations and transitions, or a fully static deck? Offer: static (no motion), subtle (fades / entrance only), rich (keyframes, staggered reveals, looping visuals). If animated, plan around the framework primitives first — <Steps>/<Step> for staged reveals, SlideTransition for page changes, morph for shared-element continuity (see slide-authoring) — plus CSS @keyframes / inline style + useEffect for in-page motion; no extra libraries.

After those four, ask follow-ups only if still unclear: brand colors, required assets. Don't pad the conversation with questions already answered.

Step 3 — Pick a slide id

Use kebab-case, short, descriptive. Examples: rust-intro, q2-roadmap, team-offsite-2026. Check slides/ to avoid collisions.

Step 4 — Plan the structure

Sketch the slide as a list of page roles before writing code. Common page types:

Rule of thumb: one idea per page. If you're tempted to put two, split them.

If the deck topic naturally calls for specific real images the user must supply (product screenshots, team photos, customer dashboards), plan where those go and use <ImagePlaceholder> from @open-slide/core — see the Image placeholders section in slide-authoring. Default is no placeholders: only insert one when a real image is genuinely required.

Step 5 — Commit to a visual direction

Pick one coherent palette / type scale / aesthetic and hold it across every page. The full set of constraints (palette structure, type scale, padding, aesthetic options) lives in slide-authoring — apply it.

Default: declare a top-level export const design: DesignSystem = { … } at the top of index.tsx (after imports) using the chosen palette / type scale, and reference the values via var(--osd-X) from inline styles. This keeps the slide tweakable from the Design panel after generation, which is what the user almost always wants. Only skip the design const for a one-off slide whose palette is intentionally locked and not meant to be re-themed — in that case, fall back to the local palette constants pattern. The "Design system" section of slide-authoring covers the format and available tokens.

If the frontend-design skill is available, consult it for deeper aesthetic guidance when the user wants something bold.

Step 6 — Write slides/<id>/index.tsx

Read the slide-authoring skill before writing — it covers the file contract, canvas rules, type scale, spacing, and asset imports, and it includes a starter template you can copy. Don't duplicate that knowledge here; use it.

Step 7 — Self-review

Run the checklist in slide-authoring ("Self-review before finishing"). It covers structural correctness, layout discipline, and asset existence.

Step 8 — Hand off to the user

Tell the user:

• The slide id and file path you created.
• That the dev server will hot-reload — they can open http://localhost:5173/s/<id> (or refresh the home page).
• If dev isn't running: run the project's dev script from the project root with its package manager (npm run dev, pnpm dev, … — match the lockfile).

Don't run the dev server yourself unless asked.