sproutclaw-data/agent/skills-disabled/ppt-master/docs/roadmap.md

Roadmap

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PPT Master is a solo-maintained open source project, driven by priority rather than fixed timelines. This roadmap is here to align expectations: what's already shipped, what's under ongoing maintenance and evolution, and what's intentionally out of scope. Priorities shift with user feedback and real usage signals — no committed delivery windows.

Where we are: AI generates SVG from scratch → converts to DrawingML for natively editable PPTX. The core axis is pixel-fidelity across four renderers (PowerPoint / Keynote / LibreOffice / WPS) + real native shapes. Every direction below serves that axis.

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Recent capability evolution

The past two months' structural capability growth. Single flags / incremental polish go to the commit log.

2026-03 — Native PPTX route takes shape

• Direct export to natively editable PPTX — svg_to_pptx adds glow / rotate / text-decoration / stroke-linejoin; the full SVG → DrawingML chain becomes usable
• Chart / layout template JSON indexes ship, AI selection path connected

2026-04 — Pipeline at scale

• Source-less generation: topic-research workflow supports "topic only, no source files"
• PPTX export step-change: SVG clipPath → DrawingML picture geometry, marker → native arrows, output consolidated to exports/
• Chart library expands to 70 templates + three icon libraries (simple-icons / phosphor-duotone / brand-logo)
• spec_lock.md machine-readable contract: Strategist locks the spec, Executor re-reads it before every page — cross-page consistency gets a real guarantee
• Per-element animation on by default + recorded narration / video export (workflows/generate-audio.md)

2026-05 — Visual editing + AI image systematization

• Live Preview enters the main pipeline (workflows/live-preview.md) — browser preview, click elements to write annotations, say "apply my annotations" and the AI rewrites that region (built on @WodenJay's PR #85)
• Replicate any PPTX as a template (workflows/create-template.md) — PPTX → SVG reverse + OOXML theme / master / layout / asset extraction
• AI image three-dimension system rendering × palette × type + Strategist h.5 lock, downstream consumes a fixed contract
• AI image hero_page dual-track — local insert + full-canvas hero image coexist
• Brand identity preset subsystem (workflows/create-brand.md) — extract and reuse brand palette / typography / logo / voice
• Visual self-review workflow (workflows/visual-review.md) — rubric-based per-page check of AI-generated SVGs
• AI image: Type concept boundary clarification — Type is now narrowed to "the internal geometric skeleton of a local infographic block" (11 real skeletons); the four pseudo-types (hero / background / portrait / typography) fold back into page_role: hero_page plus four composition primitives (single-subject / portrait / typographic / atmospheric); hero_page text layering rule (visual keywords embedded, editable text via SVG overlay)
• Brutalist AI newspaper example deck shipped (examples/ppt169_brutalist_ai_newspaper_2026/) — first of the three P0 capability-backing demos: wall-to-wall small type + irregular columns + halftone monochrome + single-spot red + real native shapes; 10-page editorial annual report stressing text-position precision and cross-page consistency
• Kubernetes Blueprint example deck shipped (examples/ppt169_kubernetes_blueprint_2026/) — second of the three P0 capability-backing demos: isometric technical-drawing aesthetic + blueprint cyan/amber palette + hand-authored SVG geometry (no raster images) + custom drawing-in animation; 10-page Kubernetes architecture walkthrough stressing geometric shape generalization and chart-structure extensibility
• AI image custom escape hatch — rendering / palette / hero composition each accept custom + a one-paragraph *_behavior prose, replacing the false "default to vector-illustration / cool-corporate" fallback; end-to-end contract spans image-renderings/_index.md §1.5, image-palettes/_index.md §2, Strategist h.5 hard-rule (≤1 custom per dimension; one candidate may carry both), spec_lock fields, and Image_Generator Step 2 consumption branch
• Template architecture: three-kind consolidation (docs/templates-architecture.md) — brand / layout / deck split into three independent dirs with per-kind schemas + segment-level fusion + git-style conflict resolution; SKILL.md Step 3 dispatches per kind, trigger rule remains "explicit path only"
• Pattern fill PPTX safety net — svg_quality_checker.py now warns on <pattern> without data-pptx-pattern (silent fallback to ltUpDiag) and errors on values outside OOXML ST_PresetPatternVal (schema-failed PPTX that won't open); shared-standards.md §7 documents the closed preset enum and the required <rect fill="<bg>"/> child convention
• LaTeX math formula rendering shipped (scripts/latex_render.py) — Strategist locks one of three policies (mixed / render-all / text-only) inside the Typography confirmation and writes an explicit images/formula_manifest.json; the renderer walks a codecogs → quicklatex → mathpad → wikimedia fallback chain and emits transparent PNGs that land in §VIII as Acquire Via: formula / Status: Rendered rows; formula-heavy decks (academic / engineering / educational) finally have a native rendering route. Formula selection is a Strategist decision — the renderer never scans source files for $...$ markers
• Live preview direct editing — L1 / L2 / L3 (workflows/live-preview.md) — the browser editor gains deterministic in-place edits with no AI round-trip: text content (L1), presentation attributes like fill / stroke / font-size (L2), and on-canvas geometry (L3) — drag a selected element to move it, arrow-key nudge (Shift = 10px), multi-select, plus a right-click overlap picker for stacked shapes. Edits stage with Ctrl+Z undo + coalescing and write to svg_output/ on Apply changes; moves persist through finalize / export (moved text frames, promoted multi-line tspans, repositioned icons all reproduce in the PPTX). Re-export stays chat-driven; on-canvas resize handles are not yet implemented (resize via the geometry inputs)

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Ongoing maintenance directions

Long-running improvements with no committed timeline. Only real directions are listed; specific fixes / single flags go to the commit log.

• Prompt slimming — compress per-role prompt token footprint and improve cache hit rate without sacrificing quality, for indirect cost / speed gains. Complements "Pure speed optimization" below: indirect optimization yes, quality-sacrificing speedups no.

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Non-goals

The directions below come up repeatedly and have been evaluated as not on the path. Listing them is not a value judgment on the underlying need — they simply don't fit this project's main route. If you specifically need these capabilities, consider other tools or forking.

Read arbitrary PPTX templates → fill text only

Issues: #53, #118

PPT Master's main route is "AI generates SVG from scratch → DrawingML", with the whole pipeline built around full control of every shape / text / layout. "Parse existing PPTX placeholders + only refill text" is a different product shape requiring handling of arbitrary master / theme / placeholder systems — orthogonal to where this architecture invests.

The basic need is actually simple: if you just need "replace Excel data into fixed positions in a PPT template", have the AI write a few lines of python-pptx. You don't need this pipeline.

Switch to native PowerPoint charts (Excel-native chart)

Issues: #99, #100-class

Pixel-fidelity across the four renderers (PowerPoint / Keynote / LibreOffice / WPS) is the project's spine. Switching to native PowerPoint charts breaks that — the same PPTX renders different chart layouts across renderers. Charts as SVG is by design, not a capability gap.

If you need data-driven native Excel charts, pick a different tool or manually replace charts in PowerPoint post-export — this project won't build that path in.

uv as default / required dependency

Issue: #111

pip + requirements.txt is the only official install path because it works in every Python environment with no extra learning cost. uv is a fine tool, but making it default raises the bar for new users. If you personally prefer uv, use it in your fork — it won't affect the main line.

Pure speed optimization

Issue: #97

In the cost / speed / quality triangle this project picks quality. ~20 minutes for a high-quality PPTX is the current reasonable point.

Will do: indirect improvements via prompt slimming / cache hit rate. Won't do: trading quality for "throw a few pages together" speed.

If speed-sensitive and quality-tolerant, Gamma / similar AI tools are a better fit.

CLI / SaaS / desktop app form factors

The product form is firmly chat-driven AI IDE skill (Claude Code / Cursor / VS Code + Copilot / Codebuddy).

Won't do: standalone CLI (ppm-style), SaaS web service, Electron shell. Any "make it run independently of chat" proposal will be declined. Chat is the interaction core, not a wrapper.

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Feedback channels

• Issues: github.com/hugohe3/ppt-master/issues — bugs / proposals
• Discussions: github.com/hugohe3/ppt-master/discussions — usage / experience sharing
• Email: heyug3@gmail.com

Before proposing a new direction, scan the Non-goals above. If your request falls there, it's unlikely to land — but we're happy to discuss other paths to your underlying need.