latex-to-pptx

Convert a Beamer LaTeX (.tex) file into a fully-editable PowerPoint (.pptx) deck. Use this when the user has a .tex slide source and wants an editable .pptx — for example "convert this LaTeX to PPT", "export my beamer slides as PowerPoint", or when they mention editing slides in PowerPoint/Keynote.

LaTeX → PPTX Conversion

Converts a Beamer .tex file into a native, editable PowerPoint deck using the instructional_agents parser plus pptxgenjs.

When to invoke this skill

  • User has a .tex file (Beamer or Beamer-compatible) and wants a .pptx
  • User asks to "export LaTeX slides to PowerPoint / Keynote"
  • User wants to edit generated slides in PowerPoint (vs. getting a static PDF)

Do not invoke this for:

  • Generating new slides from scratch → use course-generate
  • Compiling LaTeX to PDF → use latex-compile

Prerequisites

Before running, verify:

  1. Python 3.11+ with instructional-agents installed: 
    pip show instructional-agents || pip install instructional-agents
  2. Node.js with pptxgenjs: 
    node -e "require('pptxgenjs')" 2>/dev/null || npm install -g pptxgenjs

If either is missing, tell the user and offer to install.

Usage

Run the wrapper script with the input .tex path. The .pptx is written next to the source unless --output is given.

python3 "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/latex-to-pptx/scripts/convert.py" \
  <input.tex> [--output <output.pptx>]

Arguments

ArgRequiredDescription
<input.tex>yesPath to the Beamer .tex file
--output <path>noOutput .pptx path (default: same dir, same stem)

Example

python3 "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/latex-to-pptx/scripts/convert.py" \
  ~/courses/ml/chapter1.tex
# → ~/courses/ml/chapter1.pptx

Supported LaTeX constructs

itemize, enumerate, block, alertblock, code listings (lstlisting), inline & display math, columns, tikz (rendered as placeholder boxes).

Output

An editable .pptx — every text object, bullet list, and code block is a native PowerPoint shape, not an embedded image. Safe to edit in PowerPoint, Keynote, or Google Slides.

Troubleshooting

  • "pptxgenjs not found" → npm install -g pptxgenjs
  • Math doesn't render → pptxgenjs doesn't support native LaTeX math; the skill emits math as plain text. For math-heavy decks, keep the PDF.
  • \include / \input → flatten first with latexpand input.tex > flat.tex then run the skill on flat.tex.

Citation

This skill wraps code from Instructional Agents (arXiv:2508.19611). If used in published work, please cite the paper — see the plugin README.