gslides-claudecode

gslides-claudecode

A Python library and CLI for programmatically creating Google Slides presentations from Claude Code projects. Uses service account authentication to append slides to user-owned presentations — no OAuth flows, browser authentication, or user interaction required.

Why gslides-claudecode?

This package solves the automation gap for Google Slides:

• Service account only: No OAuth, no browser flows, works in headless environments
• Append workflow: Works with existing presentations you create and share
• Claude Code integration: Built-in skills and agents for seamless AI-assisted slide generation
• Multiple content types: Text, bullets, images (local files or URLs), tables from CSV data
• Speaker notes: Add context and talking points to every slide

Perfect for automated reporting, progress dashboards, and transforming analysis outputs into stakeholder-ready presentations.

Quick start (Claude Code plugin)

If you use Claude Code, install the plugin and let the bundled setup skill walk you through everything:

/plugin marketplace add jorgebotas/gslides-claudecode
/plugin install gslides-claudecode

Then in Claude Code:

> help me set up google slides

The gslides-setup skill activates, asks which installer you use (uv, pip, conda, poetry, pipx), and walks you through installing the Python package, creating the GCP project, enabling APIs, generating a service account, sharing a deck, and verifying the connection.

For the manual setup (without Claude Code), follow the guide below.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+
• Google Cloud Project with Slides and Drive APIs enabled
• uv (recommended) or pip for installation

Setup Guide

1. Create Google Cloud Project and Enable APIs

1. Create a project (or use existing):

   • Go to Google Cloud Console
   • Click "Select a project" → "New Project"
   • Enter project name and click "Create"
   • Note your PROJECT_ID for the next steps

2. Enable Google Slides API:

   • Navigate to: https://console.cloud.google.com/apis/library/slides.googleapis.com?project=<YOUR_PROJECT_ID>
   • Click "Enable"

3. Enable Google Drive API:

   • Navigate to: https://console.cloud.google.com/apis/library/drive.googleapis.com?project=<YOUR_PROJECT_ID>
   • Click "Enable"

2. Create Service Account

1. Go to Service Accounts:

   • Navigate to: https://console.cloud.google.com/iam-admin/serviceaccounts?project=<YOUR_PROJECT_ID>
   • Click "Create Service Account"

2. Configure the account:

   • Service account name: slides-automation (or your preferred name)
   • Description: Service account for Google Slides API access
   • Click "Create and Continue"
   • Skip role assignment (not needed) and click "Done"

3. Generate and download JSON key:

   • Click on your new service account
   • Go to "Keys" tab → "Add Key" → "Create new key"
   • Select "JSON" format and click "Create"
   • Save the downloaded file as service_account.json in your project directory

3. Install Package

# Recommended: using uv
uv pip install -e .

# Alternative: using pip
pip install -e .

4. Create and Share Presentation

⚠️ Important: Service accounts have zero Google Drive storage quota and cannot create or own files. You must create presentations in your personal Google Drive first, then share them.

1. Create a presentation:

   • Go to Google Slides
   • Create a new presentation
   • Copy the presentation ID from the URL: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/{PRESENTATION_ID}/edit

2. Share with service account:

   • Click "Share" in the top-right
   • Enter the service account email (found in your service_account.json file, looks like [email protected])
   • Set permission to "Editor"
   • Click "Send"

5. Verify Setup

# Test the connection
gslides test {PRESENTATION_ID}

Expected success output:

✓ Connected successfully!
Title: My Presentation
Slides: 1
Presentation ID: 1AbCdEfGhIjKlMnOpQrStUvWxYz

Usage

Command Line Interface

The gslides CLI provides six commands for different slide types:

# Test API connection
gslides test {presentation_id}

# Add text slide
gslides text {presentation_id} \
  --title "Project Results" \
  --body "Our analysis shows a 15% improvement in accuracy over the baseline model." \
  --notes "Emphasize the business impact of this improvement"

# Add bulleted list
gslides bullets {presentation_id} \
  --title "Key Achievements" \
  --bullets "Completed model training,Achieved 94% accuracy,Reduced inference time by 30%" \
  --notes "These milestones unlock the next phase of development"