presentation-md vs md-slides / Markdown decks

Side-by-side

Criterion	presentation-md	md-slides / MD tools
Input	Agent writes Deck JSON (notes → structured slides)	Human/agent writes Markdown (+ front matter)
Design system	✓ 75 themes with craft surfaces + stunning-25 proofs	Themes/CSS vary by tool; often DIY
Layout craft	12 layouts + ratios, emphasis, bento, image-hero, code	Headings / columns / code fences — craft is CSS skill
Validation	✓ Schema + `audit_deck` + design judge	Usually “renders or it doesn’t”
PowerPoint	✓ Native PPTX round-trip	PDF/HTML common; editable PPTX rare
Studio / MCP	✓ Hosted Studio + 9 MCP tools	CLI / static site generators
Agent default quality	Skill forces theme pick, craft knobs, anti-slop bans	Depends entirely on the prompt pack

Where Markdown tools are stronger

Lowest friction if you already think in Markdown and want git-diffable prose
Dev-native ecosystems (Slidev) with Vue components and live reload
Familiar authoring for docs-heavy teams

Where presentation-md is stronger

Agents produce asymmetric, theme-true decks by default — not “Markdown with a CSS skin”
Same JSON re-themes across 75 looks without rewriting slides
PPTX + Studio + MCP make it a product, not a personal CLI recipe

Verdict

Keep Marp/Slidev/md-slides when Markdown is the artifact. Use presentation-md when the artifact is a presentation — and your coding agent should hit the craft ceiling of the stunning twenty-five.

npx @presentation-md/install claude-code

Open Studio →

Also compare: all Marp Slidev Claude Design frontend-slides