I Built a CLI Tool That Turns AI Code Into PowerPoint Files Instantly

The Problem

Everyone uses PowerPoint. Nobody enjoys making it.

You spend hours picking fonts, aligning boxes, choosing colors. Or you pay a designer. Or you use a template that looks like everyone else’s template.

Then AI came along. And I thought — wait. AI can write code. pptxgenjs can generate .pptx files from code. What if I connect the two?

The Idea

Here is the full flow:

1. You ask ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini to write a pptxgenjs script
2. AI writes the code in seconds
3. You save it as a .js file
4. You run one terminal command
5. A real .pptx file appears in your folder

That’s it. No PowerPoint open. No dragging boxes. No design skills needed.

What I Built

I packaged this into an open source NPM CLI tool called pptx-builder.

npx pptx-builder my_presentation.js

Anyone with Node.js installed can use it. No other setup. No install step. Just npx and go.

How To Use It

Step 1 — Ask AI

Open any AI tool. Use this exact prompt:

You are a PowerPoint presentation code generator using the pptxgenjs library.

Generate a complete Node.js script using pptxgenjs that creates a professional
PowerPoint presentation about [YOUR TOPIC HERE].

Rules:
- Use only 6-digit hex colors (e.g. FF0000). No 8-digit, no transparency.
- Do NOT use pptxgen.ShapeType — use plain strings like "rect" instead.
- All content inside one single file, no imports except pptxgenjs.
- Last line must be: pptx.writeFile({ fileName: "output.pptx" });
- Do not wrap in markdown or backticks, return raw JS only.

Make it visually beautiful with dark background, colors, and good layout.
Include at least 8 slides.

Replace [YOUR TOPIC HERE] with anything. Business pitch. School project. Product launch. Company report.

Step 2 — Save the code

AI returns a JavaScript file. Copy it. Save as presentation.js.

Step 3 — Run

npx pptx-builder presentation.js

First time it downloads the package automatically. Takes about 5 seconds.

Step 4 — Done

output.pptx is in your folder. Open it in PowerPoint or upload to Google Slides.

Why Not Just Use pptxgenjs Directly?

Great question. You can. But:

• You need to install pptxgenjs in every project
• You need to know how Node modules work
• AI often generates code with errors (8-digit colors, ShapeType issues)
• There is no standard prompt to give AI

pptx-builder solves all of this:

• Zero install for end user
• Works from any folder
• Includes battle-tested AI prompt that avoids common errors
• One command interface

The Rules That Matter

When asking AI to write pptxgenjs code, these rules prevent 90% of errors:

Rule 1–6-digit hex colors only pptxgenjs does not support 8-digit hex (with transparency like FF000066). Always use standard 6-digit hex like FF0000.

Rule 2 — No ShapeType AI often writes pptxgen.ShapeType.rect which crashes because pptxgen is an instance not a class. Use plain string "rect" instead.

Rule 3 — Single file Keep everything in one .js file. No splitting into modules.

Rule 4 — writeFile as last line Put pptx.writeFile() at the very end to ensure the file saves correctly.

Real Example Code

Here is what a working AI-generated file looks like:

const pptxgen = require("pptxgenjs");
const pptx = new pptxgen();

// Slide 1 - Title
let slide1 = pptx.addSlide();
slide1.background = { color: "0F0F1A" };
slide1.addText("Company Overview 2025", {
  x: 1, y: 1.5, w: 8, h: 1.2,
  fontSize: 48, bold: true,
  color: "7C83FD", align: "center"
});
slide1.addText("Presented by Abdullah Khalid Mirza", {
  x: 1, y: 3, w: 8, h: 0.7,
  fontSize: 18, color: "AAAAAA", align: "center"
});

// Slide 2 - Content
let slide2 = pptx.addSlide();
slide2.background = { color: "0D1B2A" };
slide2.addText("Key Points", {
  x: 0.5, y: 0.5, w: 9, h: 1,
  fontSize: 32, bold: true, color: "00C9A7"
});
slide2.addText("• Revenue grew 40% this year\n• 3 new markets entered\n• Team expanded to 50 people", {
  x: 0.8, y: 1.8, w: 8.5, h: 3,
  fontSize: 20, color: "DDDDDD"
});

pptx.writeFile({ fileName: "output.pptx" });
console.log("Done!");

AI generates 8–10 slides like this in seconds. You run one command. Presentation ready.

Try It Now

npx pptx-builder your_file.js

NPM page: npmjs.com/package/pptx-builder

GitHub: github.com/abdullahkhalidmirza/pptx-builder

What’s Next

• Template library with 10+ built-in themes
• --out flag to specify output folder
• Web UI so non-developers can use it too
• Direct AI integration — describe your presentation, get the file

If you build something with it, share it. Would love to see what people create.

— Abdullah Khalid Mirza