powerpoint-mcp-server by MisunK - MCP Server

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

Clone or download this repository

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

Create a virtual environment (recommended)
```
python -m venv venv
```
Activate the virtual environment

On Windows:
```
venv\Scripts\activate
```
On macOS/Linux:
```
source venv/bin/activate
```
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:

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

Testing

To test the server:

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

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"Module not found" errors: Ensure all dependencies are installed and virtual environment is activated
File permission errors: Check that the script has read/write permissions for the target directory
Claude Desktop not connecting: Verify the config file path and syntax, ensure the Python path is correct
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:

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch
Add tests for new functionality
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