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Show HN: Slaide, open-source Markdown slides AI writes and PowerPoint opens

Summary

Slaide is an open-source, Markdown-based slide language designed to be written by AI and opened in PowerPoint. A single plain-text .slaide file renders to a web deck, print-ready PDF, and editable PPTX, with a YAML theme system, agent-driven workflows, and a free open-core editor.

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Show HN: Slaide, open-source Markdown slides AI writes and PowerPoint opens
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The slide language

Presentations, handed to AI the right way.

A slide language AI can actually write. One plain-text .slaide file becomes a polished web deck, a print-ready PDF, and editable PowerPoint - from the same source.

Get started → See how it works

✓ Apache-2.0 core✓ no lock-in✓ imports your .pptx✓ Slaide for iPhone

getslaide.com

try me - it's live. ← → to flip, ⤢ to present.

RENDER TO

WORKS WITH

Apache-2.0

Star on GitHub

01 · The problem

Your model just needed a better format.

You never needed a smarter model - AI already writes a great deck; the intelligence was never the bottleneck. The format is. Ask a model for a deck and it chokes on .pptx - megabytes of brittle XML - so you get broken layouts and walls of bullet points.

Slaide flips it: Markdown for the words, a tiny YAML theme for the design - ~10 KB the same model gets right the first time. Same slide, both ways:

deck.pptx ~4.2 MB · 11k lines

>>

Builds & motion

Incremental reveals with named entrance animations and timing.

:: title ::

Layouts & slots

Route Markdown into named slots - cover, statement, two-col and your own.

[text]{.grad}

Inline styling

Theme classes for gradient fills, colour, weight and type scale.

![](clip.mp4)

Images & media

Images, video, audio and full-bleed backgrounds - inlined for one portable file.

??? note

Speaker notes

Notes show in the presenter overlay, never in the deck or the PDF.

Embeds & widgets

Sandboxed iframes for YouTube, Figma and live HTML/JS - themed automatically.

Inline SVG

Vector art that inherits the theme’s colours via currentColor.

master: ./theme.yaml

Themes

Fonts, colours, gradients and layouts as named YAML - swap one line to restyle.

Read the language reference →

06 · The file formats

Three plain-text pieces. That’s the whole format.

A Slaide project is just text you can read, diff and own - your content in one file, the design in another, and an optional bundle that carries both anywhere.

.slaidecontent

The deck

Markdown for the words plus a tiny YAML header. Slides split on ---; :: name :: routes content into the theme’s layout slots. This is what you - or the AI - write.

---

master: ./aurora.yaml

---

:: title ::

Smart Inference

master.yamldesign

The theme

One reusable YAML master holds every design decision - fonts, color roles, gradients and the grid of each layout, all as named data. Point master: at it to restyle a whole deck.

fonts: Fraunces · Plex

layouts: cover · statement

.slaidecbundle

The shareable file

Deck, master and every asset zipped into one self-contained .slaidec. Tiny, portable and offline-ready - hand someone a single file and it just opens.

deck.slaide

aurora.yaml

assets · fonts · media

talk.slaidec - one portable file

See how a deck is structured →

07 · Themes

One deck. Any look. Reskin in a line.

A theme is a small YAML master - fonts, colors, gradients, layouts, all as named data. Swap master: and the whole deck restyles. Content never changes.

SAME DECK master: ./aurora.yaml

swap one value, restyle every slide

cafewarm · bold sans

Bold sans

lawyernavy · classic serif

Serif

ycdark · accent sans

Sans

Author a theme →

08 · Built for agents

Your AI's native presentation format.

Install the Agent Skill and the model builds a deck on its own - it writes the source, validates it, then screenshots the slides and reads them back to fix overlaps and contrast itself. Take over by hand in the editor whenever you want - it's the same plain-text file.

✓ Agent Skill for Claude Code & Codex, plus an MCP server

✓ It renders the deck to a PNG and reads it back - fixing clipped text and weak contrast unprompted

✓ Switch between AI and hands-on editing anytime - one plain-text file, no drift

Set up the agent skill →

claude · mcp

› make a 6-slide pitch for Acme

→ writing acme.slaide ✓ validate · 0 errors ✓ shoot · sheet.png → read it ✎ fixed clipped title · slide 3 ✓ export · acme.pdf + .pptx done in 5.1s · 8.7 KB source ›

09 · Open core

Open at the core. Yours to build on.

The language, CLI, themes, importers and MCP server are Apache-2.0 - fork them, extend them, ship with them. Your decks stay plain text you own, in a format that isn't going anywhere.

✓ Apache-2.0 core - fork it, extend it, ship it

✓ Plain-text decks you own - no proprietary lock-in

✓ Open desktop viewer - open & present any deck for free

Star on GitHub Read the docs

The CLI

slaide newslaide dev slaide buildslaide view slaide validateslaide export slaide importslaide compare slaide themesslaide mcp

10 · Pricing

The editor is free. AI is the upgrade.

Make and edit decks free, everywhere. Pay only when the AI does the work - for a day, or every day.

Free

$0 forever

No credit card required.

✓ The full visual editor - desktop, web & iPhone

✓ Hi-fi PowerPoint import & export

✓ Open core: language, CLI & viewer (Apache-2.0)

✓ Your first AI deck free, up to 10 slides

Best forEveryone who makes slides

Start free

Recommended

Day Pass

$3.99 once

24 hours of AI.

✓ The AI designs your decks in the browser

✓ 4 AI decks in 24 hours

✓ Nothing to install

✓ No subscription

Best forA deck due today, not next month

Try it for a day

Slaide Hosted

$9.90

$6.90 / mo

Launch price, limited time.

✓ 10 AI decks a month

✓ Cloud sync & share from the web

✓ Everything in Free

Best forAnyone making decks every month

Get Hosted

Prices in USD, excl. tax (EUR at checkout). Day Pass & Hosted live at app.getslaide.com.

Write your next deck in plain text.

Install the CLI, scaffold a deck, and render to web + PDF in under a minute.

Get started → Star on GitHub

$ npx @aivorynet/slaide new talk.slaide

Key points and analysis

Article intelligence

EngineersIntermediate

Key points

  • Slaide replaces fragile .pptx XML with a ~10 KB Markdown + YAML format that AI can generate reliably.
  • A single .slaide source renders to web, PDF, and PowerPoint; swapping one YAML theme line restyles the whole deck.
  • Agent Skills and an MCP server let Claude Code/Codex write, validate, render, and self-correct slides; the core stays Apache-2.0.
  • The editor is free, with AI features on a pay-per-use basis: a free first 10-slide AI deck, a $3.99 Day Pass, or a limited-time $6.90/month Hosted plan.

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