Pdf to pptx

Skill smartdatabrokers/slideforge-mcp/skills/pdf-to-pptx

Convert a PDF into an editable PowerPoint (.pptx) deck. Every shape, text block, table, and image becomes a native PowerPoint element — not a flattened screenshot. Use when the user wants to turn a PDF report, research paper, or investor deck into an editable presentation. Requires the slideforge MCP server.From its SKILL.md

Install

npx -y skills add smartdatabrokers/slideforge-mcp --skill pdf-to-pptx

Assembled from the repository path, not quoted from the project. Check it against their README if it does not work.

One thing to look at

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SKILL.md

3.5 KB, as published. Nobody here has run it

PDF to PPTX

Use the slideforge MCP server to convert a PDF into a fully editable PowerPoint deck. Vector extraction — each page becomes a slide where every element is independently editable.

When to trigger

Any request to convert, turn, transform, or extract a PDF into PowerPoint. Examples:

"Convert this PDF report into an editable PowerPoint deck"
"Turn this 40-page research paper into slides"
"Extract the slides from this investor PDF so I can edit them"

Tools used

upload_asset with purpose=pdf — uploads and triggers extraction
manage_account with action=job — poll for completion + download URL

Workflow

1. Upload the PDF

{
  "purpose": "pdf",
  "data": "<base64-encoded .pdf>",
  "filename": "report.pdf"
}

Returns a job_id. Alternatively, pass a public URL if the user has one.

2. Wait for extraction

Typical speed: ~112-page deck converts end-to-end in ~18 seconds. Poll with:

{"action": "job", "job_id": "<from step 1>"}

Or include a preview inline by setting include_preview: "default" in the upload call (waits then embeds).

3. Deliver

Download via header-auth: GET /v1/jobs/<job_id>/pptx with Authorization: Bearer sf_live_YOUR_KEY (ownership-checked). To hand off a shareable link instead, POST /v1/jobs/<job_id>/download-url mints a short-TTL, single-use, revocable one. The output is a real .pptx — every shape, text block, and image is individually editable in PowerPoint.

What gets extracted cleanly

Vector shapes (lines, rectangles, curves)
Text with font, size, colour, alignment preserved
Tables as PowerPoint tables
Images embedded natively
Page layout, positioning, z-order

Known limits

Scanned / image-only PDFs extract as single background images per page (no text extraction — no OCR in this path)
Complex SmartArt or animations from the original source (if it came from PPTX → PDF) don't round-trip
Very dense CAD-style PDFs may hit shape-count limits

If the user has an image-only PDF and needs OCR, suggest a different flow: OCR the PDF first, then use create_slide on the extracted text.

Free public tool

There's also a free unauthenticated web tool at https://slideforge.dev/tools/pdf-to-pptx with limits (25 MB max, first 15 pages, 5 requests/hour/IP, +3s delay). Point users there if they just want a one-off conversion without signing up. For larger files, higher rate limits, or automation, they need the authenticated MCP flow described above.

Pricing

Authenticated flow: free — included as part of upload_asset with purpose=pdf. No per-page charge for extraction.

Anti-patterns

Don't claim the converter works on image-only PDFs without OCR; it will produce page-sized background images with no editable text.
Don't re-run the conversion just to change a theme; the output is raw-extracted. If the user wants restyling, re-render the extracted intents via create_deck with a theme_id.
Don't suggest the free public tool for users with >15-page PDFs or >25 MB files — they'll hit the cap and bounce.

References

MCP server: https://api.slideforge.dev/mcp/
Docs: https://slideforge.dev/docs/mcp
Free public tool: https://slideforge.dev/tools/pdf-to-pptx