Codex Slides

The open-source AI slide studio that lives inside Codex.
Turn a prompt, a repo, or a pile of files into a beautiful, presentation-ready deck — without leaving your coding agent.

⚡ 10+ high-quality slides in ~4–5 minutes — Fast mode renders every page in parallel, not one by one
45 deck templates · 73 community styles · 24 guided scenarios → production-ready PPTX / PDF · Browser-first · zero separate API keys · web & desktop

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Codex Slides is an open-source slide studio built for coding agents. Describe a deck, point it at a repo or a folder of files, and watch your local Codex research, outline, style, render, and export a presentation — every slide a full visual canvas, all of it visible and steerable, none of it a hidden background task.

Think of it as the open-source, agent-native alternative to Gamma and Tome — except it lives inside the coding agent you already use, runs on your existing codex login with zero extra API keys, and keeps every project on your own disk.

What you get, out of the box:

• 118 ready-made visual systems — 45 curated deck templates across 15 professional categories, plus 73 community styles across 12 groups (reports, infographics, diagrams, data & maps, dashboards, posters, product, brand, architecture, photography, editorial, illustration).
• 24 guided scenarios in 6 groups — zero-to-one decks, source-to-slides, data stories, deep research, redesign, localization, training, keynotes, and more.
• ⚡ Fast mode — renders every page in parallel (not one-by-one), so a 10+ slide deck lands in ~4–5 minutes while the outline and visual direction stay locked.
• Production export — real, presentation-ready PPTX and print-ready PDF with speaker notes preserved; 1K/2K/4K render quality and five aspect ratios (16:9, 4:3, 1:1, 9:16, 3:4).
• Zero extra keys — runs on your existing codex login; every project stays on your disk.

Open Codex Slides in the Codex Browser and keep it visible.
Create a 12-slide market deck about 2026 humanoid robotics.
Let me confirm the questions, outline, and visual direction before rendering.

Try it in 60 seconds

codex plugin marketplace add nexu-io/codex-slides
codex plugin add codex-slides@codex-slides

Then start a new Codex task: “Open Codex Slides and build me a 6-slide deck about …” — and watch it happen live.

Like what you see? Give it a ⭐ — one click is the fastest way to help the next developer find Codex Slides.

Writing about Codex Slides? Everything a creator or reporter needs — boilerplate, stats, comparisons, an FAQ, ready-to-post copy in English / 中文 / 日本語, a video script, and an asset manifest — is in the Media & creator kit. Paste it into your agent and it can write the video or article for you.

Contents

• Why Codex Slides
• How it works
• See it inside Codex
• Examples
• Install in Codex
• Create your first deck
• Generate from files
• Modify an existing deck
• Features
• CLI and MCP
• Local development
• Desktop development and releases
• Roadmap
• Community style library and licenses
• Architecture and data
• Verification
• Troubleshooting
• Media & creator kit
• Star Codex Slides
• Contributing
• License

Why Codex Slides

Most AI slide generators hide the process behind one request and return a file. Codex Slides treats the presentation as a persistent, inspectable project you own end to end.

Codex Slides is image-native: each slide is composed as a full visual canvas. That makes it strong for visual fidelity and rapid iteration. Exported PPTX files contain full-slide images rather than individually editable PowerPoint shapes.

How it works

Codex Slides keeps the entire chain live and steerable — from a rough idea to a finished, exportable deck.

Codex conversation
      │
      ▼
Open the Codex Slides home in the Codex Browser
      │
      ▼
Create a durable project
      │
      ├── Clarify the brief
      ├── Optional source-backed research
      ├── Review and revise the outline
      ├── Choose a visual direction
      ├── Watch slides render progressively
      └── Review the finished canvas
              │
              ├── Chat edits and queued follow-ups
              ├── Add / duplicate / move / delete / transition
              ├── Mark-based slide edits
              ├── Design Files and @ references
              ├── Save as a reusable project template
              ├── Brand & Design System
              ├── Play mode
              └── PDF / PPTX export

Projects are written to disk throughout the workflow. Opening the same project from Codex and another browser stays synchronized; rendering pages refresh from the canonical project state, and interrupted generation can resume safely.

See it inside Codex

Everything happens in a live, Browser-first workspace — not a black box. Start from a prompt, a proven visual direction, or a purpose-built workflow, then stay in the same durable project through questions, research, outline, generation, editing, presenting, and export.

1 · Start at Home — describe what you want to make, attach source files, choose the engine and output settings, or jump into a guided workflow.

Examples

Every card below is a real visual system that ships with Codex Slides, paired with the exact prompt that turns it into a finished deck. Each prompt opens a durable project, stops for outline and visual-direction approval, then renders in the Browser where you watch it happen — swap in your own topic, audience, or files and go.

The preview images above are visual systems that ship with Codex Slides — a few are real Codex Slides renders, the rest are community-contributed style references the model matches on art direction, not literal content. Every contributor and source is credited under Community style library and licenses.

Scenarios and visual systems

Codex Slides is not a single "generate" button. It ships 118 ready-made visual systems — 45 curated deck templates (15 professional categories × 3) plus 73 community styles (12 groups) — driven by 24 guided scenarios in 6 groups. Start from a finished direction, pick a scenario, or just describe your own.

24 guided scenarios (6 groups)

45 curated deck templates (15 categories × 3)

Fundraising Pitch · Corporate Strategy · B2B Sales · Product Management · Design Craft · Academic Research · Professional Training · Data & Finance · Marketing & GTM · Consulting · Government & Policy · AI Literacy · Student Coursework · Career · Life & Story — each with an expert role, target audience, and its own visual grammar.

73 community styles (12 groups)

Curated from open prompt galleries and adapted into presentation-ready <page_style> systems, across Business & Report · Infographic · Diagram · Data & Map · UI & Dashboard · Poster & Ad · Product · Brand & Identity · Architecture & Space · Photo & Cinematic · Editorial · Illustration. A taste of the catalog:

Liquid Glass Bento · Summary Infographic · Engineering Blueprint Grid · Technical Cutaway · Watercolor Annotated Map · Visual Info Guide · UI Screenshot System · Retro CRT Interface · Bold Product Ad · Hyperreal Product Poster · Lifestyle Product Shot · Brand Identity Package · Cyberpunk Miniature City · 35mm Surreal Landscape · Golden Serif Quote · Neo-Parametric Editorial · Fashion Magazine Cover · Hand-Drawn Infographic · Paper Pop-Up Story · Voxel Icon System … and 53 more.

Codex Slides ranks these against your topic and outline at the inspiration step, so you can lock a direction in one click, search the full library, or keep the default.

Fast mode → production-ready export

• Fast mode renders every page in parallel (up to 4 in flight, overflow queued) instead of one-by-one, while the outline and visual direction stay locked — a 10+ slide deck lands in ~4–5 minutes.
• Production export: download a real PPTX and a print-ready PDF, with speaker notes preserved, straight from the project.
• Render quality 1K / 2K / 4K and five aspect ratios — 16:9, 4:3, 1:1, 9:16, 3:4.

Install in Codex

Requirements

• Codex with plugin support
• Node.js 20 or newer
• A ChatGPT account authenticated once with codex login
• Git

No separate OpenAI API key or .env file is required for the default Codex workflow.

Install from the GitHub marketplace

This repository includes a Codex marketplace manifest, so the repository itself can be added as a plugin source:

codex plugin marketplace add nexu-io/codex-slides
codex plugin add codex-slides@codex-slides

Restart Codex or the ChatGPT desktop app after installation, then start a new task. You can also open /plugins in Codex to inspect installed plugins.

To update a Git-backed installation:

codex plugin marketplace upgrade codex-slides
codex plugin remove codex-slides@codex-slides
codex plugin add codex-slides@codex-slides

Restart Codex after the update so the new Skill, MCP server, and interface metadata are loaded. See OpenAI's local plugin installation documentation for the marketplace layout and reload behavior.

Install from a local checkout

git clone https://github.com/nexu-io/codex-slides.git
cd codex-slides
codex plugin marketplace add "$PWD"
codex plugin add codex-slides@codex-slides

After changing plugin files locally, reinstall the plugin and start a new Codex task so cached Skills are refreshed.

Create your first deck

Open a new Codex task and send:

Open Codex Slides in the Codex Browser and keep the product visible.
From the home page, create a project for a six-slide product launch deck.
Guide me through the clarification questions, outline review, visual direction,
and rendering. Do not generate the complete deck in a hidden background call.

Codex should:

1. Open the Codex Slides home screen.
2. Submit the brief through the visible composer.
3. Enter the newly created project.
4. Help answer the requirements form.
5. Show the editable outline.
6. Show visual-direction choices.
7. Render inside the project canvas.
8. Inspect the completed slides before export.

For an explicitly unattended or headless job, say so. Only then should Codex use the one-call create_deck / create fast path.

A localized visual tutorial with copy-ready prompts in English, Simplified Chinese, and Japanese is linked from the home page beneath the composer, and is also reachable directly once the local app is running:

http://127.0.0.1:4311/?tutorial=codex

Generate from files

Attach files to Codex or upload them from the Codex Slides composer. Give each source a clear semantic role:

Open Codex Slides in the Codex Browser.
Use the attached PDF as the content source, the spreadsheet as the dataset,
and the logo plus product screenshots as brand references.
Create the project through the visible UI and stop for outline approval before
rendering.

Supported project context includes images, PDFs, office documents, spreadsheets, Markdown, text, data files, HTML/CSS, JavaScript, and TypeScript. Scenario workflows can require or recommend specific source slots.

Modify an existing deck

Rewrite one slide

Open my latest Codex Slides project. Rewrite slide 3 for an executive audience,
reduce the copy by 50%, preserve the conclusion, regenerate only that slide,
and show the result in the Browser.

Change the structure

Add an executive summary after slide 1, duplicate slide 5 as an international
market variant, and delete the final appendix. Preserve the visual system and
transitions.

Restyle the complete deck

Restyle this deck as a restrained Swiss editorial report with a strict grid,
high-contrast typography, warm photography, and one blue accent. Keep the
Browser visible and show the result before export.

Edit from annotations

Open slide 4 in Mark mode. Follow my arrows, labels, and comment exactly,
regenerate only that slide, and keep the marked source in project history.

Apply a project-wide brand system

Open Brand & Design System. Save the logo, color roles, typography, spacing,
imagery, and voice as always-on project context. Redraw the deck, review it in
Play mode, then export PPTX and PDF.

Features

• Browser-first Codex workflow — open, operate, and verify the live product instead of waiting on an invisible task.
• Durable projects — every deck, checkpoint, conversation, queue, material, outline, and rendered image is persisted locally.
• Cross-surface synchronization — a project opened in another Browser tab follows externally generated or edited slide state.
• Gen-UI clarification — tailored questions for audience, purpose, length, language, format, and emphasis.
• Deep research — source-backed, editable Markdown briefs used as outline evidence.
• 24 workflow scenarios in six groups — creation, transformation, data, research, optimization, and specialized delivery.
• 45 curated deck templates plus 73 community visual directions across business reports, data, diagrams, UI, posters, products, brand systems, architecture, photography, editorial, and illustration.
• Reusable project templates — save any project as a visual-system snapshot, then reuse its brand rules, base style, format, brand assets, and up to six rendered-slide references from the home composer without copying its content.
• Design Files — inspect generated artifacts and uploads, edit text sources, reference project files in agent turns with @, copy an absolute file path, or download any file.
• Brand & Design System — persist identity, voice, palette, typography, imagery, effects, spacing, radii, and brand assets.
• Conversational editing — rewrite, add, remove, duplicate, reorder, transition, regenerate, or restyle through the Deck Agent.
• Automatic version history — every rendered-deck AI command and manual edit creates an immutable checkpoint with its prompt; inspect, play, restore, or export that exact PDF/PPTX.
• Queued follow-ups — keep prompting while generation or edits are in progress; requests run in order.
• Mark editing — draw arrows, shapes, labels, and comments directly on a slide, then regenerate from the annotated source.
• Play mode — full-screen, dual-window presentation with keyboard navigation and speaker notes.
• PDF and PPTX export — export after visual review.
• English, Simplified Chinese, and Japanese UI with strict key parity.
• Portable Skill and typed MCP server — the complete workflow remains available when one transport is unavailable.

CLI and MCP

Codex Slides exposes two equivalent automation transports:

• skills/codex-slides/scripts/codex-slides.mjs — portable Node CLI using only built-in web APIs and the local HTTP service;
• mcp/server.mjs — 38 typed MCP tools for Codex, including durable run start/status/wait/cancel.

Discover the CLI surface:

node skills/codex-slides/scripts/codex-slides.mjs capabilities

Browser-first interactive entry points:

node skills/codex-slides/scripts/codex-slides.mjs open
node skills/codex-slides/scripts/codex-slides.mjs start-project \
  --json '{"topic":"2026 humanoid robotics market","pages":6,"language":"en"}'

Explicit unattended path:

node skills/codex-slides/scripts/codex-slides.mjs create \
  --json '{"topic":"2026 humanoid robotics market","pages":6,"research":true}'

Important tool groups:

The full Browser/CLI/MCP parity contract lives in CAPABILITY_MATRIX.md.

Local development

git clone https://github.com/nexu-io/codex-slides.git
cd codex-slides
corepack enable
pnpm install
codex login
pnpm dev

pnpm dev launches the Web service and Electron desktop together. Choose a narrower mode when you only need one surface:

Background lifecycle (start / restart / stop)

pnpm dev runs in the foreground and streams logs (Ctrl+C stops it). To run the same Web + Desktop stack in the background and manage it from any shell, use the lifecycle commands. Each accepts an optional target — all (default), web, or desktop:

Background output and process state live under .tmp/dev-runtime/ (web.log, desktop.log, and <target>.json). pnpm dev:start desktop starts its Web dependency automatically, and dev:start reuses an already-healthy Web service instead of starting a second one. Override the Web port with --web-port <port> on dev:start / dev:restart.

Production build:

pnpm build
pnpm start

Environment variables:

Project data is stored under:

data/projects/<project-id>/
├── project.json
├── 01.png
├── 02.png
├── ...
└── files/
    ├── generated/
    └── uploaded/

data/templates/<template-id>/
├── template.json
├── references/
└── brand-assets/

Do not commit personal project data or uploaded source material.

Desktop development and releases

The same Next.js application can run in Electron on macOS, Windows, and Linux. In packaged builds, Electron starts the bundled standalone server on an available loopback port and stores durable data in the operating system's app data directory.

The Desktop entry resolves its service dependency first: it attaches to a healthy CODEX_SLIDES_URL when one already exists, otherwise it starts dev:web, waits for /api/agents, then opens the Electron window. Closing or interrupting the combined command stops only the Web process that command owns, so a separately launched Web session is kept.

Desktop builds use an isolated .next-desktop output so a concurrent web/dev build cannot overwrite the runtime being packaged.

Releases are one action: run Actions → Release desktop apps → Run workflow with a version number (the workflow bumps versions, commits, and tags by itself), or locally run pnpm release 0.2.0, which bumps versions, runs the local gates, and pushes a v0.2.0 tag. Either path runs release-desktop.yml, which creates a draft GitHub Release, builds on native macOS, Windows, and Linux runners, boots the packaged server on every platform and requires HTTP 200 from core routes, uploads the .dmg, .zip, .exe, .AppImage, and .deb files plus SHA256SUMS.txt, and only then publishes the release. The full maintainer guide, including recovery steps, lives in docs/RELEASING.md.

Downloaded builds are not yet notarized: on macOS, right-click the app and choose Open on first launch (or approve it under System Settings → Privacy & Security), and on Windows use SmartScreen's More info → Run anyway. Desktop logs live in the OS app-data directory (codex-slides-desktop.log for the shell, codex-slides-server.log for the bundled server).

Roadmap

Codex Slides is early and moving fast. The goal is simple: be the best way to make slides with a coding agent. Priorities are grouped by horizon and may shift with community feedback.

Have a request? Open a GitHub Issue or start a discussion — roadmap items are prioritized in the open.

Community style library and licenses

The Community styles Browser is a presentation-focused index distilled from the open prompt galleries below. Codex Slides keeps one catalog for the home Browser, the project inspiration checkpoint, Brand & Design System, prompt generation, the portable CLI, and MCP. Selecting a community style injects its adapted <page_style> rules and, when available, sends its preview as the first visual reference image. The model is told to match art direction and layout grammar, not to copy the preview's literal text, logos, subject, or composition.

Each catalog item keeps its source collection, original author when known, and source URL in src/lib/community.ts. The files under public/community and remote community previews retain their upstream terms and attribution requirements; Codex Slides' MIT license does not relicense those assets. Before redistributing a specific preview, follow its source link and check any case-level ATTRIBUTION.yml or notice.

Architecture and data

Codex Skill / MCP server / Browser UI / Electron
                 │
                 ▼
        Next.js local HTTP API
                 │
        ┌────────┼────────┐
        ▼        ▼        ▼
    Codex text  web search  image generation
        │                   │
        └────────┬──────────┘
                 ▼
      on-disk project store
                 │
        ┌────────┴────────┐
        ▼                 ▼
      Browser          PDF / PPTX

Key directories:

.codex-plugin/    installable Codex plugin manifest
.agents/          Git marketplace metadata
.mcp.json         MCP registration
mcp/              typed MCP server
skills/           canonical and compatibility Skills
src/app/          Next.js UI and API routes
src/components/   launcher, tutorial, project workspace, editing surfaces
src/lib/          agents, research, pipeline, project store, export
scripts/          contract, i18n, Skill, and MCP probes
data/projects/    local project state and generated assets
data/templates/   reusable project visual systems and reference assets

The local app uses the existing codex login authentication. Text generation, web research, and image generation are invoked through the same authenticated Codex environment; no separate application API key is stored by Codex Slides.

Verification

Run the complete static contract:

pnpm typecheck
pnpm test
pnpm check:i18n
pnpm check:project-sync
pnpm check:skill
pnpm check:mcp
pnpm electron:check
pnpm build

With the local app running:

pnpm check:skill:live
pnpm check:mcp:live
pnpm check:project-sync:live

UI changes should also be checked at desktop, tablet, and phone widths. For project workflow changes, verify both the Codex Browser and a second browser tab using the same project URL.

Troubleshooting

Codex does not see the plugin

1. Run codex plugin list and confirm codex-slides is enabled.
2. Reinstall the plugin after changing its version or Skill files.
3. Restart Codex or the ChatGPT desktop app.
4. Start a new task; existing tasks may retain the old Skill snapshot.

The local app does not start

node --version       # must be 20+
pnpm install
pnpm build
pnpm start

Inspect the log at CODEX_SLIDES_LOG or the operating system temp directory.

One browser tab shows stale slides

Every open project page polls the canonical project, including while it already looks complete, and also refreshes on focus or visibility changes. This lets a visible browser discover a new Codex, MCP, CLI, or second-tab mutation. If an older build is still open, restart the local server and reload both tabs. Confirm the API state:

curl http://127.0.0.1:4311/api/projects/<project-id>

A project is stuck in rendering

Codex Slides waits for the active renderer and only resumes after the project has no disk heartbeat for 90 seconds. Reopen the project; already rendered pages are preserved and only pending or failed pages are retried.

Exported PPTX text is not editable

This is expected today. Codex Slides currently exports each completed slide as a full-slide image for visual fidelity. Editable-shape export is on the roadmap.

GitHub repository metadata

Recommended repository title, description, categories, topics, social-preview copy, and release naming are documented in docs/GITHUB_METADATA.md.

Media & creator kit

Covering Codex Slides — a video, a thread, a newsletter, a review? You don't have to learn the product first. docs/MEDIA_KIT.md is a press kit written to be handed to an AI agent: paste it in and ask for the piece you want.

It includes:

• Boilerplate, one-liners, and elevator pitches at multiple lengths — in English, 简体中文, and 日本語.
• A by-the-numbers table, story angles, and audience personas to build a piece around.
• A category comparison, an FAQ, and ready-to-post tweets, threads, and LinkedIn copy.
• 30- and 60-second video scripts with a shot list, plus an asset manifest mapping every screenshot.
• Two guardrail sections — ✅ Safe to claim and ⚠️ Do not claim — so generated promo stays accurate and never invents features, benchmarks, or an OpenAI affiliation.

Star Codex Slides

If Codex Slides saved you an afternoon, give it a ⭐. Stars don't pay rent — but they tell the next developer, agent, and contributor that this project is worth their attention. One click, three seconds, a real signal.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. Start with CONTRIBUTING.md, which covers setup, architecture boundaries, i18n, Skill/MCP parity, visual QA, tests, and pull-request expectations.

• Use GitHub Issues for bugs and feature proposals.
• Use GitHub private vulnerability reporting for security issues; see SECURITY.md.
• Be respectful and constructive; see CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md.

License

Codex Slides source code is available under the MIT License. Community previews and adapted prompt references retain the upstream terms and attribution documented in Community style library and licenses.

Acknowledgements

Codex Slides builds on ideas and implementation patterns from:

• Anionex/banana-slides for the original image-generation presentation mechanism;
• nexu-io/html-anything for local agent detection and invocation patterns;
• nexu-io/html-video and zhongerxin/cowart for per-unit and mark-edit interaction ideas;
• Open Design for the agent-native design workflow and product direction.

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Open Codex Slides in Codex. Keep it visible. Make every slide steerable.