Zero Native Dependencies • Dual ESM/CJS • Non-Corrupting Engine

High-Performance OpenXML
PowerPoint Template Engine

The low-level PPTX manipulation library for Node.js. Dynamically replace text, update charts with synchronized Excel workbook caches, format tables, reorder layers, and manipulate slides without PowerPoint repair warnings or heavy Office dependencies.

$ npm install node-pptx-templater

Quick Start Guide → Explore Showcase

Quick Start Example

const { PPTXTemplater } = require('node-pptx-templater');

async function generateDeck() {
  // 1. Load an existing template presentation
  const ppt = await PPTXTemplater.load('./templates/report.pptx');
  ppt.useAllSlides();

  // 2. Dynamic text replacement across runs
  ppt.replaceMultiple({
    '{{title}}': 'Q3 Performance Review',
    '{{author}}': 'Engineering Operations',
    '{{arr_growth}}': '+38.2%'
  });

  // 3. Update charts with automatic internal Excel cache sync
  ppt.useSlide(1);
  ppt.updateChart('RevenueChart', {
    categories: ['Q1', 'Q2', 'Q3', 'Q4'],
    series: [{ name: 'Cloud ARR', values: [18.4, 22.1, 26.8, 31.5] }]
  });

  // 4. Append table rows with alternating striping
  ppt.useSlide(2);
  ppt.addTableRow('InitiativesTable', ['Platform Migration', 'Sarah Jenkins', 'Completed']);
  ppt.stripeRows('InitiativesTable', { oddColor: 'F8FAFC', evenColor: 'EDF2F7' });

  // 5. Save generated PPTX or export as Buffer for Lambda/Cloud
  await ppt.save('./output/executive-report.pptx');
  console.log('✓ Report created successfully!');
}

generateDeck();

import { PPTXTemplater } from 'node-pptx-templater';

// Load and manipulate slides via ESM imports
const ppt = await PPTXTemplater.load('./templates/report.pptx');
ppt.useAllSlides();
ppt.replaceTextByTag('{{title}}', 'Enterprise AI Platform');

// Export directly to in-memory Buffer (perfect for AWS Lambda & Vercel Edge)
const buffer = await ppt.toBuffer();
console.log(`✓ Generated \${buffer.length} bytes in memory`);

Getting Started

Everything you need to integrate node-pptx-templater into your Node.js backend, microservice, or serverless functions.

Requirements & Runtimes

Verified against Node 20, 22, and 24

✓ Node.js: >= 20.12.0
✓ Dual Modules: CommonJS (require) and ESM (import)
✓ Zero Native Binaries: No Python, LibreOffice, or Java installation required
✓ Serverless-Ready: Works natively in AWS Lambda, Google Cloud Functions, and Docker

Installation

Add to your project via your package manager

npm install node-pptx-templater

pnpm add node-pptx-templater

yarn add node-pptx-templater

Running the Consolidated Showcase Suite

All 12 production scenarios are demonstrated in a single self-contained file showcase/examples.js with all JSON data embedded. You can run all demonstrations with one command:

npm run examples

Outputs are automatically written to showcase/output/ without overwriting template fixtures.

API Reference

Complete, source-verified documentation of the PPTXTemplater public API.

Dedicated Reference Portal Available

Full Production API Reference Manual

Access all 95 public methods across 10 categorized modules with a sticky/collapsible sidebar, real-time client-side method search, complete parameter tables with default values, DrawingML/PresentationML OpenXML mutation specifications, and 1-click copyable code snippets.

Open API Reference

Interactive Showcase

All 12 supported demonstrations from showcase/examples.js. Run npm run examples to execute every demo deterministically.

DEMO 01 Verified

Text Replacement & 16:9

Configures slide dimensions to widescreen 16:9 and replaces placeholders across fragmented XML text runs.

ppt.setSlideSize('16:9');
ppt.replaceMultiple(data);

DEMO 02 Verified

Chart Updates & Excel Sync

Updates multi-series chart data and syncs internal Excel cache worksheets to avoid repair dialogs.

ppt.updateChart('chart1', series);
ppt.updateDataLabels('chart1', {showVal:true});

DEMO 03 Verified

Tables, Striping & Pagination

Populates table rows, applies alternating row striping, custom borders, and pins summary rows during split.

ppt.stripeRows(tbl, {oddColor:'F8FAFC'});
ppt.splitTableOnOverflow(tbl, {summaryRows:1});

DEMO 04 Verified

Nested Tables & Cell Merging

Appends rows with nested rowspan arrays, automatic adjacent merging, and extracts structured JSON.

ppt.addTableRow(t, row, {mergeStrategy:'rowspan'});
const data = await ppt.getTableRows(t);

DEMO 05 Verified

Shapes, Alignment & Z-Order

Adds vector shapes, reorders stacking layers with bringToFront/sendToBack, and aligns shapes.

ppt.alignShapes(['A','B'], 'middle');
ppt.bringToFront('A');

DEMO 06 Verified

Dynamic Cell Shapes

Anchors status indicators, badges, and progress markers directly inside table cells.

ppt.addTableRow(tbl, [{type:'circle', fill:'#10B981'}, 'Complete']);

DEMO 07 Verified

Images: PNG, WebP & Base64

Inserts and replaces images with absolute dimensions, supporting WebP and Base64 data URIs.

ppt.addImage(base64Uri, {x, y, width, height});
ppt.replaceImage('logo', newPath);

DEMO 08 Verified

Slide Duplication & Import

Deep-clones slides, reorders presentation sequences, and imports slides across decks.

ppt.duplicateSlide(1);
await ppt.importSlideFrom(sourceDeck, 1);

DEMO 09 Verified

Hyperlinks & Navigation

Adds external web URLs and internal inter-slide navigation jumps, and inspects links.

ppt.addHyperlink({text:'Site', url:'...'});
ppt.addSlideLink({sourceSlide:1, targetSlide:3});

DEMO 10 Verified

Rich Typography & Runs

Injects styled text runs with custom weights, fonts, colors, and line spacing.

ppt.appendTextRun('Box', ' [Alert]', {style: {bold:true, color:'#DC2626'}});

DEMO 11 Verified

OpenXML Folder Workflow

Extracts PPTX to folder of XML files, edits in-place, and rebuilds back into binary presentation.

await PPTXTemplater.extractPptx(file, dir);
await PPTXTemplater.buildPptx(dir, out);

DEMO 12 Verified

Serverless Buffer Export

Generates presentations directly in-memory as a Buffer without touching disk I/O.

const buffer = await ppt.toBuffer();
// return { statusCode: 200, body: buffer }

Templates & Data Architecture

Design beautiful slides in PowerPoint, LibreOffice, or Google Slides — inject dynamic data in Node.js.

Text Placeholders

Use standard curly brackets like {{company}} anywhere in text shapes. The engine merges fragmented XML runs automatically.

Excel Cache Sync

When you update a chart, node-pptx-templater updates both the Chart XML and the embedded .xlsx workbook, ensuring zero corruption or repair prompts.

Selection Pane Naming

Name tables and shapes in PowerPoint via Home → Select → Selection Pane (e.g. "RevenueChart", "SummaryTable") to target them cleanly in your code.

Feature Status & Catalog

Evidence-based implementation status across the 86-feature catalog. 76 of 86 features (88.4%) are verified with 278 passing tests across 42 test suites.

Showing 76 verified features

Feature	Subsystem	API Method	Status	Verified Test
Load Presentation (Path / Buffer / Folder)	Core	PPTXTemplater.load()	Supported	PPTXTemplater.test.js
Save to File / Disk Serialization	Core	ppt.save() / saveToFile()	Supported	PPTXTemplater.test.js
In-Memory Buffer Export	Core	ppt.toBuffer()	Supported	PPTXTemplater.test.js
OpenXML Folder Unpack & Rebuild	Core	extractPptx() / buildPptx()	Supported	XmlFolderSupport.test.js
Slide Dimensions & Aspect Ratio (16:9 / 4:3)	Slides	setSlideSize() / getSlideDimensions()	Supported	SlideDimensions.test.js
Slide Deep Duplication & Cloning	Slides	duplicateSlide() / cloneSlide()	Supported	SlideDuplicationIndependence.test.js
Slide Reordering Permutation	Slides	reorderSlides()	Supported	SlideOperationsCompatibility.test.js
Cross-Deck Slide Import with Rel Mapping	Slides	importSlideFrom()	Supported	SlideImportAndHyperlink.test.js
Fragmented Text Run Replacement	Text	replaceTextByTag() / replaceMultiple()	Supported	TemplateEngine.test.js
Text Search & Shape Inspection	Text	findText() / getTextElements()	Supported	PPTXTemplater.test.js
Typography & Text Runs (Weights, Colors, Fonts)	Text	appendTextRun() / prependTextRun()	Supported	TypographyAndTextRuns.test.js
Table Updates & Dynamic Row Injection	Tables	updateTable() / addTableRow()	Supported	TableAddAndColumns.test.js
Cell Merging & Vertical Rowspan Strategy	Tables	mergeCells() / addTableRow(rowspan)	Supported	TableExtractionAndNesting.test.js
Row Striping & Custom Cell Borders	Tables	stripeRows() / updateCell(border)	Supported	TableAddAndColumns.test.js
Table Auto-Pagination & Summary Row Pinning	Tables	splitTableOnOverflow(summaryRows)	Supported	TableAutoPagination.test.js
Table Structured JSON Extraction	Tables	getTableRows({includeMetadata:true})	Supported	TableExtractionAndNesting.test.js
Chart Updates with Automatic Excel Cache Sync	Charts	updateChart() / updateChartData()	Supported	ChartUpdate.test.js
Chart Data Labels Visibility & Options	Charts	updateDataLabels()	Supported	ChartDataLabels.test.js
Vector Shapes Creation & Styling	Shapes	addShape() / updateShape()	Supported	ShapeManagement.test.js
Z-Order Stacking (Bring to Front / Send to Back)	Shapes	bringToFront() / sendToBack()	Supported	ZOrder.test.js
Spatial Alignment & Distribution	Shapes	alignShapes() / distributeShapes()	Supported	SpatialAndDiscovery.test.js
Table Cell Shapes & Status Badges	Shapes	addTableRow([{type:'circle',...}])	Supported	CellShapes.test.js
Multi-Format Media (PNG, JPEG, WebP, Base64, TIFF)	Media	addImage() / replaceImage()	Supported	ImagesAndMedia.test.js
External & Inter-Slide Hyperlinks	Hyperlinks	addHyperlink() / addSlideLink()	Supported	HyperlinkInspection.test.js
XXE & Billion Laughs XML Bomb Protection	Security	safeParseXml() / validateXml()	Supported	XMLSecurity.test.js

Troubleshooting & FAQ

Answers to frequent questions and common issues when generating PowerPoint decks.

Why did PowerPoint show "PowerPoint found a problem with content" in other libraries? ▼

PowerPoint caches chart data in two places: the Chart XML part and an embedded Excel workbook (ppt/embeddings/Microsoft_Excel_Worksheet.xlsx). If a template engine modifies the Chart XML without updating the embedded Excel part, PowerPoint flags the discrepancy and prompts the user to "Repair" the file. node-pptx-templater synchronizes both layers atomically, guaranteeing zero repair warnings.

How do I discover shape and table names in my presentation? ▼

In PowerPoint, open the Selection Pane (Home → Select → Selection Pane) to see and rename any shape, table, or chart. Programmatically, you can also inspect all elements using ppt.getTables(), ppt.getShapes(), and ppt.getImages().

Can I generate presentations in AWS Lambda or cloud functions? ▼

Yes! Because node-pptx-templater has zero native binaries or external C++ dependencies, it runs out of the box in serverless environments. Call const buffer = await ppt.toBuffer() to export directly to memory and return the buffer in your Lambda response or upload directly to S3.

Are slide numbers 1-based or 0-based? ▼

Slide numbers are 1-based to match the human-readable numbers shown in PowerPoint slide thumbnails (ppt.useSlide(1) targets the first slide).

Contributing & Local Development

Contributions are warmly welcome. Follow these steps to set up your local environment.

1. Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/jsuyog2/node-pptx-templater.git
2. Install dependencies:
npm install
3. Run the complete test suite:
npm test
4. Run the showcase demonstrations:
npm run examples

High-Performance OpenXML PowerPoint Template Engine