deckpipe-mcp

MCP server for deckpipe — create, edit, and share slide decks from any AI agent. You describe slides as JSON (layout + content); Deckpipe renders, themes, and exports them. Every deck gets a shareable viewer URL.

Ten tools for the full deck lifecycle: create, read, update, delete, search stock photos, upload images, list layouts, and collaborate via threaded comments. No account or API key required — decks are addressed by unique unguessable IDs.

• Website & viewer: deckpipe.dev
• Remote MCP endpoint: https://deckpipe.dev/mcp (Streamable HTTP)
• npm package: deckpipe-mcp (stdio for local agents)
• Source: github.com/bjoern2000/deckpipe-mcp

Use cases

You can use Deckpipe to:

Create Decks from a Prompt: "Build a 6-slide pitch deck for our AI launch with a bold, editorial tone"

Turn Documents into Slides: "Summarize my Q2 strategy doc as a 10-slide exec deck with key takeaways"

Illustrate with Stock Photos: "Create a travel guide for Tokyo with full-bleed Unsplash photos and a gallery of must-visit spots"

Visualize Data: "Add a bar chart showing monthly signups for Q1 and a stats slide for conversion metrics"

Compare & Analyze: "Make a SWOT deck for entering the European market, with a quadrant of competitors by price and features"

Iterate Based on Feedback: "Check the deck for open comments, apply the requested edits, and reply to each thread"

Restructure Existing Decks: "Move the pricing slide before the testimonials and replace the closing with a contact slide"

Brand & Theme: "Rebuild this deck using Playfair Display for headings, Inter for body, and accent color #0ea5e9"

Install

Remote (Claude.ai, Claude Desktop, any Streamable HTTP MCP client)

Add https://deckpipe.dev/mcp as a custom remote MCP server. No authentication required.

Local (stdio)

Claude Code

claude mcp add deckpipe -- npx deckpipe-mcp

Manual MCP config (Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "deckpipe": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "deckpipe-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Tools

Layouts

All layouts support an optional key_takeaway field — a highlighted sentence rendered below the title.

See all 25 layouts in action →

Image placeholders

Any layout that accepts image_url also accepts image_prompt as an alternative. When set, a dashed placeholder box is rendered showing the prompt text — useful when you want to create a complete deck without sourcing images, letting the user drop them in later.

{
  "layout": "title_and_bullets",
  "content": {
    "title": "Electric Vehicles",
    "bullets": ["Range anxiety solved", "Charging network expansion"],
    "image_prompt": "Hero shot of a sleek EV on a mountain road at golden hour"
  }
}

Stock photo search

Use the search_images tool to find stock photos from Unsplash. Results return simple IDs and thumbnails — use the ID as image_ref in your slides and Deckpipe handles attribution, URLs, and download tracking automatically.

// Search returns IDs + thumbnails
{ "results": [{ "id": "uimg_abc123", "thumb": "https://...", "alt": "mountain landscape" }] }

// Use image_ref in slides — no attribution needed
{
  "layout": "full_image",
  "content": {
    "image_ref": "uimg_abc123",
    "title": "Mountain Adventure"
  }
}

Use queries to search for multiple terms in one call (max 5) instead of making separate calls per slide:

{ "queries": ["sunset beach", "modern office", "mountain hiking"], "orientation": "landscape" }

• image_ref resolves to a real Unsplash URL with proper attribution caption
• For image_gallery, use image_refs (array of IDs) instead of images
• Use orientation: "landscape" for full_image/image_and_text, "portrait" for image_gallery

Rich bullets

Any bullets[], pros[], cons[], strengths[], weaknesses[], opportunities[], or threats[] field accepts either plain strings or rich bullet objects:

{
  "text": "Model 3 leads in range",
  "detail": "EPA-rated 358 miles; closest competitor is 270 miles",
  "sources": [
    { "label": "EPA 2024", "url": "https://fueleconomy.gov" }
  ]
}

• detail renders as a hover tooltip (ℹ icon) — great for adding nuance without cluttering the slide
• sources render as superscript numbers with a footnote row at the bottom of the slide

Plain strings still work as before (backward compatible).

Slide operations

update_deck supports structural slide changes via the slide_operations field — an ordered array of operations executed sequentially before any content edits.

Operations are applied in order, so each operation sees the array as modified by previous ones. Content edits in slides use indices relative to the post-operations array.

{
  "deck_id": "dk_abc",
  "slide_operations": [
    { "op": "delete", "index": 3 },
    { "op": "insert", "index": 1, "slide": { "layout": "title_and_body", "content": { "title": "New Slide", "body": "Hello" } } },
    { "op": "move", "from": 0, "to": 4 }
  ],
  "slides": [
    { "index": 2, "content": { "title": "Updated Title" } }
  ]
}

Customization

Both create_deck and update_deck accept optional styling fields:

Example prompts

Create a deck about the rise of electric vehicles. Search the web for relevant photos and use them. Use heading font "Space Grotesk", body font "Inter", and accent color "#0ea5e9".

Create a deck about the Apollo 11 moon landing. Search the web for historic NASA photos and use them as full-bleed images. Include a timeline of the mission, stats on the Saturn V rocket, and a famous quote from Neil Armstrong. Use heading font "Libre Baskerville" and accent color "#1e3a5f".

Build a lecture deck on how neural networks learn. Use a comparison table for activation functions, bullet points for key concepts, and add a key takeaway to each slide.

Create a travel guide deck for Tokyo. Search the web for photos and include an image gallery of must-visit spots, stats on tourism, and a full-bleed image cover slide.

Warnings

Both create_deck and update_deck responses may include a warnings array with actionable feedback for the agent:

{
  "deck_id": "dk_abc",
  "viewer_url": "...",
  "warnings": [
    "Slide 0 (title): unrecognized content field \"body\" — this field was ignored. Valid fields: image_focus, image_prompt, image_url, key_takeaway, subtitle, title",
    "Slide 2: image_url returned HTTP 404 — image may not render (https://example.com/missing.jpg)"
  ]
}

Unrecognized content fields — If you pass a field name that doesn't exist for that layout (e.g. body on a title slide), the field is silently dropped but a warning tells you exactly what happened and lists valid fields for that layout.

Unreachable image URLs — All image_url values are checked with a HEAD request during creation/update. If a URL returns an error or is unreachable, a warning is returned so you can fix it with a follow-up update_deck call.

Comments

Deckpipe supports threaded comments for collaborative feedback between users and agents. Users place comments on specific slide elements in the viewer; agents read and respond to them.

Workflow for agents:

1. Call get_deck — each slide includes a comments[] array with open comments
2. Each comment has a content_path (e.g. "title", "bullets[2]", "slide") telling you which field it refers to
3. Use update_deck to address the feedback
4. Call reply_to_comment to explain what you changed
5. The user resolves the comment once satisfied

Agent identity: Set agent_name when calling create_deck (e.g. "Acme Strategy Agent") — this name appears on your replies.

Configuration

By default the MCP server connects to https://deckpipe.dev. To use a different API endpoint:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "deckpipe": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "deckpipe-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "DECKPIPE_API_URL": "http://localhost:3010"
      }
    }
  }
}

Support

• Questions, bug reports, feature requests: open an issue on GitHub
• Email: bjoern.schefzyk@gmail.com

Legal

• Privacy policy — what data is stored, retention, GDPR rights
• Terms of use — acceptable use, liability

Note: Decks are stored without authentication and are accessible by anyone who has the deck ID. Do not store confidential or personal information in decks.

License

MIT © Björn Schefzyk