Markdown to slides

What does “markdown to slides” mean?

“Markdown to slides” means writing slide content in a .md file (titles, bullets, code, formulas) and exporting it into a presentation format like PDF, PPTX, or an HTML slideshow. In practice, you pick a renderer (Marp, Slidev, Pandoc/Beamer, or Reveal.js via Quarto), then run 1–3 commands to convert input.md into output.pdf or output.pptx.

Most workflows boil down to 3 artifacts: (1) your Markdown source, (2) a theme/template (CSS, Vue components, or LaTeX), and (3) an exported deliverable (PDF for presenting/printing, PPTX for sharing, or HTML for web playback). Example exports are explicitly supported by Marp CLI (HTML/PDF/PPTX/images) and Slidev (PDF/PPTX/PNG/Markdown export), per their official docs (sources: marp-team/marp-cli GitHub README and sli.dev exporting docs, retrieved Jun 2026).

The single fastest mental model (1 file, 1 exporter, 1 output)

• Write slides as Markdown where each slide starts at a heading level you choose (often H1 or H2).
• Run an exporter command (example: pandoc input.md -t beamer -o output.pdf, source: pandoc manual, retrieved Jun 2026).
• Open the output (PDF/PPTX/HTML) and check 2 things: slide breaks and font/layout fit.

Which Markdown-to-slides tool should I use (Marp vs Slidev vs Pandoc vs Quarto)?

Choose based on your required output and how “editable” it must be. If you want a predictable export pipeline with straightforward Markdown, Marp is a common pick. If you want a web-first deck with modern components, Slidev is strong. If you need LaTeX-quality math and academic styling, Pandoc → Beamer is the classic path. If you want Reveal.js features with a document-style authoring system, Quarto → revealjs is a solid workflow.

Two concrete, source-backed constraints to decide early: (1) Slidev’s PPTX export treats slides as images, so text is not selectable (source: Slidev exporting docs, retrieved Jun 2026). (2) Marp CLI offers an “editable PPTX” mode but notes it has lower reproducibility and is not recommended if maintaining appearance is important, and it has extra requirements like LibreOffice (source: marp-team/marp-cli README, retrieved Jun 2026).

Quick comparison (capabilities that matter for “markdown to slides”)

Sizing reality check (numbers you can design against)

If you’re building HTML slides with Reveal.js, the default “normal” slide size in Reveal.js is width 960 and height 700 (source: revealjs.com presentation-size docs, retrieved Jun 2026). In Quarto’s revealjs format, the docs note a default “normal” size of 1050 x 700 (source: Quarto revealjs advanced docs, retrieved Jun 2026). These are not your screen resolution; they’re the design canvas that Reveal scales to fit.

How do I convert Markdown to slides with Marp (PPTX/PDF/HTML)?

Marp CLI converts Marp/Marpit-flavored Markdown into HTML, PDF, PPTX, and images using a single command-line tool. If your main goal is “markdown to slides” with minimal moving parts, Marp is one of the most direct paths because the same input.md can be exported to multiple outputs.

Copy-and-do commands (Marp CLI)

• Export to HTML: marp slide-deck.md -o output.html (source: marp-team/marp-cli README, retrieved Jun 2026).
• Export to PDF: marp --pdf slide-deck.md (source: marp-team/marp-cli README, retrieved Jun 2026).
• Export to PPTX: marp --pptx slide-deck.md (source: marp-team/marp-cli README, retrieved Jun 2026).
• Export images: marp --images png slide-deck.md (source: marp-team/marp-cli README, retrieved Jun 2026).

If you need PowerPoint that you can edit deeply (select text boxes, change shapes), Marp documents an editable PPTX export mode and explicitly warns about tradeoffs: it requires extra software (including LibreOffice Impress) and can have complex styling errors; it also states lower reproducibility and recommends avoiding it if maintaining appearance is important (source: marp-team/marp-cli README section on editable PPTX, retrieved Jun 2026).

Minimal slide Markdown example (one slide per separator)

Example structure to test your pipeline with exactly 3 slides: Slide 1 title, Slide 2 bullets, Slide 3 code snippet. Keep the first test deck under 10 lines so you can confirm export works before adding styling. Then add 1 theme change at a time (font, colors, image sizing).

How do I export Markdown to slides with Slidev (and what are the PPTX limitations)?

Slidev is a developer-oriented “markdown to slides” system that renders slides in a browser engine and can export to PDF, PPTX, PNG, or even a Markdown export composed of compiled PNGs. It’s great when you want web-native layout and components, but you should understand how exporting works before committing.

Slidev’s exporting docs state that exporting to PDF, PPTX, or PNG relies on Playwright for rendering, and specifically that playwright-chromium is required (source: sli.dev exporting docs, retrieved Jun 2026). That means your “markdown to slides” pipeline includes a browser renderer, not just a text converter.

Copy-and-do commands (Slidev)

• Export default (PDF): slidev export (source: sli.dev exporting docs, retrieved Jun 2026).
• Export PPTX: slidev export --format pptx (source: sli.dev exporting docs, retrieved Jun 2026).
• Export PNG: slidev export --format png (source: sli.dev exporting docs, retrieved Jun 2026).
• Export compiled Markdown: slidev export --format md (source: sli.dev exporting docs, retrieved Jun 2026).

PPTX reality: image-based slides

Slidev’s docs explicitly note a PPTX limitation: all slides in a PPTX export are treated as images, meaning text is not selectable (source: sli.dev exporting docs, retrieved Jun 2026). If your requirement is “editable PowerPoint,” treat Slidev PPTX as a delivery format for presenting/sharing, not for later editing.

How do I turn Markdown into Beamer PDF slides with Pandoc?

Pandoc can convert Markdown into a Beamer slide deck and output a PDF, which is a classic “markdown to slides” workflow in academia and technical writing. It’s especially strong when you need math and consistent typography and you’re comfortable with LaTeX tooling.

The Pandoc manual documents the core command pattern for Beamer: pandoc input.md -t beamer -o output.pdf (source: pandoc.org manual, retrieved Jun 2026). It also notes that generating PDF output requires a LaTeX engine, with pdflatex as default and options like xelatex or lualatex via --pdf-engine (source: pandoc manual, retrieved Jun 2026).

Copy-and-do commands (Pandoc → Beamer)

• Basic: pandoc input.md -t beamer -o slides.pdf (source: pandoc manual, retrieved Jun 2026).
• Control slide breaks by heading level: add --slide-level=NUMBER (source: pandoc manual, retrieved Jun 2026).
• Choose PDF engine explicitly when fonts or Unicode demand it: add --pdf-engine=xelatex (source: pandoc manual, retrieved Jun 2026).

Math example (copy-paste LaTeX you can put on a slide)

If “markdown to slides” for you means math-heavy content, a reliable test is to include one displayed equation and confirm it compiles on the first try. Example equation to test: \text{aspect ratio} = \frac{\text{width}}{\text{height}}.

How do I make Markdown-to-slides with Reveal.js (via Quarto), and what size is a “slide”?

Reveal.js is an HTML slideshow framework, and Quarto can author Reveal.js presentations with a Markdown-first workflow. This “markdown to slides” path is ideal when your output is a web deck (HTML) that scales to different screens, with a configurable slide design canvas.

Reveal.js documents default slide sizing as width 960 and height 700 in its configuration (source: revealjs.com presentation-size, retrieved Jun 2026). Quarto’s revealjs advanced docs state a default “normal” slide size of 1050 x 700 and show that you can customize width and height (source: quarto.org revealjs advanced docs, retrieved Jun 2026).

What the numbers mean (and why you should care)

• 960x700 (Reveal.js default) and 1050x700 (Quarto revealjs default) are layout canvases that Reveal scales to fit the viewer’s screen (sources above, retrieved Jun 2026).
• When converting “markdown to slides,” these canvas sizes determine how big text and charts feel before scaling, so they affect readability and overflow.
• A quick fit test is to place a 3-column table on one slide and verify it stays readable without zoom; if not, reduce columns or increase slide width/height.

How to do markdown to slides with AnyGen (when you want help writing the deck)

AnyGen helps when the hard part of “markdown to slides” is not exporting, but drafting a clear slide structure from messy notes, docs, or a topic outline. You can use AnyGen to generate a Markdown slide deck source (titles, bullets, tables, LaTeX) and then export it with Marp, Slidev, Pandoc/Beamer, or Quarto—whichever toolchain matches your required output.

A practical workflow (5 steps, tool-agnostic)

• Step 1: Decide your target exporter first (Marp, Slidev, Pandoc/Beamer, or Quarto/Reveal.js), because PPTX editability differs (source-backed notes: Slidev PPTX is image-based; Marp editable PPTX has limitations; retrieved Jun 2026).
• Step 2: Ask AnyGen for a slide-first Markdown structure: 1 title slide, 3–6 content sections, and 1 closing slide (that is typically 5–8 slides total for a short deck).
• Step 3: Request raw slide material, not prose: bullets, a small comparison table, and any equations in compilable LaTeX (example equation provided in this page).
• Step 4: Paste the generated Markdown into your exporter and run the exact CLI commands shown in the sections above.
• Step 5: Iterate with a constraint: change only 1 dimension per iteration (content density, theme, or export format) so you can pinpoint what broke.

When AnyGen is genuinely useful (and when it isn’t)

Frequently asked questions