Claude Code makes better slides than I do. I think I can cancel my Figma subscription this month.
IR pitch deck — done in half a day. Content structure, financial charts, everything.
What Is It?
Making slides from code in a terminal might sound weird at first. But the concept has been around for a while. reveal.js is an HTML presentation framework that supports nested slides, Markdown, animations, PDF export, and speaker notes. Among developers, Slidev — a Markdown + Vue.js-based tool — is also popular, offering code highlighting, LaTeX equations, and diagrams.
Developer Philipp Hartenfeller wrote on his blog that he hasn't opened PowerPoint in over a year. HTML slides give you Git version control, VS Code editing, and browser-based presenting that makes demo transitions seamless.
Add Claude Code to the mix and the game changes. The original drawback of code-based slides was "you have to write HTML/CSS yourself." But tell Claude Code "make me an IR pitch deck with reveal.js, navy background, gold accent color" and... it actually does it. Content structure, chart code, everything at once.
@seungheonyum shared two key insights on Threads. First, "I approached it like product development" — instead of crafting slides one by one, you set the overall structure first and iterate. Second, "I did it stock (with default features only)" — no MCP setup or custom skills needed, just Claude Code's built-in code generation was enough.
There's already a frontend-slides skill on GitHub that lets non-designers create animated HTML presentations, generated as a single HTML file with zero dependencies. Of course, you can do it without any skills too.
Sider AI's blog also reviewed "Can Claude make presentations?" and the verdict was: "Set your brand guidelines, feed it real data, prevent the AI from making up facts — and the result is just a good deck. You can't even tell AI made it".
What's Different?
Before: Content, design, and tools all separate
If you've ever made an IR pitch deck, you know the pain. You need to compress market analysis, business model, financial projections, and team intro into 10–15 slides, requiring three separate skill sets:
- Content skills — Market research, storyline crafting, financial modeling
- Design skills — Layout, typography, data visualization
- Tool skills — Figma, PowerPoint, or Keynote proficiency
As Y Combinator's Series A pitch deck guide notes, investors judge a deck in an average of 3.2 minutes. Only 22% of decks are read to the end. So the content needs to be solid, the design needs to be clean, and the story flow needs to be smooth — how many founders can nail all three?
You end up outsourcing (cost), investing days (time), or compromising on design (quality). Something's gotta give.
After: Content + design + data visualization in one conversation
The Claude Code approach handles all three in a single session:
| Traditional Approach | Claude Code Approach | |
|---|---|---|
| Content | Draft separately in Word/Notion | Structure via conversation, instantly reflected in code |
| Design | Manual work in Figma/PPT | Auto-generated CSS, refined through conversation |
| Charts/Data | Excel → Image → Insert | Rendered directly with Chart.js code |
| Revision cycle | Requires tool switching | "Change the chart color on slide 3" — one sentence |
| Version control | filename_final_FINAL_v2.pptx | Git, naturally |
| Extra cost | Figma/Gamma/Beautiful.ai subscriptions | None (just your Claude Code plan) |
As the Founder Institute's pitch guide emphasizes, the key is the Problem-Solution-Market-Traction-Team-Ask story flow, and Claude Code understands this structure, helping you shape the narrative from the content planning stage.
To be fair, there are drawbacks. Converting to PPTX can break gradients and complex layouts, and knowing some CSS helps a lot. But since investors typically use PDFs anyway, HTML → PDF is the cleanest route.
Quick Start Guide
- Start with content structure
Feed Claude Code your company info (industry, key metrics, funding round, etc.) and ask for a 12-slide outline first. The key is to explicitly say "don't generate code yet." - Generate slide code
Based on the approved outline, instruct it to generate HTML slides. The reveal.js CDN approach is simplest. Be specific about design specs: fonts, color palette, slide dimensions (1920x1080). - Preview in browser and iterate
Open the generated HTML in a browser and request changes through conversation. Like "adjust the TAM/SAM/SOM concentric circle proportions." 3–5 revision cycles usually gets you to solid quality. - Export to PDF
You can save directly as PDF via browser print (Cmd+P), or use DeckTape for higher quality:npx decktape reveal http://localhost:8000 pitch-deck.pdf --size 1920x1080— one line and done.
Warning
Financial figures going in front of investors must be verified by you, no matter how polished Claude Code makes them look. Never use AI-generated numbers as-is.
Want to Go Deeper?
Slide Frameworks
reveal.js — The HTML Presentation Framework The most popular open-source framework for building slides with HTML/CSS/JS. Supports animations, PDF export, and speaker notes. Combined with Claude Code, you get professional slides without writing a single line of code. https://revealjs.com/
Slidev — Presentation Slides for Developers Write slides in Markdown, add interactions with Vue components. Supports PDF/PPTX/SPA export. If your audience is a dev team, this might be a better fit than reveal.js. https://sli.dev/
DeckTape — PDF Exporter for HTML Presentations A CLI tool that converts almost any HTML presentation (reveal.js, Slidev, etc.) to high-quality PDF. Essential when you need cleaner PDFs than browser print can deliver. https://github.com/astefanutti/decktape
Claude Code + Slide Creation
frontend-slides — HTML Slide Skill for Claude Code A skill that lets non-designers create animated web presentations. Generated as a single HTML file with zero dependencies. Useful when you want to push quality beyond the defaults. https://github.com/zarazhangrui/frontend-slides
How to Get Claude to Create PowerPoint Slides in Your Corporate Template Stephen Smith's blog. A step-by-step guide for creating PPTs matching your corporate template with Claude. Refer to this if you need direct PPTX generation instead of the HTML approach. https://www.smithstephen.com/p/how-to-get-claude-to-create-powerpoint
Claude Can Make Your Decks. Should It? — Sider AI An honest review of making presentations with Claude, covering strengths, limitations, and the importance of brand guidelines. Great for learning how to make "a good deck" rather than "an AI deck." https://sider.ai/blog/ai-tools/claude-can-make-your-decks_should-it
IR Pitch Deck Guides
Pitch Deck Structure That Investors Want to See in 2025 — Prezent AI Investor-expected pitch deck structure and slide-by-slide guide for 2025. From the 10/20/30 rule to practical tips. Follow this structure when filling in your slides and you'll dramatically reduce the chance of missing the mark. https://www.prezent.ai/blog/pitch-deck-structure
How to Build a Great Series A Pitch and Deck — Y Combinator YC's own Series A pitch deck guide. Covers unit economics, retention trends, and financial projections at the level Series A investors expect. A must-read if you're preparing for Series A, not just seed. https://www.ycombinator.com/library/8d-how-to-build-a-great-series-a-pitch-and-deck
How to Pitch Your Startup — Founder Institute From one-sentence pitches to full pitch decks, a step-by-step guide with real success stories and templates. A great starting point when you want to sharpen the pitch itself before building the deck. https://fi.co/pitch-deck
Why I Create Presentations in HTML — Philipp Hartenfeller A developer explains why he ditched PowerPoint for HTML slides. Start here if "making slides with code" still sounds unfamiliar. https://hartenfeller.dev/blog/presentations-in-html
