PowerPoint MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides comprehensive PowerPoint (.pptx) editing capabilities. This server allows you to create, edit, and manipulate PowerPoint presentations programmatically through Claude and other MCP-compatible clients.

Features

• Create Presentations: Start with blank presentations or use existing files as templates
• Slide Management: Add, delete, and read slide information
• Text Editing: Edit titles, content, and add formatted text boxes
• Shape Operations: Add rectangles, ovals, and triangles with optional text
• Image Support: Insert images with customizable positioning and sizing
• Table Operations: Create tables and edit cell content
• Text Extraction: Extract all text content from presentations
• File Listing: List all PowerPoint files in the current directory

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8 or higher
• pip (Python package installer)

Setup Steps

1. Clone or download this repository

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd powerpoint-mcp-server
   

2. Create a virtual environment (recommended)

   python -m venv venv
   

3. Activate the virtual environment

   On Windows:

   venv\Scripts\activate
   

   On macOS/Linux:

   source venv/bin/activate
   

4. Install dependencies

   pip install -r requirements.txt
   

Usage

Running the MCP Server

The server can be run in two modes:

1. MCP Mode (for use with Claude Desktop or other MCP clients)

python pptx_mcp_server.py --stdio

2. HTTP Mode (for testing)

python pptx_mcp_server.py

This will start an HTTP server on localhost:8000 for testing purposes.

Configuring with Claude Desktop

To use this MCP server with Claude Desktop, add the following configuration to your Claude Desktop config file:

Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "powerpoint-editor": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["/path/to/pptx_mcp_server.py", "--stdio"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

Replace /path/to/pptx_mcp_server.py with the actual path to the server file.

Available Tools

Presentation Management

• create_presentation: Create a new PowerPoint file
• read_presentation_info: Get detailed information about a presentation
• extract_text: Extract all text content from a presentation

Slide Operations

• add_slide: Add a new slide with optional title and content
• delete_slide: Remove a specific slide from the presentation
• edit_slide_text: Edit text in slides (title, content, or specific shapes)

Content Addition

• add_text_box: Add formatted text boxes to slides
• add_shape: Add geometric shapes (rectangle, oval, triangle)
• add_image: Insert images into slides
• add_table: Create tables in slides

Table Operations

• update_table_cell: Edit individual table cells

File Management

• list_pptx_files (resource): List all .pptx files in the current directory

Example Usage

Once connected to an MCP client like Claude Desktop, you can use natural language commands such as:

• "Create a new presentation called 'quarterly-report.pptx'"
• "Add a title slide with the title 'Q4 Financial Results'"
• "Insert a table with 3 rows and 4 columns on slide 2"
• "Add a text box with the content 'Key Findings' to slide 3"
• "Extract all text from the presentation"

Error Handling

The server includes comprehensive error handling for:

• File not found scenarios
• Invalid slide numbers or indices
• Missing presentation elements
• File permission issues
• Invalid shape types and parameters

All errors are logged and returned with descriptive messages to help with debugging.

Supported File Formats

• PowerPoint files (.pptx) - both reading and writing
• Template files (.pptx) - for creating new presentations from existing layouts
• Image files for insertion: PNG, JPEG, GIF, BMP

Limitations

• Only supports .pptx format (not .ppt legacy format)
• Slide animations and transitions are not supported
• Advanced formatting features like themes and master slides have limited support
• Chart creation is not currently implemented

Development

Project Structure

powerpoint-mcp-server/
├── pptx_mcp_server.py    # Main server implementation
├── requirements.txt       # Python dependencies
├── README.md             # This file
└── examples/             # Example presentations (optional)

Adding New Features

To add new PowerPoint manipulation features:

1. Add a new @mcp.tool() decorated function to pptx_mcp_server.py
2. Follow the existing error handling patterns
3. Update the README with the new functionality
4. Test with both MCP and HTTP modes

Testing

To test the server:

1. Run in HTTP mode: python pptx_mcp_server.py
2. Use curl or a REST client to test endpoints
3. Test with Claude Desktop for full MCP integration

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. "Module not found" errors: Ensure all dependencies are installed and virtual environment is activated

2. File permission errors: Check that the script has read/write permissions for the target directory

3. Claude Desktop not connecting: Verify the config file path and syntax, ensure the Python path is correct

4. PowerPoint files not opening: Ensure files are in .pptx format and not corrupted

Debug Mode

The server logs to stderr by default. To see detailed logs:

python pptx_mcp_server.py --stdio 2>debug.log

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Add tests for new functionality
4. Submit a pull request with clear description

License

This project is open source. Please check the repository for license details.

Support

For issues and questions:

• Check the troubleshooting section above
• Review the MCP documentation at https://modelcontextprotocol.io/
• Open an issue in the repository

Version History

v1.0.0

• Initial release with core PowerPoint editing functionality
• Support for slides, text, shapes, images, and tables
• MCP server implementation with FastMCP