Guide · Agent skill
How to use nature-paper2ppt: paper to PowerPoint deck skill
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
nature-paper2ppt is an agent skill that turns a scientific paper, preprint, PDF, figure legends or your reading notes into an editable Chinese PowerPoint (.pptx) deck for a group meeting (组会), journal club, literature report or defense. This guide explains what the skill makes the agent do, how to install it, how to ask for a deck in plain language, and what to check before you present. You do not need prior experience with agent skills.
Paper to PowerPoint DeckYuan1z0825/nature-skills · Apache-2.0 Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download and install the skill. Download the ZIP from this page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/, into a project's .claude/skills/ folder, or upload it in the Claude apps under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
- 2Confirm the environment. Make sure Python is available and the agent can create .pptx files. The audit script needs only the Python standard library.
- 3Provide the paper. Give the agent the paper as a PDF, DOI, arXiv link or publisher page, or give an abstract with figure legends or your reading notes.
- 4Make the request. Describe the deck in plain language: length, audience, Chinese or other language preferences, and whether figures must stay as in the paper.
- 5Confirm the paper type. Read the one-line paper type the agent states, and correct it if it is wrong before the slides are designed.
- 6Review and edit. Open the .pptx, check every fact and figure against the paper, and read the speaker notes. Then read output/qa_report.md.
What an agent skill is and what this one does
An agent skill is a folder of instructions and supporting files that an AI agent loads when a task matches it. Once nature-paper2ppt is installed, the agent can take a paper and build a real PowerPoint file rather than only an outline.
The skill does not copy the paper's section order. It first classifies the paper type (the source lists six: discovery, methods, resource, clinical, materials and review), then follows a presentation storyline that fits that type. For example, a discovery paper is organised as a question-to-evidence arc, and a clinical study as a design-to-inference arc. The agent states the detected type in one short line so you can correct it.
- Reorganises the paper into a 10-16 slide Chinese presentation by default.
- Pulls the research question, key claims, core evidence and limitations onto slides.
- Selects figures and tables that support the narrative, and can crop or split dense figure plates.
- Writes speaker notes for each slide.
- Keeps technical terms such as model names, gene names and metrics consistent across slides using a terminology ledger.
- Can edit an existing deck without rebuilding it, and runs a quality-check script on the finished file.
Install nature-paper2ppt in Claude
Option one: download the skill ZIP from this page and unzip it into your personal skills folder, ~/.claude/skills/. Option two: unzip it into a project-level folder, .claude/skills/ inside your project, so the skill applies only to that project.
Option three: upload the ZIP in the Claude apps through Settings → Capabilities → Skills. Use whichever route matches how you work with the agent. After installing, check that the skill folder is named nature-paper2ppt and contains a SKILL.md file at its top level.
- Personal: ~/.claude/skills/
- Project: .claude/skills/ in your project folder
- Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload the ZIP
Check the requirements before you start
The skill needs Python. Its audit script uses only the Python standard library, so it does not require extra packages. The agent also needs software in its environment that can produce a .pptx file; the source says the toolchain details are in core/toolchain.md, which is not fully shown in the public excerpts, so confirm your environment can create PowerPoint files before relying on it.
You must supply the source paper or reading notes. The skill works from the content you give it and does not fetch the paper over the network. The source also lists the accepted inputs as a PDF, DOI, arXiv link, publisher page, abstract with figure legends, or reading notes.
- Python available to the agent
- A tool that can write .pptx files in the agent environment
- The paper (PDF, DOI, arXiv link, publisher page) or abstract plus figure legends or reading notes
- Optional: talk length, audience background, slide count range, and whether speaker notes are needed
Trigger the skill with natural requests
The skill description includes Chinese trigger phrases such as 论文做PPT, 文献汇报, 组会PPT and paper-based conference or defense presentations. You can also write in English and describe the job. State the deck length, the audience and whether you need original figures kept or allowed to be redrawn.
To edit an existing deck, say which slides to change. The skill is designed to reuse the deck's paper source, narrative and terminology rather than rebuild the story, and it inspects the changed slides and reruns the audit before delivery.
- "Turn this Nature Communications paper into a 12-slide Chinese group-meeting PPT."
- "Use the abstract and figure legends to make a first paper-presentation draft; keep it concise."
- "Make this machine-learning paper into a deck that makes the method, results and limitations clear."
- "Revise slides 4 and 7 of my deck; keep the terminology and figures as they are."
Review the output and run the quality check
The agent produces an editable .pptx, speaker notes, a figure asset list with crop and citation notes, and a quality report. When a real deck is generated, the skill runs scripts/audit_pptx_quality.py, treats high-severity findings as blockers, revises, and records the final result in output/qa_report.md.
The audit does not replace a visual review. The skill itself warns that its checks do not replace looking at the rendered slides, and that facts and figure details must be checked against the paper. Open the deck, read every slide against the source, and confirm each figure is the one you intended.
- Check every number, figure and claim against the original paper.
- Look at each rendered slide for overflow, crowded text and cropped figures.
- Read the speaker notes aloud to confirm they match the slide and the paper.
- Read output/qa_report.md for any unresolved findings.
What people use it for
- Turning a discovery paper into a 12-slide Chinese lab meeting (组会) deck with its key figures and speaker notes.
- Preparing a literature report (文献汇报) from a methods or AI paper, with the problem-to-solution arc.
- Drafting slides for a conference talk or thesis defense based on a paper you wrote.
- Editing a deck you already have, changing a few slides while keeping its terminology and figures consistent.
Frequently asked questions
Is nature-paper2ppt free to use?
The source lists the licence as Apache-2.0. Check the licence file in the downloaded package for the full terms. This page does not state any price.
What do I need to run nature-paper2ppt?
You need Python, a tool in the agent environment that can produce .pptx files, and the source paper or reading notes. The skill does not use the network, so it works from the content you provide.
Where do I put the nature-paper2ppt skill folder?
Put it in ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use, or in .claude/skills/ inside a project. You can also upload the ZIP in the Claude apps under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
Can the skill create slides in English?
The skill is Chinese-by-default and built for Chinese academic conventions. The source does not describe English output, so test the output before relying on it.
Are the slides ready to present without review?
No. The skill says its audit does not replace visual review of rendered slides, and facts or figure details must be checked against the paper before submission or presentation.
How is this different from other paper or slide skills?
The source names related skills: nature-reader for full-text translation and figure source maps, nature-figure for redrawing mechanism or method figures, and presentations for further layout editing of PPTX files. nature-paper2ppt focuses on building the deck from a paper with its storyline and figures.
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Our verdict
Use nature-paper2ppt if you are a graduate student or researcher who needs a first-draft Chinese academic deck from a paper for lab meeting, journal club, a conference talk or a defense, and you will review and edit it yourself. Pick another tool if you need submission-ready slides without review, if you cannot share the paper with the agent, or if your presentation is not academic, since the skill is tailored to scientific paper structure.
Download the skill