Markdown Slide Deck: write in Markdown, present anywhere

The problem: presenting without PowerPoint

We've all experienced this. You have a course to teach, a meeting to run, a workshop to present. Your content is already written - in Markdown, in a file .md, in your notes. But to turn it into a presentation, you have to open PowerPoint or Google Slides, copy-paste, format, adjust margins, choose a font, add transitions.

Result: you spend more time on formatting than on content.

Markdown Slide Deck approaches the problem from the other direction. You write in Markdown - the format you already know - and the tool generates an interactive presentation directly in the browser. No installation, no software to download, no account to create.

How it works

In 3 steps

1. Configure the delimiters - choose how your slides are separated in the file (by default: --- or ## Title)
2. Import your file - upload a file .md or .html, or load it from a URL
3. Present - navigate with the keyboard arrows, switch to fullscreen, and you're off

The app is hosted on GitHub Pages. Everything happens client-side - your file is never sent to a server. It's pure JavaScript in the browser.

Structure of a source file

A regular Markdown file, with separators between slides:

# Ma présentation

Bienvenue dans cette démo.

---

## Première partie

- Point important
- Autre point
- Conclusion intermédiaire

---

## Deuxième partie

| Critère | Option A | Option B |
|---------|----------|----------|
| Prix    | Gratuit  | Payant   |
| Support | GitHub   | Email    |

---

## Merci !

Des questions ?

Each --- marks a new slide. That's it. The content is rendered with the same Markdown you already use in your READMEs, docs, and notes.

What sets it apart

Rich rendering

The tool isn't limited to basic text. It supports:

• Tables - standard Markdown syntax, rendered cleanly
• Embedded media - images, videos, iframes
• Mathematical notation - LaTeX formulas rendered with KaTeX/MathJax
• Mermaid diagrams - flowcharts, sequence diagrams, Gantt charts, directly from Markdown
• Callouts - attention, information, and warning blocks

For teachers or trainers, support for math formulas and diagrams is a real plus. You write $$E = mc^2$$ in your Markdown, and it renders a clean formula in the slide.

Navigation and controls

• Keyboard - left/right arrows to navigate
• Search - find a keyword across all your slides
• Fullscreen - immersive presentation mode
• Progress indicator - a visual "train line" showing where you are in the deck
• Zoom - adjustable from 80% to 150%
• Speaker notes - configurable delimiters to add notes visible only to the presenter

Themes and customization

Six background themes are available: cloud, warm, sage, slate, lavender, dusk. You can also choose from four font families: sans-serif, serif, rounded, monospace.

This isn't Keynote - there are no animated transitions or pixel-perfect positioning. But that's exactly the point: you stay focused on content, not formatting.

Comparison with alternatives

Reveal.js remains the most powerful option if you need transitions, animated fragments, and fine-grained CSS control. But you have to set up an npm project, write HTML, and maintain a build.

Marp is excellent for generating clean PDFs from VS Code - that's its main strength. But you have to install the CLI or the extension.

Slidev is the choice for Vue.js developers who want interactive components in their slides. It's the richest, but also the heaviest to set up.

Markdown Slide Deck wins on a single criterion: zero friction. You open a URL, upload a file, and present. No npm, no build, no CLI.

Concrete use cases

Teachers and trainers

You prepare your courses in Markdown (where you already have them in that format). Instead of reformatting everything in PowerPoint, you upload the file and project it directly. Support for math formulas and Mermaid diagrams covers the needs of most disciplines.

Developers in meetings

You have a README, a technical spec, or design review notes. By adding --- between sections, you have a presentation ready for the standup or the demo.

Conferences and lightning talks

For a 5-15 minute talk, the tool's simplicity is an advantage. No template to choose, no master slide to configure. You focus on the message.

Internal documentation

Your docs are already in Markdown in a Git repo? Turn them into presentations for onboarding sessions or architecture reviews, without duplicating the content in another format.

Limitations

• No animated transitions - slides simply follow one another, no fade or slide effects
• No free positioning - you stay within the document flow, no drag-and-drop of elements
• No collaborative mode - it's an individual tool, not a Google Slides
• Basic PDF export - via the browser's print function, no optimized rendering
• No cloud hosting - your slides aren't saved online (this is also an advantage for privacy)

If you need visually rich presentations with animations, precisely positioned images, and elaborate transitions, this isn't the tool for you. But if your priority is content over form, it's exactly what you need.

Who's behind it

The project was created by François Jourde, a Belgian teacher and edtech specialist. He's the same author as Learning Designer, another tool we've covered. His approach is consistent: simple, open source tools focused on the needs of teachers and trainers, without unnecessary friction.

The code is on GitHub under the MIT license. It's a 100% HTML/JavaScript application - no framework, no heavy dependencies, no backend.