SlideClaw Skill (OpenClaw + ClawHub)

Use this skill to run end-to-end Marp slide production with SlideClaw.

When to use

• User asks to create slides with Marp.
• User asks to turn a topic or requirements into a deck.
• User asks to render

  slides.md

  to PDF/HTML/PPTX/PNG.
• User asks to reuse or save slide design templates.

When not to use

• Task is not about slides/Marp.
• User only wants generic writing without file operations.
• User asks for a different slide stack (e.g., Google Slides API directly).

ClawHub-first assumptions

This skill is designed to work even when installed from ClawHub into a workspace that does not have this repository cloned.

• Prefer a local

  slideclaw

  binary when available.
• Otherwise use

  npx -y slideclaw@latest

  .
• If this is not yet a SlideClaw workspace, initialize it in the current directory.

Command resolver (use this order)

1. If

   slideclaw

   exists on PATH, use it.
2. Else if

   ./bin/slideclaw.js

   exists, use

   node ./bin/slideclaw.js

   .
3. Else use

   npx -y slideclaw@latest

   .

In steps below, treat

<SC>

as the resolved command prefix.

Examples:

<SC> doctor
<SC> --json template list
<SC> render <project-id> --format pdf

Bootstrap flow (required before doing slide work)

1. Run health check:

<SC> doctor

2. If workspace marker

   .slideclaw/

   is missing, initialize in current directory:

<SC> init . --with-starter-template

3. Re-check:

<SC> doctor

If any required dependency is missing, report clearly and stop before content work.

Inputs to collect from user

Ask only what is required:

• Purpose (required)
• Audience (required)
• Topic (required)
• Duration / slide count (optional)
• Tone (optional)

Limit to 4 questions in one round.

End-to-end workflow

[1] Resolve <SC> and bootstrap workspace
[2] Confirm requirements
[3] Pick template (or create new design)
[4] Create project
[5] Fill requirements.md
[6] Write slides.md
[7] Render HTML for fast validation
[8] Render PDF for final output
[9] Confirm with user, iterate if needed
[10] Mark done and optionally save template
[11] Update profile/user.md

Step 1. Template selection

Always use CLI JSON output:

<SC> --json template list

Rules:

• Do not force one template without user confirmation.
• Present all candidates in one short list.
• Include "create a new design" as an option.

If no template exists, continue with project creation without template and create style in project

theme.css

.

Step 2. Create project

Always pass explicit kebab-case ID:

<SC> project new "<name>" \
  --id 2026-04-09-topic-name \
  --template <template-id> \
  --title "<title>" \
  --audience "<audience>" \
  --goal "<goal>"

If no template is selected, omit

--template

.

Step 3. Update requirements.md

Edit:

• Background
• Must-include points
• Open questions

Then share a 3-5 line summary and wait for user confirmation.

Step 4. Write slides.md

Use pure Marp frontmatter only:

marp: true
theme: <theme_name>
paginate: true
size: 16:9

Rules:

• Separator is

  ---

  on its own line.
• Put assets under

  assets/

  and reference with relative paths.
• Keep slide density aligned with

  profile/user.md

  preferences.
• Do not add SlideClaw-specific keys to

  slides.md

  frontmatter.

Step 5. Render and validate

1. Fast render first:

<SC> render <project-id> --format html

2. Final render:

<SC> render <project-id> --format pdf

3. Share the output path with the user. Prefer the Downloads path when reporting, because it is easier for the user to open:

• Primary (workspace):

  projects/<project-id>/build/slides.pdf

• User-facing (Downloads):

  <OS Downloads dir>/<project-id>.pdf

slideclaw render

automatically copies the rendered file to the user's OS-standard Downloads folder (macOS

~/Downloads

, Linux

xdg-user-dir DOWNLOAD

, WSL Windows-side

/mnt/c/Users/<user>/Downloads

, Windows

%USERPROFILE%\Downloads

). Use

<SC> --json render ...

and read

downloadsPath

to get the exact path. To disable:

--no-copy-to-downloads

or

SLIDECLAW_NO_DOWNLOADS=1

.

Step 6. Iterate and complete

• Apply feedback loops until approved.
• After approval, update

  requirements.md

  :

  • status: done

  • updated_at: <now>

Avoid

project finish

in interactive review loops because it can run actions before user confirmation.

Step 7. Optional template promotion

When user likes the design, save it:

<SC> template new <new-id> --from <project-id> \
  --name "<display name>" \
  --description "<short description>" \
  --tags "tag1,tag2" \
  --when-to-use "<usage guidance>"

If a draft template was created in

templates/.drafts/

, do not leave it orphaned. Promote or delete it.

Step 8. Update user profile

Update

profile/user.md

with durable preferences only:

• Do / Don't patterns
• Preferred style density
• Topic tendencies
• Known constraints

Validate after edit:

<SC> profile validate

Hard constraints

• Do not manually edit tool-managed files unless necessary:

  • templates/INDEX.md

  • meta.md

  • template

    used_in

• Do not run destructive commands without explicit user intent.
• Do not claim success without render output path verification.

Failure handling

• If

  slideclaw

  is unavailable and

  npx

  fails, tell the user exactly which dependency is missing.
• If Chrome is missing, explain PDF will fail and suggest HTML output first.
• If schema validation fails, fix frontmatter against

  docs/SCHEMAS.md

  when available.