Huashu Design vs Slidev
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
An agent skill that turns a one-line prompt into HTML prototypes, slides, animations and infographics.
Open source · MIT
Write presentation slides in Markdown, rendered with Vue and Vite.
The short answer
Choose Huashu Design if you need…
- Designers or founders who want quick visual drafts from a short text prompt
- Developers already working inside Claude Code, Codex or Cursor who want design output without leaving the agent
- People making simple presentations or product announcement animations
- Users who want to pick between several style directions before committing
Choose Slidev if you need…
- Developers who want to present code, technical talks, or architecture diagrams
- People comfortable editing Markdown and who prefer version-controlled slides
- Teams that want slides stored alongside project files in a Git repository
- Anyone who wants to present from a second window or phone using presenter mode
Side-by-side
| Huashu Design | Slidev | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | CLI | Dev tool |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 28.5k | 49.3k |
| Setup difficulty | Beginner | Beginner |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | HTML | TypeScript |
| Last code update | 6 days ago | 14 days ago |
What each one is
Huashu Design
Huashu Design is a skill (a set of instructions and scripts) for AI coding agents such as Claude Code, Codex and Cursor. You describe a design in one sentence and the agent produces HTML-based deliverables like web pages, app prototypes, slide decks with editable PPTX export, animations and infographics. It can also offer several style directions to choose from before building.
Slidev
Slidev is an open-source tool for making presentation slides using Markdown files. You write your slides as text, and it renders them in a web browser with code highlighting, math, diagrams, and Vue components. It can export slides to PDF, PNG, or PPTX.
Best for
Huashu Design
- Designers or founders who want quick visual drafts from a short text prompt
- Developers already working inside Claude Code, Codex or Cursor who want design output without leaving the agent
- People making simple presentations or product announcement animations
- Users who want to pick between several style directions before committing
Slidev
- Developers who want to present code, technical talks, or architecture diagrams
- People comfortable editing Markdown and who prefer version-controlled slides
- Teams that want slides stored alongside project files in a Git repository
- Anyone who wants to present from a second window or phone using presenter mode
Strengths
Huashu Design
- Runs inside several popular agents, and the README says it installs with a single npx command
- Produces HTML-native output that can be previewed in a browser and exported to PDF, PNG, SVG, MP4 or PPTX
- Ships with a large built-in style library of 84 styles, each with a sample image
Slidev
- Slides are plain Markdown files, so they work well with Git and any text editor
- Built on Vite, so changes reload quickly while editing
- Themes can be shared as npm packages and it supports a large set of icons
Not ideal for
Huashu Design
- Teams that need a full Figma-style collaborative design workflow, since the README says there is no panel or Figma plugin
- Anyone needing pixel-level control over production UI code without reviewing agent output, because the README describes AI-generated results that still need judgment
- People without an agent that supports skills, since the tool is installed into such agents
Slidev
- People who need a visual drag-and-drop slide editor, since Slidev is text-based (the README mentions an integrated editor, but its depth is not described here)
- Users who cannot install Node.js, since the local setup requires Node.js 22.12.0 or newer
- Those who only need simple slides and do not want to learn Markdown syntax and Vue features
Trade-offs
Huashu Design
- Installation can fail on older skills CLI versions; the README says versions 1.5.15 and below sync only a single file, so you must check for the subfolders
- Much of the documentation and examples are in Chinese, with an English README linked separately
- Quality depends on the agent and prompt; the README's showcase examples were chosen by the author
Slidev
- Requires a Node.js development environment, which may be a barrier for non-developers
- Visual design customization relies on CSS utilities and Vue knowledge for advanced changes
- The README does not detail the export quality or limitations of each export format
Getting started
Huashu Design
Install the skill via the skills CLI
npx skills add alchaincyf/huashu-designUpdate the skills CLI if the install is incomplete
npm i -g skills@latestFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between Huashu Design and Slidev?
Huashu Design: An agent skill that turns a one-line prompt into HTML prototypes, slides, animations and infographics. Slidev: Write presentation slides in Markdown, rendered with Vue and Vite. Huashu Design suits designers or founders who want quick visual drafts from a short text prompt, while Slidev suits developers who want to present code, technical talks, or architecture diagrams.
Are Huashu Design and Slidev free?
Huashu Design: Free and open source. Slidev: Free and open source.
Is Huashu Design or Slidev more popular?
Slidev has more GitHub stars (49.3k) than Huashu Design (28.5k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to Huashu Design and Slidev?
Other options people compare them with include Excalidraw, reveal.js, Agent Reach, Marp, mdx-deck.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.