---

name: slide-generator description: This skill generates professional presentation slides from any content using Google's Gemini image generation API. Use this skill when users ask to create slides, presentations, slide decks, or visual summaries of content. It analyzes source material, designs cohesive narratives with full slide content, and generates visually coherent slide images.

Slide Generator

Generate professional slides from any content using a two-pass approach: story first, then visual design.

Before You Start

Copy# Verify API key is set
[ -n "$GEMINI_API_KEY" ] && echo "Ready" || echo "Set GEMINI_API_KEY first"

If not set, tell the user to run export GEMINI_API_KEY='...' and stop.

---

Architecture

This skill uses two specialized agents in sequence, with context discovery upfront:

Copy┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                                                                          │
│   INPUT            CLARIFY           PASS 1             PASS 2             OUTPUT        │
│   ─────            ───────           ──────             ──────             ──────        │
│                                                                                          │
│   Source      ┌───────────┐    ┌──────────────┐   ┌──────────────┐   ┌──────────────┐   │
│   Material    │  Context  │    │ Story Agent  │   │ Design Agent │   │   Gemini     │   │
│   ─────────►  │  Questions│ ─► │              │ ─►│              │ ─►│   Image      │   │
│               │  (≤5)     │    │ Storyboard & │   │ Visual       │   │   Generation │   │
│               └───────────┘    │ Content      │   │ Design       │   │              │   │
│                    │           └──────────────┘   └──────────────┘   └──────────────┘   │
│                    ▼                  │                  │                  │           │
│               [User Input]       story.md         design_system.md      slides/         │
│                                                   visual_specs.md       ├─ slide_01.png │
│                                       │           prompts.json          └─ slides.pdf  │
│                                       ▼                  │                              │
│                                [User Review]      [User Review]                         │
│                                                                                          │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Why this flow?

• Context first — Understanding goals shapes everything else
• Separation of concerns — Each agent does one thing well
• Better iteration — Change the story without redoing visuals, or restyle without rewriting

---

The Process

Copy0. CLARIFY  →  1. STORY AGENT  →  2. REVIEW  →  3. DESIGN AGENT  →  4. REVIEW  →  5. GENERATE  →  6. REVIEW
   ───────      ───────────        ──────        ────────────        ──────        ────────        ──────
   Context      Storyboard &       User          Visual system       User          Create          Fix
   questions    content            approves      & specifications    approves      images          issues
   (≤5)                            story                             design

---

0. Context Discovery

Goal: Understand the presentation context before creating content.

After receiving source material, do a quick scan to understand what's there, then ask the user up to 5 clarifying questions about context.

What to Scan For

Quickly identify:

• What type of content is this? (data, research, proposal, report, etc.)
• What's the apparent subject matter?
• How much detail/data is available?

Questions to Ask

Ask only what you need — skip questions where the answer is obvious from context. Maximum 5 questions total.

Question bank (choose relevant ones):

Question Format

CopyBefore I create the storyboard, I have a few questions:

1. **[Question]**
   *If you skip this, I'll assume: [default]*

2. **[Question]**
   *If you skip this, I'll assume: [default]*

[up to 5 questions]

Feel free to answer briefly or skip any — I'll use sensible defaults.

Defaults (When User Doesn't Answer)

Wait for user response before proceeding to Story Agent.

---

1. Story Agent: Storyboard & Content

Goal: Transform source material into a well-structured storyboard, tailored to the context from Step 0.

Launch the agent:

Use the Task tool to spawn the story-agent subagent:

• subagent_type: Reference the story-agent defined in agents/story_agent.md
• prompt: Include:
  1. The user's source material
  2. The context answers from Step 0 (event, goal, mode, density, audience, constraints, tone)
  3. Instruction to save output to story.md

What the Story Agent does:

1. Evidence extraction — Inventories all data, facts, and claims from the source
2. Structure selection — Chooses approach based on the GOAL (inform → explanatory, persuade → argumentative, decide → comparative, document → comprehensive)
3. Slide content — Writes each slide with appropriate density for the MODE
4. Quality checks — Ensures content matches the stated goal and audience

How context shapes the output:

Story Agent output: story.md

Copy# [Presentation Title]

## Context
- Event: [from user]
- Goal: [from user]
- Mode: [presented/read]
- Density: [high/balanced/low]
- Audience: [from user]
- Constraints: [from user]
- Tone: [from user]

## Executive Summary
[What this deck covers and why]

## Evidence Inventory
[Data and facts extracted from source]

## Structure
[Chosen approach and why it fits the goal]

## Slides
[All slides with: title, content, data points, speaker notes (if presented mode)]

Key constraint: The Story Agent writes NO visual instructions. It may note inherently visual content ("this is a comparison of 4 options") but doesn't prescribe how to show it.

---

2. Story Review: User Gate

This is a hard stop. Present the story to the user before proceeding.

Copy## Story Ready for Review

I've developed a [N]-slide narrative with the following arc:

**Thesis:** [Core message in one sentence]
**Arc:** [Structure description]
**The Turn:** Slide [N] — [What shifts]
**The Peak:** Slide [N] — [Highest impact moment]

### Slide Sequence
1. [Slide 1 title] — [Purpose]
2. [Slide 2 title] — [Purpose]
...

[FULL STORY.MD CONTENT]

---

**Please review and let me know:**
1. Approve → I'll proceed to visual design
2. Content changes → Tell me what to adjust
3. Restructure → Tell me what's not working with the narrative

Do not proceed to Design Agent until user explicitly approves the story.

---

3. Design Agent: Visual System & Specifications

Goal: Transform approved content into detailed visual specifications.

Launch the agent:

Use the Task tool to spawn the design-agent subagent:

• subagent_type: Reference the design-agent defined in agents/design_agent.md
• prompt: Include:
  1. The approved story.md content
  2. Instruction to save outputs to:
     • design_system.md (visual language)
     • visual_specs.md (per-slide specifications)
     • prompts.json (ready for generation)

What the Design Agent does:

1. Design system — Defines colors (with semantic meaning), typography personality, spacing, visual elements, signature details
2. Per-slide design — Information hierarchy, visual concept/metaphor, composition, detailed specification
3. Visual rhythm — Plans variety (Heavy/Medium/Light/Dramatic), ensures pacing
4. Prompt construction — Creates generation-ready prompts with design system embedded

Design Agent outputs:

design_system.md

Copy## Design System

### Mood & Personality
[Visual feeling description]

### Color Palette
- Primary Background: [hex + usage]
- Accent 1: [hex + semantic meaning]
- ...

### Typography
[Personality descriptions, not font names]

### Visual Elements
[Shapes, lines, icons, illustration style]

### Signature Elements
[1-2 distinctive details]

visual_specs.md

Copy## Slide [N]: [Title]

### Information Hierarchy
1. [Primary]
2. [Secondary]
3. [Tertiary]

### Visual Concept
[Why this approach serves the content]

### Visual Specification
[Detailed description: composition, elements, colors, spacing, micro-details]

### Visual Weight
[Heavy/Medium/Light/Dramatic]

prompts.json

Copy[
  {
    "name": "slide_01_title",
    "prompt": "Create a [MOOD] presentation slide, 16:9 aspect ratio, 4K resolution.\n\nDESIGN LANGUAGE:\n[Design system summary with hex codes]\n\nCONTENT:\nTitle: \"[Exact title]\"\n[Other content]\n\nVISUAL COMPOSITION:\n[Detailed specification]\n\nKEY DETAILS:\n[Critical elements]"
  }
]

Key principle: Each prompt carries the design system DNA (colors, typography, mood) so visual consistency is maintained even without reference images — but reference images provide additional reinforcement.

---

4. Design Review: User Gate

This is a hard stop. Present the visual approach to the user before generating.

Copy## Visual Design Ready for Review

I've designed a visual system for [N] slides:

**Mood:** [Description]
**Color Palette:** [Key colors and their meanings]
**Visual Rhythm:** [How the deck flows]

### Design System Summary
[Key elements from design_system.md]

### Slide Designs

**Slide 1: [Title]**
- Visual weight: [Heavy/Medium/Light/Dramatic]
- Concept: [Brief description of approach]

**Slide 2: [Title]**
- Visual weight: [...]
- Concept: [...]

[Continue for all slides]

### Full Specifications
[VISUAL_SPECS.MD CONTENT]

---

**Please review and let me know:**
1. Approve → I'll generate the slide images
2. Specific changes → Tell me which slides to redesign
3. System changes → Tell me what to adjust in the overall visual approach

Do not proceed to Generate until user explicitly approves the design.

---

5. Generate: Create Slide Images

Prerequisites

Ensure you have:

• prompts.json from the Design Agent
• GEMINI_API_KEY environment variable set

Generate Slides

Copypython scripts/generate_slides.py \
  --api-key "$GEMINI_API_KEY" \
  --prompts-file prompts.json \
  --output-dir ./slides \
  --model pro \
  --reference-strategy anchor

Model selection:

• pro — Better text rendering, use for text-heavy slides (recommended default)
• flash — Faster iteration, use for drafts or image-heavy slides

Reference strategy:

• anchor — Slide 1 always included + previous slide (RECOMMENDED)
• progressive — Each slide references only previous (causes drift — avoid)
• none — No references (each slide independent)

The anchor strategy ensures visual consistency:

• Slide 1: No reference (establishes the visual identity from the prompt)
• Slide 2: References slide 1
• Slide 3+: References slide 1 (style anchor) + previous slide (layout continuity)

Assemble PDF (Optional)

Copypython scripts/generate_slides.py \
  --output-dir ./slides \
  --assemble

---

6. Review: Quality Check & Iteration

Visual Quality Checks

The Flip Test

View all slides as thumbnails:

• Can you follow the argument from titles alone?
• Is there visual variety within consistency?
• Does the eye know where to go on each slide?

The Presentation Test

Click through as if presenting:

• Does each transition feel earned?
• Would you need to say "so anyway..." anywhere?
• Do data visualizations communicate clearly?

Iteration

If slides need changes:

1. Content issues → Go back to Story Agent, update story.md
2. Visual concept issues → Go back to Design Agent, update specifications
3. Rendering issues → Refine prompts and regenerate specific slides

To regenerate a single slide:

Copypython scripts/generate_slides.py \
  --api-key "$GEMINI_API_KEY" \
  --prompt "[Updated prompt for single slide]" \
  --output ./slides/slide_03.png \
  --model pro

---

File Structure

Copyproject/
├── input/                    # User's source material
│   └── brief.md              # Or transcript.txt, notes.docx, etc.
├── story.md                  # Pass 1 output: narrative & content
├── design_system.md          # Pass 2 output: visual language
├── visual_specs.md           # Pass 2 output: per-slide specifications
├── prompts.json              # Pass 2 output: generation-ready prompts
├── slides/                   # Generated images
│   ├── slide_01_title.png
│   ├── slide_02_problem.png
│   ├── ...
│   └── slides.pdf            # Assembled deck
└── scripts/
    └── generate_slides.py    # Image generation script

---

Quick Reference

Subagents

API

CopyEndpoint: POST https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/models/{model}:generateContent

Models:
- gemini-2.5-flash-image (fast, drafts)
- gemini-3-pro-image-preview (quality, text-heavy)

Config:
generation_config = {"responseModalities": ["IMAGE"]}

Troubleshooting

Design System Checklist

Before generating, verify design_system.md includes:

• Color palette with hex codes AND semantic meanings
• Typography personality (not font names)
• Spacing philosophy
• Visual element style (shapes, lines, icons)
• Signature elements for recognition

Prompt Quality Checklist

Before generating, verify each prompt in prompts.json includes:

• Mood and aspect ratio
• Design language summary (colors, typography, style)
• Exact text content (verbatim from story.md)
• Composition with proportions
• Key details for critical elements