Guide · Agent skill

How to use the PPTX Reference Deck Analysis agent skill

Updated 2026-10-29 · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data

The PPTX Reference Deck Analysis skill teaches an AI agent to study an existing PowerPoint file as a style reference without changing it. It reports slide count and size, text, colors, fonts, layout patterns and theme details, and can check the file's internal package for damage or broken links. This guide explains what the skill does, how to install it, how to ask for it in plain language, and what to watch for, so you can get a new deck that matches a reference without copying its original slides or assets.

PPTX Reference Deck Analysiswshobson/agents · MIT Download the skill

Quick start

1Download the ZIP. Download the skill ZIP from this page and unzip it on your machine.
2Place the folder. Move the unzipped folder into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder, or upload it under Settings → Capabilities → Skills in the Claude apps.
3Install dependencies. Run pip install -r requirements.txt in the skill folder to install defusedxml, and install python-pptx.
4Attach the reference deck. Give the agent the .pptx file you want analyzed as a style reference.
5Make a natural request. Describe the new deck or diagnostic you want, focusing on layout, theme or package checks.
6Review the analysis. Check the agent's summary of slides, colors, fonts and layout patterns before design begins.
7Confirm rights before reuse. Only reuse photos, fonts or branded assets if you have explicit permission and license evidence.

What the skill makes the agent do

An agent skill is a folder of instructions and optional scripts that an AI agent loads when a task matches the skill's description. This one applies when you give the agent a reference .pptx and want it to learn from the design rather than reuse the file.

The agent examines the deck read-only. It gathers compact context such as slide count, slide size, text summaries, shape counts, styles, brand signals and layout rhythm. For deeper work it can produce a full extraction, a style-master analysis of palette, typography and master/layout use, or a derived template catalog that lists source slides by zero-based index with layout roles, usable regions and constraints.

The skill is explicit that the source deck is never copied, cloned or modified. The agent uses its observations to design a new deck of its own.

Install the skill from the ZIP download

Download the skill ZIP from this page and unzip it. You have two options depending on how you work.

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

If you use the Claude apps, you can instead upload the skill under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.

Personal: ~/.claude/skills/
Project: .claude/skills/ inside your project
Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills (upload)

Install the Python dependencies

The skill's scripts need Python 3. The bundled requirements.txt lists defusedxml, which the OOXML utilities use to parse XML safely. The source also says the task-local extraction scripts use the python-pptx library, so install that as well.

Install defusedxml from requirements.txt before using the bundled utilities.

Python 3
python-pptx (used by task-local extraction scripts)
defusedxml (listed in requirements.txt)

pip install -r requirements.txt

Trigger the skill with a natural request

You do not need to name the skill. Describe the job and attach the reference deck. The skill's description covers requests about structure, theme, typography, layout rhythm, diagnostics, template catalogs and package inspection, so phrase your request around one of those goals.

Name the outcome you want. The more specific you are about what should carry over (look, layout rhythm, colors) and what should not (photos, logos, fonts), the better the agent's output will fit your needs.

Analyze this reference deck and make a new 10-slide pitch deck with the same layout rhythm.
Summarize the theme, colors and fonts used in this PPTX so I can match them.
Check this presentation file for broken links or malformed XML before I edit it.
Build a template catalog from these approved decks in this folder.

Use the inspection scripts directly

The skill includes three scripts the agent can run. inspect.py produces a compact JSON report of slide order, text, theme tokens, relationships, notes, comments, animations and media. validate_package.py checks for malformed XML, broken internal relationships, content-type gaps, duplicate layout links and orphaned parts, and can write a report file. unpack.py extracts the raw package, which the agent should use only when raw evidence is necessary.

You can run them yourself from the skill folder or ask the agent to run them for you.

python scripts/inspect.py deck.pptx
python scripts/validate_package.py deck.pptx --output report.json
python scripts/unpack.py deck.pptx output-dir

Safety notes on scripts and network

The skill runs scripts, so run it from a trusted workspace. The scripts reject path traversal, symlinks, oversized members and archive bombs. XML is parsed with defusedxml, with entity expansion, DTD loading and network access disabled.

The skill does not use the network, according to its requirements. Treat theme colors as tokens unless they are fully resolved against the color scheme, since the agent may not see the final rendered color.

Do not use extracted photos, fonts or branded assets in a new deck without explicit permission and license evidence. The skill enforces this rule itself.

Run from a trusted workspace only
Scripts reject symlinks, path traversal, oversized members and archive bombs
No network access is used
Extracted assets need explicit permission and license evidence

Tips for better results

Give the agent a clean reference. If you have a folder of approved decks, ask for a template catalog so the agent indexes layouts once rather than re-reading every file.

Ask for the diagnostic first when a file behaves oddly. A validation report shows broken relationships and content-type gaps before you invest in a design pass.

Keep the reference and output separate. Because the skill keeps the source read-only, ask for the new deck as a new file and keep your original untouched.

Use a folder of approved decks for a reusable template catalog
Run validation before design work on suspicious files
Ask for a new file rather than edits to the source

What people use it for

Matching a new pitch deck to the look and layout rhythm of an existing reference presentation
Building a reusable template catalog from a folder of approved decks
Diagnosing malformed or inconsistent PPTX files before editing them
Summarizing the theme colors, fonts and size distribution of a branded deck

Frequently asked questions

What is the PPTX Reference Deck Analysis skill?

It is an agent skill that tells an AI agent how to examine an existing PowerPoint file read-only, covering slide count and size, text, colors, fonts, layout patterns and theme details. The agent uses those observations to design a new deck without copying the original slides or assets.

How do I install the pptx-reference-deck-analysis skill?

Download the ZIP from this page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder. In the Claude apps you can instead upload it under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.

What do I need to run it?

You need Python 3 and the python-pptx library for task-local extraction scripts, plus defusedxml, which is listed in requirements.txt. The skill runs scripts but does not use the network, according to its listing.

Is the skill free to use?

The source lists the license as MIT. Check the license file in the downloaded package for the full terms.

Can the skill edit or repair my PowerPoint file?

No. The skill is designed to keep the source deck read-only and does not modify files. It can diagnose problems such as broken links or malformed XML, but you would need to fix the file with another tool.

Can I reuse photos and logos from the reference deck?

Not by default. The skill forbids using extracted content, fonts, images or proprietary assets in a generated deck without explicit permission and license evidence.

How is this different from just asking an AI to read a PowerPoint?

This skill gives the agent a defined, read-only method with bundled inspection and validation scripts, and it resolves relationships rather than guessing from filenames. It also includes safety limits on archives and XML parsing.

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Our verdict

This skill suits designers who want a new deck to match an existing reference, teams building template catalogs from approved decks, and developers diagnosing malformed PPTX files. It is not the right choice if you need to copy a deck's photos, fonts or branded assets without rights, or if you want an agent to edit or repair a file in place.

Download the skill