Google Slides

---
name: google-slides
description: >-
  Generate Google Slides decks and infographics from scratch, with no registered
  corporate master: spec-driven decks on a blank 16:9 template, or code-first
  decks with offline layout validation for diagram-heavy material.
  Use for: Google Slides を作って, スライドを生成, インフォグラフィクスを作って,
  create Google Slides, generate slides, create infographic.
---
*[日本語](SKILL.ja.md)*

# Google Slides Generation (from scratch)

Claude Code is the primary host for this shared skill. Codex and Antigravity
use the same procedure through thin adapters. Read this file completely, then
follow `references/workflow-contract.md`; do not preload every reference in the
capability table below.

## Important

- **Scope**: building decks WITHOUT a registered corporate master. Two paths, both on the shared engine in this repo:
  - **Spec path** — `templates/blank-16x9.json` + `scripts/build_deck.py --spec deck.json` for typical text/figure decks
  - **Code-first path** — write the deck as a Python module (`deckkit.py`), validate coordinates offline, render with `scripts/render_deck.py`
- **Routing**:
  - User has a template/master URL, or wants text flowed into an existing corporate layout → `google-slides-template` skill
  - Scalar company/product/use-case decks → `scalar-product-slides` skill
  - Dense cloud architecture / data-flow / network diagrams (nested containers, 10+ nodes) → author them with the `drawio-diagrams` skill (draw.io → PNG → insert); simple concept figures stay on `diagrams.py`
  - Authoring PPTX files from scratch → `document-skills:pptx` (exporting a deck generated here to `.pptx` → `pptx-export` skill)
  - A bare "make slides" request uses this skill only when a Google Drive / Google Slides context is explicit
- **Working directory**: the slide-forge root — `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}` when running from an installed plugin, `/path/to/slide-forge` on a local clone. All commands below run from there (literal paths assume the local clone).
- **Auth** is centralized in `scripts/_auth.py`. It finds `credentials.json` / `token.json` in: `$GSLIDES_CONFIG_DIR` → `config/` at the repo root (canonical) → the old skill layout (transitional fallback). Never write per-script inline auth.
- **Visual QA is a separate skill (`slide-qa`), chosen at generation time** (Phase 5). Default: run — recommend it when asking (Phase 1); a clean API response cannot show overflow or misattached arrows. If the user opts out, skip Phase 5, state in the report that the deck is unverified, and offer `slide-qa` as a follow-up. When QA runs, it ends by deleting the local QA files (`scripts/cleanup_qa.py`).
- On QA failure, **delete the broken presentation and regenerate** from the fixed spec/module. Never patch a live deck with incremental API edits.
- The delete-and-regenerate rule applies only to decks generated in the current session. **When updating an existing deck the user already has** (inserting or fixing slides in place, keeping the same URL), first run `scripts/snapshot_version.py <URL>` to record the pre-edit revision (keepForever pin attempt + local PPTX backup), report the revision ID to the user, and only then edit. Rollback is via the Slides UI "File → Version history".

## Quick Reference

| Task | Where |
|------|-------|
| Build from a JSON spec | `scripts/build_deck.py` + `templates/blank-16x9.json` |
| Write a deck as Python | `scripts/deckkit.py` (+ `examples/pattern-gallery/deck.py`, `examples/scalardb-scalardl/deck.py` — grep these, never read one in full) |
| Validate layout offline (no API) | `scripts/validate_layout.py` + `references/layout-contract.md` |
| Render a Python deck | `scripts/render_deck.py` |
| Visual QA (optional, default: run) | `slide-qa` skill (`scripts/fetch_thumbnails.py` + checklist + cleanup) |
| Delete local QA files after verification | `scripts/cleanup_qa.py` |
| Snapshot a version before editing an existing deck | `scripts/snapshot_version.py` |
| Diagrams (flows, architecture) | `scripts/diagrams.py` (Canvas) + `references/diagrams.md`, `references/diagram-cookbook.md` |
| Dense cloud/data-flow diagrams (draw.io → PNG) | `drawio-diagrams` skill + `scripts/drawio_export.py` + `references/drawio.md` |
| Drive folder per deck (create / collect files) | `scripts/drive_folder.py` |
| Charts and tables | `scripts/charts.py` + `references/charts.md` |
| Shape-drawn pictograms and metaphor figures | `scripts/illustrations.py --list` for the names; `references/diagrams.md` for placement |
| Business-framework figures (posmap, gantt, orgchart…) | `scripts/patterns.py` + `references/patterns.md` |
| Page scaffolding and analysis figures | `scripts/pages.py` + `references/slide-patterns.md` |
| Scalar brand pictograms | `scripts/icons.py` + `assets/scalar/pictograms` + `references/icons.md` |
| Cloud vendor icons (AWS/GCP/Azure) | `scripts/cloud_icons.py` + `assets/cloud-icons` + `references/cloud-icons.md` |
| Restore cloud icons (first use) | `scripts/fetch_cloud_icons.py` |
| AI-generated images (covers, section art) | `scripts/images.py` (needs `GEMINI_API_KEY`) + `references/images.md` |
| API pitfall | Search the matching topic in `references/api-notes.md`; open the relevant `google-slides-api.md` section only if unresolved |
| Deck composition recipe | One matching file/section under `references/composers/` |

---

## Phase 0: Environment check

1. **venv** — `.venv` at the repo root is a symlink to the shared venv `~/.claude/venvs/gslides`. Verify:

   ```bash
   cd /path/to/slide-forge
   .venv/bin/python -c "import googleapiclient; print('ok')"
   ```

   If broken or missing, rebuild the shared venv and re-link. If
   `~/.claude/venvs/gslides-requirements.txt` does not exist, seed it from the
   repo's `requirements.txt` first (the repo file is a record, not the actual
   install source — to add a dependency, edit
   `~/.claude/venvs/gslides-requirements.txt`):

   ```bash
   [ -f ~/.claude/venvs/gslides-requirements.txt ] || \
     cp /path/to/slide-forge/requirements.txt ~/.claude/venvs/gslides-requirements.txt
   python3 -m venv ~/.claude/venvs/gslides
   ~/.claude/venvs/gslides/bin/pip install -U -r ~/.claude/venvs/gslides-requirements.txt
   rm -rf /path/to/slide-forge/.venv
   ln -s ~/.claude/venvs/gslides /path/to/slide-forge/.venv
   ```

   Create the symlink with an **absolute path** — where the directory itself is
   a symlink, relative links fail to resolve.

2. **Credentials** — confirm `config/credentials.json` exists (OAuth 2.0 Desktop client; Slides API and Drive API enabled in the GCP project). `config/token.json` is created on first run via a browser auth flow. If `credentials.json` is missing, stop and ask the user to place it — do not generate or run anything until it is confirmed.

3. **Optional capabilities** (check only if the deck needs them):
   - Cloud icons: they are not bundled (vendor license terms forbid redistribution). Verify with `.venv/bin/python scripts/cloud_icons.py --list --vendor aws | head`; if missing, run `.venv/bin/python scripts/fetch_cloud_icons.py` once (~1–2 min).
   - AI images: `images.py` needs `GEMINI_API_KEY` (env var, or a `config/gemini_api_key` file — gitignored). If unset and the deck wants generated imagery, fall back to `illustrations.py` or ask the user.

---

## Phase 1: Choose a path

| | Spec path | Code-first path |
|---|---|---|
| Author | `deck.json` (JSON spec) | `deck.py` (Python module) |
| Best for | Typical decks: text pages, standard figures, charts, page patterns | Connector-heavy architecture diagrams, dense custom drawings, anything where endpoint/overlap precision matters |
| Validation | `build_deck.py --dry-run --strict` | `validate_layout.py` (offline geometry checks) |
| Generate | `build_deck.py` | `render_deck.py` |

Guidance: default to the **spec path**. Switch to **code-first** when the deck centers on architecture/flow diagrams with many connectors — the offline validator checks connector endpoints, overlaps, and overflow that a spec dry-run cannot see.

Also settle with the user (1–2 questions max): audience and purpose, approximate page count, output Drive folder (URL/ID, optional), copyright/footer text if any, and whether to run visual QA after generation (default and recommended: run; see Phase 5). For structuring help see `references/deck-outlines.md` and `references/composers/`.

---

## Phase 2: Author

### Spec path

Write `deck.json` against `templates/blank-16x9.json`. All figure capabilities are available from the spec: diagrams (`diagrams.py` Canvas), charts/tables (`charts.py`), shape-drawn pictograms and metaphor figures (`illustrations.py`), business-framework figures (`patterns.py`), page scaffolding and analysis figures (`pages.py`), Scalar pictograms (`icons.py`), cloud icons (`cloud_icons.py`), AI images (`images.py`). See `references/template-schema.md` for the spec format and each module's reference for its parts.

### Code-first path

Write a deck module: 1 module = 1 deck, one function per slide, registered with `slide()` / `plain()` from `deckkit`. Coordinates are inches, origin top-left; `d` is a `diagrams.Canvas`. Start from the working examples:

- `examples/pattern-gallery/deck.py` — one slide per available part
- `examples/scalardb-scalardl/deck.py` — a real product/architecture deck

**Never read either example in full.** `pattern-gallery/deck.py` is 35KB and
`scalardb-scalardl/deck.py` is 157KB (~39k tokens); reading both costs more
than the rest of this skill's references combined. Locate the one slide
function you need and read only it:

```bash
grep -n "^def \|slide(\|plain(" examples/scalardb-scalardl/deck.py
```

Contract rules (footer safe area, title height, connector attachment) are in `references/layout-contract.md`; drawing recipes in `references/diagram-cookbook.md` — one section per pattern (§2 layer, §3 process flow, §4 swimlane, §5 branching, §6 matrix, §7 architecture, §8 pipeline, §9 timeline, §10 tree), so open the matching recipe only.

### Design principles (both paths)

- **Action titles**: every content slide title is a conclusion sentence, not a label
- **Connectors attach to shapes**, never drawn as free coordinates — the API does not validate line endpoints, so a detached arrow is invisible until QA
- Body >= 12pt, title >= 20pt; WCAG AA contrast (4.5:1); max ~6 bullets, 1 slide = 1 message; 60-30-10 color rule
- Do not guess cloud icon names — search with `scripts/cloud_icons.py --search <term>`; recoloring/rotating/flipping vendor icons is prohibited by their license terms
- Per-slide guidance: load only the matching Composer and slide-pattern sections.

---

## Phase 3: Validate (before any API call)

Spec path:

```bash
.venv/bin/python scripts/build_deck.py --template templates/blank-16x9.json \
    --spec deck.json --dry-run --strict
```

A clean run prints a three-line summary; add `--verbose` only when you need
the per-slide layout list or the full list of fitted text.

Code-first path:

```bash
.venv/bin/python scripts/validate_layout.py path/to/deck.py \
    --template templates/blank-16x9.json --quiet
```

`--quiet` silences the per-slide `fit:` notes and the OK summary, so a clean
run prints nothing. Drop it only when you need to see what was auto-fitted.

`validate_layout.py` is offline and free — it checks footer intrusion, off-slide geometry, title wrapping, connector endpoints (detached or buried), partial overlap of text-bearing shapes, and text overflow. Exit code 1 means fix and re-run. Never skip validation (`--skip-validate` exists on `render_deck.py` but do not use it).

---

## Phase 4: Generate

Spec path:

```bash
.venv/bin/python scripts/build_deck.py --template templates/blank-16x9.json \
    --spec deck.json --title "Deck title" [--folder <DRIVE_FOLDER_URL_OR_ID>]
```

Code-first path:

```bash
.venv/bin/python scripts/render_deck.py path/to/deck.py --title "Deck title" \
    [--folder <URL/ID>] [--only 1-5]
```

`--only` renders a page range for cheap prototyping. First run opens a browser for OAuth and writes `config/token.json`. The script prints the presentation URL — relay it to the user.

**Drive folder rule**: every generated deck gets its own Drive folder, and all related files live under it. Create the folder first, generate into it, then collect the sources:

```bash
.venv/bin/python scripts/drive_folder.py create "<Deck title>" [--parent <URL/ID>]
# pass the printed ID as --folder to build_deck.py / render_deck.py, then:
.venv/bin/python scripts/drive_folder.py upload <FOLDER_ID> deck.json figures/*.drawio out/diagrams/*.png
```

Upload whatever lets the user regenerate or edit later: the spec (`deck.json`) or deck module (`deck.py`), `.drawio` sources, and exported figure PNGs. QA thumbnails stay local. Report the folder URL together with the presentation URL.

Keep ordinary decks up to 17 pages in one agent. Consider page-level fan-out
at 18–20 pages, or earlier only when independent page groups use different
complex figures. Load only the applicable sections of
`references/parallel-generation.md`.

---

## Phase 5: Visual QA (optional — `slide-qa` skill)

Run when the user chose QA in Phase 1 (the default). When they opted out, skip
this phase, state in the report that no visual verification was done, and offer
the `slide-qa` skill as a follow-up.

The procedure is owned by the **`slide-qa` skill** — follow it. In short:

```bash
.venv/bin/python scripts/fetch_thumbnails.py <URL or ID> --out out/qa --size LARGE
# … inspect every PNG with Read …
.venv/bin/python scripts/cleanup_qa.py   # always delete the local QA files when done
```

Check: text clipped or overflowing its frame, elements overlapping decorations, detached connector arrows, unreadable contrast, awkward line wraps. These are invisible in API responses.

On failure: fix the spec/module, re-run Phase 3 validation, **delete the broken
presentation, and regenerate**. The first QA pass covers every page. After a
local fix, reinspect the changed page and adjacent pages; expand to all pages
using a changed shared component, and to the whole deck after master/theme/
footer/page-number changes. Clean up QA files, then report the final URL.