ppt-mcp

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that gives AI agents full control over a live Microsoft PowerPoint instance via COM automation. Unlike file-based libraries like python-pptx, this server interacts directly with a running PowerPoint application.

✨ Key Features

• Real-time control — Directly manipulates a running PowerPoint instance; changes appear instantly on screen

• 155 tools across 26 categories — Slides, shapes, text, tables, charts, animations, SmartArt, media, freeform paths, and more

• Safe for AI agents — ppt_activate_presentation locks all tools to a specific file, preventing accidental edits to the wrong presentation

• Google Material Symbols icons — Search 2,500+ icons by keyword and insert as SVG with theme colors

• Theme color awareness — Use accent1, accent2, etc. instead of hardcoded RGB values

📋 Requirements

• Windows 11

• Microsoft PowerPoint

• uv

🚀 Getting Started

Standard config — works in Claude Desktop, Cursor, .mcp.json, and most other MCP clients:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "powerpoint": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["ppt-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

User-scoped (available in all projects)

claude mcp add powerpoint uvx ppt-mcp

Project-scoped (stored in .mcp.json, shared with your team)

claude mcp add --scope project powerpoint uvx ppt-mcp

Cursor

Or add manually to ~/.cursor/mcp.json using the standard config above.

Claude Desktop

Edit %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json using the standard config above.

Codex

Edit ~/.codex/config.toml:

[mcp_servers.ppt-mcp]
command = "uvx"
args = ["ppt-mcp"]

Or use the standard JSON config above in .codex/config.json.

VS Code

code --add-mcp '{"name":"powerpoint","command":"uvx","args":["ppt-mcp"]}'

From source

git clone https://github.com/ykuwai/ppt-mcp.git
cd ppt-mcp
uv sync

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "powerpoint": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "C:\\path\\to\\ppt-mcp",
        "run",
        "mcp",
        "run",
        "src/server.py"
      ]
    }
  }
}

🛠️ Tool Categories

💡 Example Prompts

Just describe what you want in plain language — no code required.

Simple — topic only

"Create a 3-slide intro deck for a productivity app called Flowly."

With style direction — topic + visual style

"Make a 4-slide presentation on the benefits of async work. Dark navy style, add icons for each benefit."

Detailed — topic + design intent + slide structure

"Build a 5-slide pitch for an AI note-taking app called NoteAI. White background, teal accent. Slides: title, problem, solution, features with icons, closing."

Design keywords that elevate results:

🔍 Features in Detail

🎯 Presentation Targeting

ppt_activate_presentation sets a session-level target so every subsequent tool call operates on that specific file — regardless of which window is active in PowerPoint. Switch targets anytime by calling it again.

ppt_activate_presentation(presentation_name="report.pptx")
# All tools now operate on report.pptx
ppt_activate_presentation(presentation_name="demo.pptx")
# Switched — all tools now operate on demo.pptx

📁 Template Support

Auto-detects your personal PowerPoint templates folder (registry, OneDrive, or default paths). Use ppt_list_templates to discover available templates, then ppt_create_presentation(template_path=...) to create a new presentation from any template.

🎨 Google Material Symbols Icons

Search 2,500+ Google Material Symbols icons with ppt_search_icons(query="...") and insert them as SVG with ppt_add_svg_icon:

• 3 styles: outlined, rounded, sharp

• Filled variants: set filled=True

• Theme colors: color="accent1" uses the presentation's accent color

• Auto-fit: preserves aspect ratio within the specified area

⚡ Real-Time Navigation

Every write operation automatically navigates PowerPoint to the target slide. You see changes happening in real-time — no need to manually switch slides.

✍️ Text Formatting

• \n — Paragraph break (Enter). Each paragraph gets its own bullet/indent level.

• \v — Line break (Shift+Enter). Stays in the same paragraph, preserving formatting.

• Per-character formatting with ppt_format_text_range

• Auto-fit control: shrink text to fit, resize shape, or overflow

🎨 Theme Color Presets & Auto-Generation

ppt_set_theme_colors supports three modes:

• 17 curated presets — WCAG AA accessible palettes across 5 categories: Classic (corporate_blue, executive, consulting), Design Systems (tailwind, chakra, open_color, radix), Nature (ocean, forest, sunset, sage), Modern (nord_light, pastel_deep, swiss), Vibrant (vivid, rainbow, neon_safe)

• Primary color generation — provide a single brand color (primary="#2B579A") to auto-generate a full harmonious palette using color harmony (split-complementary + analogous)

• Manual — set individual color slots (accent1, accent2, etc.)

Modes can be combined: use a preset as a base and override specific slots. All accents are guaranteed 3:1+ contrast on white.

🔍 Typography Check

ppt_check_typography detects and optionally auto-fixes common typography issues:

• Widow lines — isolated 1-3 character lines caused by word wrapping

• Short lines after soft returns — side effects of manual line breaks (\v)

• Auto-shrunk text — text silently compressed by PowerPoint's shrink-to-fit feature

Auto-fix strategies include widening text boxes and inserting soft returns.

⚙️ Advanced Configuration

Handling PowerPoint Modal Dialogs

When PowerPoint has a modal dialog open (e.g., SmartArt layout picker, Save dialog, Insert dialog), COM calls return RPC_E_CALL_REJECTED. The MCP server automatically retries for up to 15 seconds (5 retries × 3 s), so the server stays connected and responsive even when a dialog is blocking PowerPoint.

Auto-dismiss (opt-in): By default, the server waits for you to close the dialog manually. To have the server automatically send ESC on the first retry — dismissing the dialog without user interaction — set PPT_AUTO_DISMISS_DIALOG=true:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "powerpoint": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["ppt-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "PPT_AUTO_DISMISS_DIALOG": "true"
      }
    }
  }
}

ESC cancels without committing, so there are no destructive side effects. This is particularly useful in automated workflows where no human is present to close dialogs.

📄 License

MIT

🙏 Credits

• FastMCP — Pythonic MCP server framework

• pywin32 — Windows COM automation

• Model Context Protocol — by Anthropic