PPT Produce by Codex

Use this skill to run a disciplined enterprise-solution PPT production workflow: clarify project context, create a storyline and page plan, generate full-page PNG slides with imagegen/gpt-image-2, review quality, and assemble PPTX only when useful.

For the complete reusable playbook, read references/ppt-production-guide.md when planning or executing a real deck. Keep this SKILL.md as the quick operating procedure.

Required Intake

Before creating files or generating slides, confirm these fields. If any are missing and cannot be inferred from the current workspace, ask the user for them first.

Project name
Project root directory
Solution topic or PPT title
Target audience or customer type
Current output version, such as v1, v2, or v3
Desired deliverables: PNG only, PPTX, outline MD, scheme MD, contact sheet, demo prototype, or a subset
Available source materials: meeting notes, docs, screenshots, old PPT, reference images, brand assets, existing outline

If the user gives a project root, keep all new artifacts under <project-root>/workspace/. Do not create root-level output/, outputs/, tmp/, or scripts/ folders.

Default Workspace Layout

Use this layout unless the project already has a compatible convention:

workspace/deliverables/ for final outputs
workspace/assets/ for reusable source assets and copied references
workspace/runs/ for generation batches, staging outputs, backups, and contact sheets
workspace/tmp/ for temporary prompts, OCR, unpacked PPTX checks, and scratch scripts
workspace/scripts/ for reusable generation and verification scripts

Report full absolute paths for every created or modified file.

Workflow

Inspect current files and existing versions. If a higher version directory exists than the user mentioned, ask which version is authoritative.
Collect missing intake fields before generating.
Read references/ppt-production-guide.md for detailed guardrails.
Build or update the PPT storyline: background, positioning, overall architecture, core capabilities, scenarios, value, implementation path.
Establish the title-bar sample before generating a batch. Default to assets/titlebar-template/enterprise-solution-titlebar-4k.png; ask whether the user wants a different title style.
Create a page plan with page title, page type, visible text, source assets, title-bar usage, and generation method.
Generate 3-5 sample pages plus the confirmed title-bar style before batching when a visual direction is not yet approved.
Use small batches, staging folders, and contact sheets. Do not overwrite approved PNGs without a backup.
Only assemble PPTX when the user asks or after a meaningful batch is confirmed; otherwise ask whether to generate PPTX.
If business content changes, sync the scheme MD / PPT outline / PNG page content so future delivery and demos stay consistent.

Title-Bar Standard

For a new PPT drawing task, confirm the main title-bar style as part of the first sample round.

Default title-bar reference PNG: assets/titlebar-template/enterprise-solution-titlebar-4k.png.
Title-bar details: references/titlebar-template.md.
Generate 3-5 representative sample pages before bulk production; the sample set must include normal content, dense diagram/screenshot, and at least one page using the title-bar reference.
After the user confirms the title-bar sample, use that same main title-bar style across all normal content pages.
Do not mix different content-page title systems unless the user explicitly asks for another style.
The title bar must contain exactly one line of title text. Never wrap the title into two or more lines.
The single-line title must be vertically centered within the title bar; do not place it too high or too low.
If a title is too long for one line, shorten the wording, reduce font size within the confirmed style, or ask the user to confirm a shorter title; do not create a multi-line title bar.
Use generic enterprise wording in prompts; do not copy industry-specific words from any reference project into new projects.
For cover, directory, and section divider pages, variation is allowed, but content pages must keep the confirmed title-bar system.

Image Generation Rules

When generating or redrawing PPT PNG pages:

Use the imagegen skill at /Users/javastarboy/.codex/skills/.system/imagegen/SKILL.md.
Use gpt-image-2 unless the user specifies another image model.
Check OPENAI_API_KEY and OPENAI_BASE_URL from ~/.zshrc, then call /models before expensive batches.
Do not use low quality.
Use at least 2048x1152 high for normal 16:9 slides.
Use native 3840x2160 high for complex architecture, dense diagrams, or key customer-facing pages.
Never upscale a local 2K image into 4K and call it final.
Final pages must be full-page PNGs. Do not build final visual content with local HTML/CSS/Canvas/PPT elements.
Do not render fixed page numbers, watermarks, prompt labels, task requirements, internal notes, or draft labels.

If a model returns unexpectedly small images below 2K without user permission, stop batch generation and warn that the provider/model route may be degraded.

413 / Too-Large Hard Stop

Treat these as the same failure family: 413, Payload Too Large, Request Entity Too Large, response too large, upstream_status: HTTP 413, CC Switch local proxy failed, or oversized Codex /responses requests.

Use this retry policy:

If a native 4K generation/edit attempt fails once with a too-large error, do not retry 4K.
Downgrade that page to native 2K high quality with the same content density and business richness.
Do not compress the slide into an overly simple 4K page just to make the request succeed. If 2K is too crowded, split the content into more pages instead of hollowing it out.
In the 2K stage, make at most 2 attempts total for that page. If both fail for any reason, stop the generation process.
After stopping, do not call imagegen again, do not resend large images, and do not re-read large artifacts into context.
Create a compact handoff prompt under the project workspace/ if tools still work, or return a compact handoff in the final response if file writing is unavailable.

The handoff prompt must include only: project path, current task, failed page(s), last error family, successful output paths, pending output paths, and the next recommended action. Do not embed large images, base64, long prompts, or bulk file contents.

Local Repair Rules

For local fixes such as removing page numbers, repairing text, or changing a small region:

Use gpt-image-2 image edit based on the source image.
Do not cover bad regions with local translucent masks, solid blocks, pasted text, or screenshots.
Repair the needed region with the model, then composite only that region back into the source.
Verify dimensions, RGB/opaque output, no residual old text, and pixel-identical unchanged regions.
Stage outputs under workspace/runs/<task>/ or workspace/tmp/<task>/; overwrite final PNG only after review.

For title-style repairs, use a cropped title-header reference instead of a whole slide reference, to avoid reference-slide content leaking into the target page.

Prompt Discipline

Separate visible slide text from design instructions.

Use this prompt shape:

STRICT VISIBLE TEXT ONLY:
customer-visible short phrases only.

DESIGN BRIEF - DO NOT RENDER AS TEXT:
fragmented design instructions.

LAYOUT BRIEF - DO NOT RENDER AS TEXT:
layout and hierarchy.

VISUAL STYLE - DO NOT RENDER AS TEXT:
color, texture, title style.

CONTENT EMPHASIS - DO NOT RENDER AS TEXT:
business meaning to emphasize.

FORBIDDEN VISIBLE TEXT:
describe categories of forbidden text; avoid repeating long forbidden phrases.

Never let the slide show prompt field names, task wording, internal discussion, review notes, or "this page should..." language.

Visual Direction

Default to a premium enterprise/internet style:

Light background, blue-white base
Small accents in gold, orange, teal/green, or purple
Clean, credible, restrained, technical but not flashy
Unified left-aligned content-page title system
Large readable diagrams/screenshots on image-heavy pages

Avoid cyber neon, heavy dark backgrounds, strong glow, cheap 3D stacks, one-note blue/purple gradients, dense grid backgrounds, oversized titles, and template-like layouts.

PPTX Policy

PPTX is a packaging artifact. It should contain only one full-slide PNG per page.

Do not rebuild PPTX after every small PNG change. For ongoing page edits, generate PNGs and contact sheets first, then ask whether to build PPTX.

When building PPTX, verify:

Slide count and order
One full-page picture per slide
No local text boxes, shapes, notes, page numbers, or placeholder remnants

Useful Script

Use scripts/check_png_assets.py <png-dir> to inspect PNG dimensions, mode, and alpha. This is a quick check only; still visually inspect contact sheets and key pages.