keynote-creator

name Keynote Creator description Guide for creating and editing Keynote presentations using AppleScript via bash Keynote Creator Skill This skill guides you on how to create and manipulate Keynote presentations on macOS using AppleScript. When to Use Create a Keynote presentation when the user asks to: Create a presentation/slideshow/PPT Generate slides from documents, reports, or data Make a pitch deck, proposal, or summary presentation Convert content into visual presentation format Workflow Open Keynote (for visual demo): Use macos_show(app: "keynote") if visual mode is enabled Create presentation : Use bash with AppleScript Add slides : Use AppleScript to add and configure slides Set content : Add titles, body text, and images Export : Save as .key or export to PDF CRITICAL: Stability Best Practices ALWAYS use a SINGLE AppleScript to create the entire presentation. Do NOT run multiple separate scripts. Why this matters: Each osascript invocation may restart Keynote's scripting bridge Multiple rapid scripts cause Keynote to crash or become unresponsive A single comprehensive script is much more stable Bad approach (causes crashes): # Script 1: Create document osascript -e 'tell application "Keynote" to make new document' # Script 2: Add slide 1 osascript -e 'tell application "Keynote" to tell front document to make new slide' # Script 3: Set title osascript -e 'tell application "Keynote" to tell front document to ...' # This will likely crash! Good approach (stable): osascript << 'EOF' tell application "Keynote" activate delay 1 -- Wait for Keynote to fully launch -- Do ALL operations in ONE script set newDoc to make new document with properties {document theme:theme "White" } delay 0.5 -- Brief pause after creating document tell newDoc -- All slides and content in one block ... end tell end tell EOF Required delays: After activate : delay 1 (let app fully launch) After make new document : delay 0.5 After adding each slide: delay 0.3 (optional but recommended for many slides) AppleScript Patterns Create New Presentation osascript << 'EOF' tell application "Keynote" activate set newDoc to make new document with properties {document theme:theme "White" } return name of newDoc end tell EOF Available themes : "White", "Black", "Gradient", "Classic", "Modern Type", "Showcase", "Photo Essay", "Bold", "Industrial", "Blueprint" Add a Slide osascript << 'EOF' tell application "Keynote" tell front document -- Add slide with specific layout set newSlide to make new slide with properties {base slide:master slide "Title - Center" } end tell end tell EOF Common master slides (layouts) : "Title - Center" - Title and subtitle centered "Title - Top" - Title at top with content area "Title & Subtitle" - Classic title slide "Title & Bullets" - Title with bullet points "Title, Bullets & Photo" - Title, bullets, and image "Bullets" - Full slide bullet points "Photo" - Full slide image "Photo - Horizontal" - Landscape photo layout "Quote" - Quote layout "Blank" - Empty slide Set Slide Title and Body osascript << 'EOF' tell application "Keynote" tell front document tell current slide -- Set title set object text of default title item to "Your Title Here" -- Set body text ( for slides with body placeholder) set object text of default body item to "• Point 1 • Point 2 • Point 3" end tell end tell end tell EOF Add Text Box with Custom Position osascript << 'EOF' tell application "Keynote" tell front document tell current slide set newText to make new text item with properties {object text: "Custom text here" } set position of newText to {100, 200} set width of newText to 400 set height of newText to 100 end tell end tell end tell EOF Add Image to Slide osascript << 'EOF' tell application "Keynote" tell front document tell current slide set imgFile to POSIX file "/path/to/image.jpg" set newImage to make new image with properties {file:imgFile} set position of newImage to {300, 200} set width of newImage to 400 end tell end tell end tell EOF Navigate to Specific Slide osascript << 'EOF' tell application "Keynote" tell front document set current slide to slide 3 end tell end tell EOF Get Slide Count osascript -e 'tell application "Keynote" to count slides of front document' Export to PDF osascript << 'EOF' tell application "Keynote" tell front document set exportPath to POSIX file "/Users/username/Desktop/presentation.pdf" export to exportPath as PDF end tell end tell EOF Save Presentation osascript << 'EOF' tell application "Keynote" tell front document set savePath to POSIX file "/Users/username/Desktop/my_presentation.key" save in savePath end tell end tell EOF Complete Example: Multi-Slide Presentation This is the recommended pattern - ALL operations in ONE script with proper delays: osascript << 'EOF' tell application "Keynote" activate delay 1 -- IMPORTANT: Wait for Keynote to fully launch -- Create new document set newDoc to make new document with properties {document theme:theme "White" } delay 0.5 -- Wait for document to initialize tell newDoc -- First slide is created automatically, set it as title slide tell slide 1 set base slide to master slide "Title - Center" set object text of default title item to "Q1 2026 Business Review" set object text of default body item to "Financial Services Division" end tell delay 0.3 -- Add Overview slide set slide2 to make new slide with properties {base slide:master slide "Title & Bullets" } delay 0.3 tell slide2 set object text of default title item to "Executive Summary" set object text of default body item to "• Revenue increased 15% YoY • New client acquisition: $15M AUM • Client satisfaction: 4.8/5.0 • All portfolios outperforming benchmarks" end tell -- Add Performance slide set slide3 to make new slide with properties {base slide:master slide "Title & Bullets" } delay 0.3 tell slide3 set object text of default title item to "Investment Performance" set object text of default body item to "• Growth Portfolio: +3.2% (Benchmark +2.8%) • Balanced Portfolio: +2.1% (Benchmark +1.9%) • Income Portfolio: +0.9% (Benchmark +0.7%) • Average Alpha: +0.3%" end tell -- Add Next Steps slide set slide4 to make new slide with properties {base slide:master slide "Title & Bullets" } delay 0.3 tell slide4 set object text of default title item to "Q2 Priorities" set object text of default body item to "• Complete endowment fund implementation • Expand alternative investment offerings • Launch client education seminar series • Target: $25M total new AUM" end tell delay 0.5 -- Wait before saving -- Save the presentation set savePath to POSIX file "~/Desktop/Q1_Review.key" save in savePath end tell return "Presentation created with 4 slides" end tell EOF Key points about this example: Single osascript command containing everything delay 1 after activate to let Keynote fully launch delay 0.5 after creating document delay 0.3 after each make new slide delay 0.5 before save operation Tips for Better Presentations Structure : Always start with a title slide, then overview, details, and conclusion Bullet Points : Keep to 4-6 points per slide for readability Titles : Use clear, action-oriented titles Consistency : Use the same master slide for similar content types Images : Position images consistently across slides Error Handling When Keynote operations fail, common issues are: Crashes/Freezes : Almost always caused by running multiple separate scripts. Solution: Combine into ONE script. App not running : Use macos_show(app: "keynote") first, then wait 1-2 seconds before running the creation script. Invalid master slide name : Check available layouts with document's master slides File path issues : Always use POSIX file syntax and expand ~ to full path (e.g., /Users/username/Desktop/ ) "Keynote got an error" : Add more delay statements, especially after make new slide If the script times out or crashes: First, check if Keynote is still open - it may have created partial content Try adding longer delays (e.g., delay 1 instead of delay 0.3 ) For very long presentations (10+ slides), consider splitting into two separate runs Recommended Workflow for Generating from Reports Read the source (reports, documents) Plan slide structure (identify key sections) Create presentation with appropriate theme Add slides iteratively - one at a time with content Save and Export - save as .key AND export to PDF Close Keynote - always close the app after finishing (see below) Send BOTH files to user via messaging platform (.key for editing, PDF for viewing) Closing Keynote After Creation IMPORTANT : Always close Keynote after you finish creating and saving the presentation. If you have macos_close tool available (Visual Demo Mode), use: macos_close(target: "keynote", delay_ms: 500) Alternatively, use AppleScript: osascript -e 'tell application "Keynote" to quit' This keeps the user's desktop clean and shows a complete workflow. File Handling Save .key files to ~/Desktop/ or user's preferred location Export PDF to the same location with same base name Use descriptive filenames with dates (e.g., Q1_2026_Review.key and Q1_2026_Review.pdf ) IMPORTANT : Always send both .key and .pdf files to the user