Hey HN. I built TypeDeck (https://typedeck.io) because I work in Markdown and hated copy-pasting to make presentations in Google Slides, Powerpoint, etc.

The format is intentionally simple: minimal GUI and if you're keyboard-first, standard markdown and HTML comments do it all. Github sync, export to PDF/PPTX.

Technical details for the curious: - React 19 + Vite, Firebase backend - CodeMirror 6 for the editor - pptxgenjs for PowerPoint export (this was painful - PPTX is a wild format) - Mermaid rendering for diagrams - Design token system with 8px baseline grid, WCAG AA color contrast - I designed it around how LLMs output text. Ask ChatGPT/Claude for slides, paste the markdown, done. No reformatting step.

What's missing: - No speaker notes (most requested feature, haven't built it) - No animations or transitions - Limited to 9 layouts - if you need pixel-perfect custom positioning, this isn't the tool - No collaboration yet

I'd appreciate feedback. First, are these "write markdown, get slides" apps actually useful, or do people want more control than this allows? What layouts am I missing? What would make you use this over just opening Google Slides?

Happy to answer questions about the implementation. Thanks for taking a look!

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46288120

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