How to use the Document Authoring agent skill

What is an agent skill and what does this one do?

An agent skill is a folder containing a SKILL.md file that tells an AI agent how to handle a specific kind of task. When the skill is installed and relevant to your request, the agent follows its instructions instead of improvising the whole process.

The Document Authoring skill covers charts, PDFs, editable Word files and animated presentations. For charts it uses document.echarts.render with values grounded in your supplied or retrieved data, labelled units, and SVG or PNG output. For PDFs it writes a local .typ source file and compiles it with document.typst.compile. For Word files it uses document.document.create with format=docx. For slide decks it uses document.slidev.create, edits slides.md and style.css, and opens the result with present in your browser.

The skill also checks its own work. It inspects charts for clipping or misleading axes, renders PDF pages to compare layout, and runs deck checks before handing files back.

Install the Document Authoring skill

Download the skill as a ZIP from this page and unzip it. The skill is a single file, SKILL.md, so the extracted folder should contain that file.

For a personal setup, place the unzipped folder in ~/.claude/skills/. For a single project, place it in the project's .claude/skills/ folder so it only applies there.

If you use the Claude apps instead, open Settings, go to Capabilities, then Skills, and upload the skill there.

• Personal install: ~/.claude/skills/
• Project install: .claude/skills/ inside your project folder
• Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Check the requirements before you start

The workflow depends on Leon platform document tools, including document.echarts.render, document.slidev.create, document.typst.compile, document.document.create, and present and stop. Without these tools the workflow cannot run as described, so this skill is not a substitute for them.

PDF output needs the Typst compiler. DOCX rendering is optional and only needed for visual checks of Word files. A hosted generation provider account is only needed if you choose hosted Office or generation features. The skill runs scripts and uses the network.

• Leon platform document tools (document.echarts.render, document.slidev.create, document.typst.compile, document.document.create, present/stop)
• Typst compiler for PDF and SVG/PNG output
• DOCX/Office rendering: optional, only for visual checks
• Hosted generation provider account: optional, only for hosted Office or generation features

How to trigger the skill with natural requests

You do not need special syntax. Describe the output you want, the audience, and the source material. The more specific you are about format and data, the better the agent can match the request to the right creation path.

Name the format you need (chart, PDF, Word document, slide deck) and point to the data or documents to use. The skill asks the agent to reuse your source material and to label units, so say where the numbers come from.

• "Make a slide deck for the board from this Q3 report. Keep it to a cover, five content slides and a summary."
• "Build a PDF briefing from these notes, with a bar chart of the survey results in the appendix."
• "Create an editable Word version of this memo with a figure of the monthly sales data, labelled in euros."
• "Chart the attached CSV as an SVG and PNG, with axis units."

Example workflows

For a chart, the agent creates one named entry per requested chart and produces a separate SVG or PNG artifact for each. It previews the PNG before delivering it.

For a slide deck, the agent scaffolds a Slidev project, writes the slides, and runs inspect and then check. Once the check passes with full coverage, it starts a local presentation and opens it in your browser. You can share a web export, but PDF, PNG and PowerPoint exports capture slide states rather than native motion.

For a PDF, the agent writes a Typst source file in a project directory, copies in selected assets, compiles the document, and renders pages to compare layout.

Safety notes: scripts and network access

The skill runs scripts and uses the network. Before relying on it for sensitive material, check which tools are connected to your Leon setup and which provider accounts are configured.

Preview packages in Typst may download missing packages, so avoid those imports for offline work. Shared web decks omit speaker notes by default, and the optional source ZIP includes them, so only request it when you need the source. Opening a deck in a browser does not require extracting files or running commands; a web ZIP includes serve.mjs, which you run with node only when you choose to host it yourself.

• Typst preview-package imports may download packages; avoid them offline
• Shared web decks omit notes by default
• Source ZIP (includeSource=true) contains speaker notes; request it only when needed

Tips for better results

Supply the source material. The skill is designed to ground values and claims in supplied or retrieved data, so an agent working from your files will produce more reliable output than one working from memory.

Review the output before sharing. Exports capture slide states, and editable PPTX files may rasterize complex elements, so check fidelity. Ask for specific acceptance criteria, such as page count or required sections, so the agent can verify them.

• Provide source files and label where numbers come from
• Ask for both SVG and PNG when you need a vector figure and a preview
• Use separate sections in a request to control where figures sit in a Word file
• Do not use image generators for quantitative charts; use the chart tool instead