Slidown – Markdown to PowerPoint in pure Go, no AI in generation
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About Slidown – Markdown to PowerPoint in pure Go, no AI in generation
Slidown is a Go-based CLI tool that converts Markdown files into PowerPoint (.pptx) presentations using a pure Go OOXML writer, requiring no third-party Office dependencies. It is designed as a sibling project to k1LoW/deck for Google Slides, sharing the same Markdown format and element mapping. Key features include incremental rebuilds that preserve manual edits on unchanged slides, the ability to freeze slides to prevent future regeneration, and key-based matching for stable ordering across renames or reordering. Installation is available via Homebrew or go install. Use slidown to generate slides programmatically from Markdown, ideal for version-controlled presentations or CI/CD pipelines.
Key Features
Markdown to PowerPoint (.pptx) generation
Pure Go OOXML writer with no third-party Office dependencies
Incremental updates preserve manual edits on unchanged slides
Freeze slides to prevent regeneration of hand-tuned content
Key-based stable matching for slide ordering across renames
Supports images and inline SVG via pure-Go rendering
Installable via Homebrew or go install
Shares Markdown format with k1LoW/deck for multi-target output
Pros & Cons
Pros
- No AI involvement – deterministic, predictable output
- No dependency on Microsoft Office or other proprietary software
- Incremental rebuild preserves manual PowerPoint edits on unchanged slides
- Freeze and key features enable robust rebuild workflows
- Lightweight command-line tool, easy to integrate into scripts
Cons
- Limited to PowerPoint output only; no other presentation formats
- Requires learning the specific Markdown slide format
- No graphical user interface; command-line only
- Does not support advanced PowerPoint animations or complex layouts
Best For
Create slide decks from Markdown for version-controlled presentationsGenerate PowerPoint output in CI/CD pipelinesUse alongside k1LoW/deck to produce both Google Slides and PowerPoint from the same sourceProgrammatically generate slides for documentation or reports
FAQ
Can I edit slides in PowerPoint and then rebuild without losing changes?
Yes, slidown's incremental update mode preserves manual edits on slides whose Markdown source has not changed. Only modified slides are regenerated.
How do I freeze a slide so it never gets regenerated?
Add the comment `<!-- {"freeze": true} -->` to the corresponding page in your Markdown. That slide will be kept as-is on subsequent rebuilds.
How can I install slidown?
You can install slidown via Homebrew (`brew install Songmu/tap/slidown`) or with `go install github.com/Songmu/slidown/cmd/slidown@latest`.
Does slidown use any AI in the generation process?
No, slidown does not use AI. It generates PowerPoint files deterministically from Markdown using a pure Go OOXML writer.