OfficeCLI PPTX Skill#

Setup#

If officecli is missing:

• macOS / Linux: curl -fsSL https://d.officecli.ai/install.sh | bash
• Windows (PowerShell): irm https://d.officecli.ai/install.ps1 | iex

Verify with officecli --version (open a new terminal if PATH hasn't picked up). If install fails, download a binary from https://github.com/iOfficeAI/OfficeCLI/releases.

⚠️ Help-First Rule#

This skill teaches what good slides look like, not every command flag. When a property name, enum value, or alias is uncertain, consult help BEFORE guessing.

bash

officecli help pptx                         # List all pptx elements
officecli help pptx <element>               # Full element schema (e.g. shape, chart, animation, connector, zoom, group)
officecli help pptx <verb> <element>        # Verb-scoped (e.g. add shape, set slide)
officecli help pptx <element> --json        # Machine-readable schema

Help reflects the installed CLI version. When skill and help disagree, help is authoritative. Triggers to run help immediately: UNSUPPORTED props: warning, unknown animation preset, connector.shape= enum drifts, prop-vs-alias ( lineWidth vs line.width, color vs font.color).

Shell & Execution Discipline#

Shell quoting (zsh / bash). ALWAYS quote element paths ( "/slide[1]/...") — zsh globs unquoted [1] to no matches found. Escaping happens at three layers — keep them separate (the CLI handles the second for you):

1. Shell. $ in a value still belongs to the shell — single-quote the whole value: --prop text='$15M'. Double-quoted "$15M" gets expanded to M. The CLI does NOT unescape \$ for you.
2. CLI ( text=). The two-char escapes \n and \t ARE interpreted, consistently across pptx / docx / xlsx — \n is a line / paragraph break, \t is a tab. To produce a literal backslash-n in text, double it ( \\n); this is rarely what you want.
3. JSON (batch heredoc). The recipes below pipe cat <<EOF | officecli batch unquoted so $SLIDE / $FILE expand inside the body. That same unquoted heredoc also expands a literal $ in a value: "$1.42" silently becomes .42 and "$2.4B" becomes .4B ( $1 / $2 are empty shell params). Escape currency as \$ — "text":"\$1.42" — which still lets $SLIDE expand. \n / \t inside the JSON work either way. A fully-quoted <<'EOF' protects every $ but then $SLIDE won't expand, so only use it when the body has no shell variables. After writing money values, view text and confirm the $ survived.

If in doubt, view text after writing and compare character-for-character.

Incremental execution. One command → check exit code → continue. A 50-command script that fails at command 3 cascades silently. After any structural op (new slide, chart, animation, connector) run get before stacking more.

Requirements for Outputs#

These are the deliverable standards every deck MUST meet. Violating any one = not done, regardless of content quality.

All decks#

One idea per slide. If a slide needs a second title to explain what it covers, split it. Dense "everything about X" slides lose the audience inside 3 seconds. Use a section divider to group related one-idea slides, not a mega-slide.

Explicit type hierarchy — do NOT rely on theme defaults. Theme defaults drift between masters. Set sizes explicitly on every text shape.

ElementMinimumTypicalMin shape heightSlide title**≥ 36pt** bold36–44pt≥ 2cmSection / subtitle≥ 20pt20–24pt≥ 1.2cmBody text**≥ 18pt**18–22pt≥ 1cmCaption / axis label≥ 10pt muted10–12pt≥ 0.6cm

Rule of thumb: min shape height ≈ font_pt × 0.05cm. An 18pt sublabel in a 0.8cm-tall box will overflow — view annotated catches this.

Title must be ≥ 2× body size (36pt over 20pt works; 28pt over 20pt looks timid). Four legit exceptions to body ≥ 18pt: chart axis labels, legends, footer / page number, and ≤ 5-word KPI sublabels (e.g. "Active users"). Descriptive sentences must be ≥ 18pt. Left-align body; center only titles and hero numbers. If "the cards won't fit", drop cards instead of shrinking font.

Two fonts max, one palette. One heading font + one body font (e.g. Georgia + Calibri) — a third display face is fine only for big numerals or the cover title, as long as that heading+body pair stays intact. One dominant brand color (60–70% weight) + one supporting + one accent. Never mix 4+ colors in body content. The palettes and font pairings in Design Principles are a floor, not a menu: if the user gave brand colors/fonts or an existing template, match those first; otherwise the named sets are calibrated seeds — blend or diverge freely, as long as the result isn't worse than them and still clears the contrast floor.

Every slide carries a non-text visual — one that informs. Shape, chart, icon, gradient band that carries meaning, not decoration. A bullet-only deck is interchangeable with a Word doc. Exceptions: literal quote slides, code blocks, a single summary-table slide.

Less is more — every element earns its place. The visual rule above guards against bullet-walls; it is not licence to clutter. Don't pad with decorative stats, icons, or filler sections that don't inform ("data slop"). If a slide feels empty, fix it with layout and whitespace, not invented content — cut scope rather than bulk it up, and flag a larger addition instead of making it unprompted.

Speaker notes on every content slide. --type notes --prop text="...". The speaker needs a script; the audience shouldn't read the slide verbatim.

Copy reads human, not AI. Titles orient on content, not punchline. No "It's not X. It's Y.", no manufactured tension, no faux-insight ("The magic moment"), no one-word drama ("Momentum."). Cut hype adjectives (seamless, robust, game-changing) — let the number carry it.

Preserve existing templates. When a file already has a theme and masters, match them. Existing conventions override these guidelines.

Visual delivery floor (applies to EVERY deck)#

Before declaring done, the per-slide render (see QA) MUST satisfy:

• No placeholder tokens rendered as content. {{name}}, $fy$24, <TODO>, lorem, xxxx, empty ()/ [] in chart titles never appear.
• No overflow off-edge, no clipped text in shapes. view issues flags both ( shape_off_slide + a text-fit hint). To fix a clip: grow the box or shorten the value — never trim content to fit.
• Cover carries its orienting elements. Title + subtitle + presenter/client + date + a brand band or key-takeaway strap — a title-only cover reads as a stub. Generous whitespace around them is still right; rich ≠ crowded.
• Contrast. view issues auto-flags the common case — opaque dark text on a shape's own dark fill ( low_contrast). It can't see the rest: icon / chart-series fills, scheme/inherited colors, or text over a separate background shape. So on any fill with brightness < 30% ( 1E2761, 36454F, deep forest / berry / cherry), still confirm every body run, card body, chart series, and icon is FFFFFF or brightness > 80% — mid-gray ( 6B7B8D ≈ 44%) reads on a laptop and vanishes on projection. Spot-check via view html after the dark-fill pass.

If any fails, STOP and fix before declaring done.

Design Principles#

A deck is not a document. The audience has 3 seconds to get each slide. Before adding anything, ask: "If the audience reads only the biggest element and glances once, do they get the point?" If they have to read the bullets, the biggest element is wrong.

Grid, margins, negative space#

Standard widescreen is 33.87 × 19.05cm. Treat it as a 12-column grid internally:

• Edge margin ≥ 1.27cm (0.5") on all sides.
• Inter-block gap ≥ 0.76cm (0.3") between cards / columns / rows — pick one value (0.76 or 1.27cm) and use it everywhere; mixed gaps look unfinished.
• ≥ 20% negative space per slide. Filling every pixel reads as amateur.
• Compose, don't web-center. Whitespace is structural: a slide top-weighted with open space in the lower third is correct composition, not an empty defect. Intentional asymmetry (content left, breathing room right) reads more designed than centering everything — don't fill a gap just because it's there.
• For card grids: usable = 33.87 − 2·margin − (N−1)·gap, then col_width = usable / N. Don't hand-pick x coordinates.

Font pairings#

Pair by document register, not by novelty. "Best For" is a prompt, not a decree; a pairing outside this table is fine if it fits — these 8 are seeds, not the set.

HeaderBodyBest ForGeorgiaCalibriFormal business, finance, executive reportsArial BlackArialBold marketing, product launchesCalibriCalibri LightClean corporate, minimal designCambriaCalibriTraditional professional, legal, academicTrebuchet MSCalibriFriendly tech, startups, SaaSImpactArialBold headlines, event decks, keynotesPalatinoGaramondElegant editorial, luxury, nonprofitConsolasCalibriDeveloper tools, technical / engineering

Set both fonts explicitly on every shape ( --prop font=Georgia on titles, --prop font=Calibri on body), not via theme inheritance.

Color and contrast#

The columns: Primary (dominant — 60–70% of weight, the color you see first), Secondary (supporting tone), Accent (sparing, one-hit emphasis), Text (body on light fills), Muted (captions / axis labels / footer).

ThemePrimarySecondaryAccentTextMutedCoral EnergyF96167``F9E795``2F3C7E``333333``8B7E6AMidnight Executive1E2761``CADCFC``FFFFFF``333333``8899BBForest & Moss2C5F2D``97BC62``F5F5F5``2D2D2D``6B8E6BCharcoal Minimal36454F``F2F2F2``212121``333333``7A8A94Warm TerracottaB85042``E7E8D1``A7BEAE``3D2B2B``8C7B75Berry & Cream6D2E46``A26769``ECE2D0``3D2233``8C6B7AOcean Gradient065A82``1C7293``21295C``2B3A4E``6B8FAATeal Trust028090``00A896``02C39A``2D3B3B``5E8C8CSage Calm84B59F``69A297``50808E``2D3D35``7A9488Cherry Bold990011``FCF6F5``2F3C7E``333333``8B6B6B

Pick by topic, not by default — finance reads Midnight Executive, a product launch reads Coral Energy, safety / LOTO reads Cherry Bold. If the closest named theme is not quite right, blend (e.g. Forest primary + gold D4A843 accent). Use Text on light fills, Muted for captions / axis / footer, FFFFFF or Secondary for body on dark fills.

On dark backgrounds, text and chart series follow the Hard rules contrast floor above.

Chart-choice decision table#

Wrong chart type kills the 3-second test:

Data shapeUseAvoidCategory comparison (A vs B vs C)column (vertical) / bar (≥ 6 categories, horizontal)pie (slices merge), line (no time axis)Time series, 1–3 serieslinearea (occlusion), bar (implies discrete)Part-of-whole, 2–5 slicespie / doughnutpie with 8+ slices (unreadable)Correlation / distributionscatterline (implies ordering)Multiple categories × metrics, densestacked column or heatmapone chart per metric — consolidateKPI snapshot (single big number)Large-text shape (60–72pt + ≤ 5-word sublabel), NOT a chartgauge chart, tiny bar

Rule of thumb: if > 3 series and > 8 categories, split into two charts or switch to a table.

Animation#

Use as much or as little as the brand and content call for — a formal finance deck trends to near-zero, a product launch can be more expressive. Animation is a tool, not décor. Three floors keep it from hurting the deck (none caps how much you use):

• Purposeful — each one reveals or emphasizes (progressive bullet reveal, a build-up chart), never decorates. If it doesn't aid comprehension, cut it.
• Degrades gracefully — pptx animation renders inconsistently across viewers (Keynote / Slides / web / mobile) and may not play at all, so every slide must read correctly as a static frame. Never hide essential content behind a reveal.
• Verify live — animation is runtime-only; view html and screenshots can't see it, so confirm in a real presentation viewer before shipping.

Taste steer (not a ban): fade / appear / a single zoom-entrance with snappy durations (~hundreds of ms) fit most decks; bounce / swivel / spin / fly-from-edge / dense multi-object choreography usually read amateur — reach for them only when the brand is deliberately playful.

Layout patterns & data display#

Vary layout across slides — repeating the same pattern makes every slide feel identical. These are common building blocks, not the full set — pick one per slide, or build a layout outside the table when the content calls for it:

PatternWhen to useKey measurementTwo-column (text left, visual right)Concept + evidence; feature + screenshotEach col ≈ 14-15cm; gap 1cmIcon rows (icon in filled circle + bold header + description)Feature lists, benefits, team rolesIcon circle 1.5-2cm; 3-4 rows max2×2 or 2×3 grid (card tiles)Quadrant analysis, SWOT, option comparisonGap ≥ 0.76cm; consistent card heightHalf-bleed image (full left or right half, content overlay on other side)Hero moments, case study openersImage 16-17cm wide; content column ≥ 14cmLarge stat callout (60-72pt number + ≤5-word sublabel below)Single KPI, milestone, market sizeUse shape, NOT a chart; sublabel 14-16pt muted

Data display quick rules:

• Comparison columns (before/after, A vs B) beat a table for 2-3 options.
• Timelines and process flows: numbered step shapes + connectors, not a bullet list.

Image treatment (only when a slide uses a photo / screenshot / logo)#

Read the image first (open the file) and choose treatment from what you see — don't place blind from a filename.

• Full-bleed photo → size to COVER the region (crop edges), no border.
• Screenshot / diagram / logo → size to FIT (never crop content). A transparent or fit image sits on a contrasting fill — drop a colored rectangle behind it, don't let it float on white.
• Text over a photo → never raw on the image. Put it on a card, or lay a protection scrim between image and text (a dark rectangle at ~50–60% opacity, or a gradient fading from the text edge).
• Never stretch (distort the aspect ratio); don't overlay text on a busy screenshot.
• Prefer user-provided images / brand assets; no emoji or self-drawn art unless asked.

Visual motif commitment#

Pick ONE distinctive element (rounded image frames, section numbers in filled circles, single-side border band, diagonal accent strips) and carry it to every slide — commit across the whole deck; styling one slide and leaving the rest plain reads as abandoned. A secondary motif is fine only if it doesn't compete with the primary. Declare it in your build plan first: ## Motif: numbered circles in brand color.

Visual AI-tells to avoid#

• No decorative underline under slide titles. A stripe / rule below a heading is the single most common AI-slide tell — use whitespace or a background-color change instead.
• No rounded-corner card with a colored left-border accent stripe. The other classic AI-slide tell — use a solid fill, a top accent band, or whitespace separation instead.
• No emoji as iconography unless the brand uses them — use a shape or a real icon asset.

Copy-level tells live in "Copy reads human".

Common Workflow#

1. Open/save lifecycle. officecli open <file> at the start, officecli save <file> at the end to flush your edits to disk. save only writes — it leaves the resident warm for any follow-up edit; reach for officecli close <file> only when you want to release the resident immediately (a one-shot handoff). Both are always safe — they never error or lose work. Use batch for repetitive shape grids. Flush only at the non-officecli boundary: officecli's own reads always see your edits; run save/ close only before a non-officecli program reads the file (python-pptx, PowerPoint, a renderer, delivery).
2. Orient. New deck: officecli create "$FILE". Existing: officecli view "$FILE" outline first. Never edit blind.
3. Title sequence first (plan, don't build yet). Before creating any slide or shape, write out the full ordered list of slide titles. If someone reading ONLY the titles can't follow the argument, fix the arc now — cheaper in a list than after 14 slides. Pick ONE title grammar — all topic noun-phrases or all action statements, never a mix — and hold it throughout (see "Copy reads human").
4. Build in display order. Add slides in audience-view order: cover → agenda → section-1 divider → section-1 content → section-2 divider → … → closing. --index on slide add works, but linear append keeps the build script readable and avoids index-arithmetic bugs. Before final delivery, confirm slide count + narrative arc match your build plan. Gate 3's order-sanity check catches cases where the cover ends up as slide 11 of 14 instead of slide 1.
5. Incremental per slide. Create slide + background, then title, then supporting shapes / charts / connectors. Always layout=blank for custom designs. After each structural op, get /slide[N] --depth 1 to confirm shape IDs.
6. Format to spec. Per the Requirements table; formatting is deliverable, not polish.
7. Save + verify. officecli save flushes the file to disk (or officecli close to flush and also end the session). Always open in the target presentation viewer before shipping — chart colors, animations, fonts, and zoom are runtime features view html can't render. Full verification in QA below.
8. QA — assume there are problems. Fix-and-verify until a cycle finds zero new issues.

Quick Start#

Minimal viable deck: cover + one content slide + notes. $FILE stands in for your filename.

bash

FILE="deck.pptx"
officecli create "$FILE"
officecli open "$FILE"

# Cover — dark fill, centered title
officecli add "$FILE" / --type slide --prop layout=blank --prop background=1E2761
officecli add "$FILE" /slide[1] --type shape --prop text="FY26 Strategic Review" \
  --prop x=2cm --prop y=7cm --prop width=29.87cm --prop height=3cm \
  --prop font=Georgia --prop size=44 --prop bold=true --prop color=FFFFFF --prop align=center

# Content — white fill, title + body + notes
officecli add "$FILE" / --type slide --prop layout=blank --prop background=FFFFFF
officecli add "$FILE" /slide[2] --type shape --prop text="Revenue grew 18% YoY" \
  --prop x=1.5cm --prop y=1.2cm --prop width=30cm --prop height=2cm \
  --prop font=Georgia --prop size=36 --prop bold=true --prop color=1E2761
officecli add "$FILE" /slide[2] --type shape --prop text="Enterprise renewals + new EMEA region drove the beat; NRR held at 118%." \
  --prop x=1.5cm --prop y=4cm --prop width=30cm --prop height=3cm \
  --prop font=Calibri --prop size=20 --prop color=333333
officecli add "$FILE" /slide[2] --type notes --prop text="Lead with the 18% beat, preview EMEA."

officecli save "$FILE"
officecli validate "$FILE"

Shape of every build: open → slide+background → title → body → notes → save → validate.

Reading & Analysis#

Start wide, then narrow. outline first, view text / get / query once you know where to look.

bash

officecli view "$FILE" outline          # slide count + titles
officecli view "$FILE" annotated        # complete per-slide breakdown with fonts, sizes, tables, charts
officecli view "$FILE" text --start 1 --end 5   # text dump (includes table cell text)
officecli view "$FILE" issues           # empty slides, overflow hints
officecli view "$FILE" stats            # counts + totals (incl. pictures missing alt)

Inspect one element. XPath-style paths, 1-based. ALWAYS quote. Prefer @name= / @id= selectors over positional [N] (stable across reorderings). [last()] works. Add --json for machine output.

bash

officecli get "$FILE" "/slide[1]" --depth 1              # shape list with IDs and names
officecli get "$FILE" "/slide[1]/shape[@name=Title]"
officecli get "$FILE" "/slide[1]/table[1]" --depth 3     # table rows / cells

Query across the deck. CSS-like selectors; operators =, !=, ~=, >=, <=, [attr], :contains(), :no-alt. help pptx query lists queryable element types.

bash

officecli query "$FILE" 'shape:contains("Revenue")'
officecli query "$FILE" 'picture:no-alt'                 # accessibility gap
officecli query "$FILE" 'shape[fill=1E2761]'             # color match
officecli query "$FILE" 'shape[width>=10cm]'             # numeric

query --json output schema. Results wrap in .data.results[] — jq -r '.data.results[0].format.id', NOT .[0].id. Shape name is .name; fill is .format.fill; textColor is .format.textColor.

Visual preview (LEAD).

bash

officecli view "$FILE" html                # prints an HTML preview path; Read it for per-slide visual audit (best structural ground truth)
officecli view "$FILE" svg --start 3 --end 3   # single slide SVG (charts + gradients do NOT render in SVG)

Reading the output — an expected non-defect:

• layout=blank has no title placeholder. Titles are plain shape elements, so view outline reporting (untitled) is expected, not a defect. Use layout=title + placeholder[title] only when screen-reader outline compatibility matters.

Creating & Editing#

Verbs: add / set / remove / move / swap / batch / raw-set. Ninety percent of a deck is slides, shapes, text, a few charts, pictures, connectors.

Slides and backgrounds#

A slide is /slide[N]. Always pass layout=blank for custom designs. Background: solid, gradient, or image.

bash

officecli add "$FILE" / --type slide --prop layout=blank --prop background=1E2761                 # solid
officecli add "$FILE" / --type slide --prop layout=blank --prop "background=1E2761-CADCFC-180"   # gradient (start-end-angle)
officecli add "$FILE" / --type slide --prop layout=blank --prop background=image:/path/to/hero.jpg  # image background (LEAD)

Shapes#

A shape holds text, fill, border, position, and optional animation / link.

bash

officecli add "$FILE" /slide[2] --type shape --prop name=Title --prop text="Key Insight" \
  --prop x=2cm --prop y=2cm --prop width=20cm --prop height=3cm \
  --prop font=Georgia --prop size=36 --prop bold=true --prop color=1E2761 --prop fill=none

Positioning is explicit — no layout engine, you own the grid math. --prop preset= picks geometry ( rect, roundRect, ellipse, triangle, arrow, star5, ...); custom M...Z paths are not supported — pick a preset. Name shapes at creation ( --prop name=HeroTitle) and address later with "/slide[N]/shape[@name=HeroTitle]" — names survive z-order / remove-then-add, whereas positional /shape[3] (and even @id=) shift. Re- get --depth 1 after any structural change before using positional indexes.

Text inside shapes (paragraphs, runs, styling)#

A shape has paragraphs ( paragraph[K]) and runs ( run[K]). For one-line text, --prop text= on the shape is enough; a \n in the text makes a paragraph break, \t a tab (see Shell & Execution Discipline; double \\n for a literal). add --type paragraph takes the same style props as a shape (text, align, bold, italic, size, color, font). For mixed styling within a line, append a styled run:

bash

officecli add "$FILE" "/slide[2]/shape[@name=Card1]/paragraph[1]" --type run \
  --prop text=" (inline detail)" --prop size=14 --prop italic=true --prop color=8899BB

Charts#

Pick chart type per the Design Principles chart-choice table. Full prop list (chartType enum, seriesN.*, data=/ categories=, axis options): help pptx add chart. Typical multi-series with brand colors:

bash

officecli add "$FILE" /slide[3] --type chart --prop chartType=column \
  --prop series1.name=Revenue --prop series1.values="42,45,48" --prop series1.color=1E2761 \
  --prop series2.name=Growth  --prop series2.values="2,7,7"    --prop series2.color=CADCFC \
  --prop categories="Q1,Q2,Q3" \
  --prop x=2cm --prop y=4cm --prop width=20cm --prop height=10cm

Gotchas: (1) chart titles with (), [], TBD ship as literal text. (2) some viewers normalize chart colors to theme defaults — verify in the target viewer. Series can be added after creation ( add --type series).

Pictures#

bash

officecli add "$FILE" /slide[4] --type picture --prop src=hero.jpg \
  --prop x=1cm --prop y=1cm --prop width=32cm --prop height=18cm \
  --prop alt="Product hero, gradient lit from right"

Confirm with officecli query "$FILE" 'picture:no-alt' — must be empty before delivery.

Connectors (LEAD — flowcharts / decision trees first-class)#

Draws a line between two shapes or free coordinates. Full prop / enum reference ( shape, headEnd/ tailEnd values, from/ to ref forms): help pptx add connector.

bash

officecli add "$FILE" /slide[5] --type connector \
  --prop "from=/slide[5]/shape[@name=BoxA]" --prop "to=/slide[5]/shape[@name=BoxB]" \
  --prop shape=elbow --prop color=333333 --prop tailEnd=triangle

Every flow connector needs an arrowhead. Without one, bentConnector3 renders as a directionless line. preset=rightArrow overlay only works for horizontal flows; diamonds / decision trees with diverging edges need tailEnd=.

Animations (LEAD)#

Use per the Animation floors above (purposeful, degrades gracefully, verify live). Preset names + duration syntax: help pptx animation.

bash

officecli set "$FILE" "/slide[2]/shape[@name=HeroCard]" --prop animation=fade-entrance-400
officecli set "$FILE" "/slide[2]/shape[@name=HeroCard]" --prop animation=none    # clear all

Hyperlinks, tooltips, slide-jump#

--prop link=slide[N] for an in-deck jump (1-based; target slide must exist), link=nextslide / firstslide / lastslide / previousslide / endshow for named navigation, link=https://... for a URL, --prop tooltip="..." for hover text.

Tables, placeholders, groups, zoom — one-liners#

• Tables — --type table --prop rows=N --prop cols=M. Row-level set supports height and c1/c2/c3 (seed cell text). Header-row styling is table-level ( firstRow=true / headerFill=), not a row prop. Cell formatting lives on the cell paragraph / run. Populate rows BEFORE setting table-level font (font cascade gets reset by row ops).

• Placeholders — "/slide[N]/placeholder[title]" / placeholder[body]. Available only when the slide uses a layout with placeholders (not layout=blank).

• Groups (LEAD) — address children via "/slide[N]/group[@name=G]/shape[1]". Survives reordering better than positional indexes.

• Zoom slide (LEAD) — --type zoom --prop target=N (one link per target; alias slide). Emit N separate zoom shapes for a multi-target nav hub. Zoom is a runtime feature — view html shows the static geometry; the zoom interaction runs only in a live presentation viewer.

• Slide comments — reviewer annotations anchored at /slide[N]/comment[M]. Full lifecycle ( add / set / get / query / remove). Props: text, author, initials (auto-derived), date (ISO 8601, defaults to UtcNow), x / y (length anchor). bash

  officecli add "$FILE" "/slide[2]" --type comment --prop author="Alice" --prop text="Tighten this bullet" --prop x=20cm --prop y=3cm
  officecli query "$FILE" 'comment' --json | jq '.data.results | length'   # count all review comments
  officecli remove "$FILE" "/slide[2]/comment[1]"                           # resolve after addressing
  
  

Deck-level recipes#

Patterns not obvious from the primitives. Each gives the visual outcome first, then a runnable block. $FILE = your filename. Use /slide[last()] to address the slide you just added. The recipes demonstrate structure and coordinate math — swap in the palette / fonts you chose for this topic; the navy 1E2761 + Georgia is just the example's theme, not a house style to copy verbatim.

Z-order. Later-added shapes are on top. Add background decoration FIRST, titles LAST. To fix after the fact: --prop zorder=back/front (renumbers siblings — re- get --depth 1 before stacking more).

(a) Cover (and section divider)

Visual outcome. Dark navy fill, centered 44pt title, 18pt ice-blue meta line.

bash

officecli add "$FILE" / --type slide --prop layout=blank --prop background=1E2761
officecli add "$FILE" "/slide[last()]" --type shape --prop text="Strategic Growth Review" \
  --prop x=2cm --prop y=7cm --prop width=29.87cm --prop height=3cm \
  --prop font=Georgia --prop size=44 --prop bold=true --prop color=FFFFFF --prop align=center
officecli add "$FILE" "/slide[last()]" --type shape --prop text="Prepared for Acme Leadership — FY26 Outlook" \
  --prop x=2cm --prop y=11cm --prop width=29.87cm --prop height=1.2cm \
  --prop font=Calibri --prop size=18 --prop color=CADCFC --prop align=center

Section divider = same cover, plus a giant translucent number ( size=120, opacity=0.15) added FIRST so it sits behind the section title.

(b) Data slide (chart + commentary block)

Visual outcome. Left two-thirds: column chart with brand series colors. Right one-third: "Key Insight" card with 20pt heading + 18pt body — audience reads the takeaway before parsing the bars.

bash

officecli add "$FILE" / --type slide --prop layout=blank --prop background=FFFFFF
officecli add "$FILE" "/slide[last()]" --type shape --prop text="FY26 Revenue Beat Plan by 18%" \
  --prop x=1.5cm --prop y=1cm --prop width=30cm --prop height=1.8cm \
  --prop font=Georgia --prop size=36 --prop bold=true --prop color=1E2761

# Chart — left 2/3 (single-quote the title because of `$`)
officecli add "$FILE" "/slide[last()]" --type chart --prop chartType=column \
  --prop series1.name=Actual --prop series1.values="42,45,48,55" --prop series1.color=1E2761 \
  --prop series2.name=Plan --prop series2.values="40,42,45,48" --prop series2.color=CADCFC \
  --prop categories="Q1,Q2,Q3,Q4" --prop x=1.5cm --prop y=3.5cm --prop width=20cm --prop height=14cm --prop title='FY26 Revenue ($M)'

# Commentary card — right 1/3: background + heading + body
officecli add "$FILE" "/slide[last()]" --type shape --prop preset=roundRect --prop fill=F5F7FA --prop line=none \
  --prop x=22.5cm --prop y=3.5cm --prop width=9.8cm --prop height=14cm
officecli add "$FILE" "/slide[last()]" --type shape --prop text="Key Insight" \
  --prop x=23cm --prop y=4cm --prop width=9cm --prop height=1.2cm \
  --prop font=Georgia --prop size=20 --prop bold=true --prop color=1E2761
officecli add "$FILE" "/slide[last()]" --type shape --prop text="EMEA launch + NRR at 118% drove 12pp of the 18pp beat." \
  --prop x=23cm --prop y=5.5cm --prop width=9cm --prop height=11cm \
  --prop font=Calibri --prop size=18 --prop color=333333

(c) Flowchart / process diagram (boxes + connectors)

Visual outcome. Four rounded boxes across at y=8cm, each 6×3cm, alternating navy/iceblue, joined by elbow connectors with triangle arrowheads.

Grid math (4 boxes, 33.87cm slide, 1.5cm margins): gap = (33.87 − 3 − 24) / 3 = 2.29cm. x-positions: 1.5, 9.79, 18.08, 26.37.

Each box carries its own label via valign=middle (no separate overlay shape needed). Use batch heredoc for portable coordinate arithmetic — no bc, no bash arrays.

bash

cat <<EOF | officecli batch "$FILE"
[
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[$SLIDE]","type":"shape","props":{"name":"Step1","preset":"roundRect","fill":"1E2761","line":"none","x":"1.5cm","y":"8cm","width":"6cm","height":"3cm","text":"Step 1","font":"Georgia","size":"20","bold":"true","color":"FFFFFF","align":"center","valign":"middle"}},
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[$SLIDE]","type":"shape","props":{"name":"Step2","preset":"roundRect","fill":"CADCFC","line":"none","x":"9.79cm","y":"8cm","width":"6cm","height":"3cm","text":"Step 2","font":"Georgia","size":"20","bold":"true","color":"1E2761","align":"center","valign":"middle"}},
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[$SLIDE]","type":"shape","props":{"name":"Step3","preset":"roundRect","fill":"1E2761","line":"none","x":"18.08cm","y":"8cm","width":"6cm","height":"3cm","text":"Step 3","font":"Georgia","size":"20","bold":"true","color":"FFFFFF","align":"center","valign":"middle"}},
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[$SLIDE]","type":"shape","props":{"name":"Step4","preset":"roundRect","fill":"CADCFC","line":"none","x":"26.37cm","y":"8cm","width":"6cm","height":"3cm","text":"Step 4","font":"Georgia","size":"20","bold":"true","color":"1E2761","align":"center","valign":"middle"}}
]
EOF

# Connector pattern — reuse for any box-to-box graph.
for pair in "Step1 Step2" "Step2 Step3" "Step3 Step4"; do
  A=${pair% *}; B=${pair#* }
  officecli add "$FILE" "/slide[$SLIDE]" --type connector \
    --prop "from=/slide[$SLIDE]/shape[@name=$A]" \
    --prop "to=/slide[$SLIDE]/shape[@name=$B]" \
    --prop shape=elbow --prop color=333333 --prop tailEnd=triangle
done

shape=elbow is canonical ( bentConnector2 / bentConnector3 also accepted).

(d) Multi-slide deck skeletons

No code block — it's a rhythm. The sequences below are illustrations of one working cadence (alternating dark dividers with white content), not required running orders — derive your actual arc from the content first (see "Title sequence first"), then borrow whatever divider/content rhythm fits:

• 10-slide review: Cover · Agenda · 3 KPI · Div01 · Chart · Chart · Div02 · Flow · Timeline · Close
• 20-slide pitch: same rhythm × 2, sectioned Problem · Solution · Market · Product · Traction · Model · Team · Financials · Ask
• Every divider must appear before its section content (Gate 3 order sanity)
• Cover/divider = (a); chart pages = (b); process pages = (c); KPI pages = (e); decision pages = (f)

(e) KPI callouts — giant-number card grid

Visual outcome. Three or four giant numbers across a row; each card = unit sublabel + small percent-change chip + one-line takeaway. The single most common exec-deck element.

Sizing rule. 60pt Georgia bold fits ~5 chars in a 9.78cm card ( $84.2, 118%, 24.5). For longer values ( $84.2M), split: $84.2 as the big number, USD millions as the sublabel — never shrink the font to chase a unit suffix, it just wraps.

Grid math (3 cards, 1.5cm margins, 0.76cm gap): col_width = (33.87 − 3 − 1.52) / 3 = 9.78cm. x-positions: 1.5, 12.04, 22.58. Use accent color on a single "watch" card so risk reads in one second.

bash

# Two cards: navy standard + terracotta watch. Each = bg + big number + sublabel + chip.
cat <<EOF | officecli batch "$FILE"
[
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[$SLIDE]","type":"shape","props":{"preset":"roundRect","fill":"1E2761","line":"none","x":"1.5cm","y":"4cm","width":"9.78cm","height":"7cm"}},
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[$SLIDE]","type":"shape","props":{"text":"84.2","x":"1.5cm","y":"4.8cm","width":"9.78cm","height":"2.8cm","font":"Georgia","size":"60","bold":"true","color":"FFFFFF","align":"center"}},
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[$SLIDE]","type":"shape","props":{"text":"USD millions · ARR","x":"1.5cm","y":"8cm","width":"9.78cm","height":"0.8cm","font":"Calibri","size":"14","color":"CADCFC","align":"center"}},
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[$SLIDE]","type":"shape","props":{"text":"+24% YoY","x":"1.5cm","y":"9cm","width":"9.78cm","height":"0.8cm","font":"Calibri","size":"14","bold":"true","color":"CADCFC","align":"center"}},
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[$SLIDE]","type":"shape","props":{"preset":"roundRect","fill":"B85042","line":"none","x":"22.58cm","y":"4cm","width":"9.78cm","height":"7cm"}},
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[$SLIDE]","type":"shape","props":{"text":"\$1.42","x":"22.58cm","y":"4.8cm","width":"9.78cm","height":"2.8cm","font":"Georgia","size":"60","bold":"true","color":"FFFFFF","align":"center"}},
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[$SLIDE]","type":"shape","props":{"text":"CAC payback (yrs)","x":"22.58cm","y":"8cm","width":"9.78cm","height":"0.8cm","font":"Calibri","size":"14","color":"FFFFFF","align":"center"}},
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[$SLIDE]","type":"shape","props":{"text":"+8% — watch","x":"22.58cm","y":"9cm","width":"9.78cm","height":"0.8cm","font":"Calibri","size":"14","bold":"true","color":"FFFFFF","align":"center"}}
]
EOF

(f) Decision tree — YES/NO branching

Visual outcome. Diamond at top-center; YES/NO child boxes diverging left-right; both converge into a shared terminal box. Layout: diamond at x=13.94, y=2cm, 6×3cm; YES at 3cm, 7.5cm; NO at 22.87cm, 7.5cm; terminal at 13.94cm, 13cm. Convention: red = stop/escalate, blue = standard, green = safe terminal. Every connector needs an arrowhead — readers misparse direction otherwise.

bash

cat <<EOF | officecli batch "$FILE"
[
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[$SLIDE]","type":"shape","props":{"name":"Decide","preset":"diamond","fill":"1E2761","line":"none","x":"13.94cm","y":"2cm","width":"6cm","height":"3cm","text":"Hazardous energy present?","font":"Calibri","size":"14","bold":"true","color":"FFFFFF","align":"center","valign":"middle"}},
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[$SLIDE]","type":"shape","props":{"name":"YesBox","preset":"roundRect","fill":"B85042","line":"none","x":"3cm","y":"7.5cm","width":"8cm","height":"3cm","text":"Lockout + Tagout + Verify","font":"Calibri","size":"16","bold":"true","color":"FFFFFF","align":"center","valign":"middle"}},
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[$SLIDE]","type":"shape","props":{"name":"NoBox","preset":"roundRect","fill":"CADCFC","line":"none","x":"22.87cm","y":"7.5cm","width":"8cm","height":"3cm","text":"Proceed with standard PPE","font":"Calibri","size":"16","bold":"true","color":"1E2761","align":"center","valign":"middle"}},
  {"command":"add","parent":"/slide[$SLIDE]","type":"shape","props":{"name":"Done","preset":"roundRect","fill":"2C5F2D","line":"none","x":"13.94cm","y":"13cm","width":"6cm","height":"2.5cm","text":"Begin service","font":"Calibri","size":"16","bold":"true","color":"FFFFFF","align":"center","valign":"middle"}}
]
EOF

Then 4 connectors ( Decide→YesBox, Decide→NoBox, YesBox→Done, NoBox→Done) using the connector loop pattern from (c).

QA (Required)#

Assume there are problems. First render is almost never correct. If you found zero issues, you were not looking hard enough.

Delivery Gate (any failure = REJECT, do NOT deliver)#

Gates 1–2b are text/schema-level (cannot see a rendered slide); Gate 3 is the only visual check. Done = every gate PASS and Gate 3 loop converged.

Each gate is run a command, judge its output — the officecli commands are identical on every OS (macOS / Linux / Windows), so no shell scripting is needed; the judging is yours.

• Gate 1 — schema. officecli validate "<file>". Any schema error → REJECT and fix.
• Gate 2 — overflow / format / structure. officecli view "<file>" issues. If it lists any issue (lines tagged [O1], [C1], [S1], …) → REJECT, fix, re-run until clean.
• Gate 2b — leftover placeholders. officecli view "<file>" text, then scan the output for xxxx, lorem / ipsum, <TODO>, placeholder, "this slide layout", or empty () / []. Any hit → REJECT.

Gate 3 — Visual audit (MANDATORY)#

Pick one path:

Screenshot (default) — for vision-capable agents. Screenshot each slide in turn — officecli view "<file>" screenshot --page 1 -o slide1.png, then --page 2, … — until the page index runs past the deck (one screenshot = one slide). If it errors on page 1, use the fallback below.

Judge every PNG against the checklist, adversarially — "assume problems exist; finding none means you didn't look hard enough." Report one slide N: <issue> line per problem, or PASS. This step is required however you run it. If your harness can spawn a subagent, delegate the judging to a fresh, independent one — the agent that built the deck is biased toward "looks fine", a separate pair of eyes is more critical — handing it the screenshots + this checklist and the same adversarial framing. No subagent? Do exactly the same yourself.

Fallback — HTML-text (no vision, or screenshot failed): read view "$FILE" html as text. DOM cannot prove dark-on-dark / fine overlap / arrowheads / gap-margin metrics / column alignment — flag these as "not visually verified" rather than PASS.

Optional --grid N — only on user request for layout-rhythm, or when view outline shows anomalous layout distribution: officecli view "<file>" screenshot --grid 3 -o grid.png.

Per-slide checklist (assume issues exist):

• overlap — shapes / charts / giant decorative numbers (01/02/03 100pt+) colliding
• text overflow — clipped at slide or shape boundary (KPI cards, narrow boxes)
• narrow text box — content fits technically but wraps to many short lines (1–2 words each); long sublabel in a 3cm KPI card, body line in a too-tight column
• dark-on-dark — fill brightness < 30% with text/icon brightness < 80% (incl. dark icons on dark without a contrasting circle)
• image treatment — photo stretched/distorted, text raw on a busy image (no card/scrim), screenshot or logo cropped, transparent image floating on white
• missing arrowheads — flowchart connectors as plain lines
• decorative-line / title mismatch — accent bar sized for one-line title but title wrapped to two (or vice versa)
• footer / citation collision — source line, page number, or footnote touching content above
• tight margin / gap — element within ~0.5" of slide edge, or two cards within ~0.3"
• uneven gaps — large empty area on one side, cramped on another (broken rhythm)
• column / repeat-element misalignment — KPI cards / icons off baseline or inconsistent width
• order sanity — sequence matches narrative (cover → agenda → dividers-before-sections → closing)

REJECT with slide N: <issue> lines, else "Gate 3 PASS" (HTML-text fallback adds " not visually verified").

Fix-verify (mandatory, max 3 cycles). Fix → re-run Gate 3 → repeat until zero new issues; one fix often surfaces another. After 3 rounds without convergence, stop — likely seesaw, template-level cause, or agent misread. Report slide N: <issue> — attempted: <fixes> — likely root: <template|design-conflict|ambiguous> and let the user decide.

Then flush (part of the gate). Once Gate 3 converges, end with officecli save "<file>" — this guarantees your edits are written to disk before delivery (use officecli close "<file>" instead to also release the resident on a one-shot handoff). Required final step, not optional. Always safe: never errors or loses work.

Common Pitfalls#

Sanity-check cheatsheet — what breaks on the first try. Design + shell traps.

PitfallCorrect approachUnquoted [N] in zsh/bashAlways quote paths: "/slide[1]". zsh globs unquoted [1] → no matches found — #1 first-use stumble--name "foo"All attributes go through --prop: --prop name="foo"``/shape[myname] (bare name in brackets)Use @name= selector: /shape[@name=myname] or /shape[@id=10007]Paths 1-based vs --index 0-based/slide[1] = first slide; --index 0 = first position$ in --prop text=Single-quote: --prop text='$15M'. Double-quoted "$15M" gets shell-expanded to M``\n / \t in --prop text=Interpreted by the CLI: \n = paragraph break, \t = tab. Double \\n for a literal