CLI

deckforge <command> [options]
deckforge --help | --version

Command	What it does
new	Create a deck folder
build	Render deck.yaml to deck.html and report issues
export	Export the deck to an editable PowerPoint file
templates	List templates, slots, themes and icons
edit	Start the local editor
serve	Serve the deck read-only with live reload
mcp	Give Copilot CLI and the Copilot app the deck tools (MCP server)
skill	Install the GitHub Copilot skill

<deck> is a deck.yaml file or the folder that contains it.

new

deckforge new <dir> [--title "My talk"] [--theme build] [--example [starter|aurora]] [--force]

Creates <dir>/deck.yaml with a title slide and builds it. --example copies a bundled example deck and its assets instead (starter by default). --force overwrites an existing deck.yaml.

build

deckforge build <deck> [--runtime local|cdn|inline] [--out deck.html] [--json]

Renders the deck and prints validation issues. It exits with code 2 when there are errors.

Option	Effect
--runtime	How the page loads the viewer. See runtime modes. The default is meta.runtime, or local
--out, -o	Output file. The default is deck.html next to deck.yaml
--json	Prints a machine-readable report: ok, outPath, issues, loadErrors, assets

It also lists assets that no slide uses. It never deletes them.

export

deckforge export <deck> [--out deck.pptx] [--json]

Exports the visible slides to an editable PowerPoint file, deck.pptx next to deck.yaml by default. Text, cards, lines and images become native PowerPoint objects; icons and gradients become vector pictures. Speaker notes and links are kept. See Export to PowerPoint.

The command lays the deck out in a headless Chromium browser through Playwright, an optional dependency. If it is missing, install it once:

npm install -g playwright && npx playwright install chromium

It also uses an installed Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge when Playwright's own Chromium is absent. Like build, it exits with code 2, and writes nothing, when the deck has errors.

Option	Effect
--out, -o	Output file. The default is deck.pptx next to deck.yaml
--json	Prints a machine-readable report: ok, outPath, slides, warnings, issues, loadErrors

templates

deckforge templates [<deck>] [--json]

Lists the templates (built-in, user and deck-local) with their slots and limits, plus the themes and icon names.

edit

deckforge edit <deck> [--port 0] [--token <t>] [--runtime …] [--no-open]

Starts the editor on 127.0.0.1 with a random port and a token that is new each time it starts. It then opens http://127.0.0.1:<port>/?token=…. --port and --token set fixed values; write a token that starts with - as --token=<t>. --no-open doesn't open the browser.

serve

deckforge serve <deck> [--port 0] [--no-open]

Serves the built deck read-only. It rebuilds and reloads the page when the deck changes.

mcp

deckforge mcp [<deck>]
deckforge mcp --install [--force] [--dest <mcp-config.json>]

Runs a Model Context Protocol server over stdio with the deck tools of the Copilot assistant, plus get_authoring_guide. MCP clients start it themselves. Without <deck>, each call uses the deck.yaml of the server's working directory. Copilot starts servers in the session's folder. Outside a deck folder the server still starts, but its tools explain that there is no deck.

When deckforge edit is running for the same deck, every call goes through the editor: changes appear live and can be undone there. Otherwise the server edits deck.yaml and rebuilds deck.html itself. stdout carries only the protocol, and logs go to stderr.

--install registers the argument-less server as deckforge in $COPILOT_HOME/mcp-config.json (~/.copilot/mcp-config.json by default), which Copilot CLI and the Copilot app read for every session. It keeps the other servers, uses the current Node.js and deckforge paths, and refuses to replace a deckforge entry it did not write unless you pass --force. --dest writes another file. The editor's Continue in Copilot dialog does the same with one click.

skill

deckforge skill install-copilot [--dest <skills dir>] [--force] [--replace-build-presentation]

Installs the Copilot skill.

Environment

Variable	Effect
DECKFORGE_CONFIG_DIR	User folder for templates and themes. The default is $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/deckforge or ~/.config/deckforge
DECKFORGE_MODEL	Model used by the Copilot assistant
COPILOT_HOME	Copilot folder: skill install-copilot and mcp --install write into it, and the editor checks its session-state before resuming a conversation

Lookup order

deckforge looks for templates and themes in this order, and the first match wins:

1. <deck folder>/templates/ and <deck folder>/themes/
2. ~/.config/deckforge/templates/ and ~/.config/deckforge/themes/
3. the built-in templates and themes