Slidev Mastery

Slidev is a presentation framework for developers that uses markdown with Vue components. Create beautiful, interactive slides using familiar syntax with powerful features like live coding, diagrams, and animations.

Evidence-based design: This skill incorporates research-based best practices for accessible, effective presentations. See references/presentation-best-practices.md for full guidelines.

Core Concepts

Slide Separation

Separate slides with --- on its own line:

# First Slide

Content here

---

# Second Slide

More content

Importing Slides from External Files

You can split your presentation into multiple markdown files using the src frontmatter option. This allows for better organization and reusability:

# Normal slide

---
src: ./slides/introduction.md
---

---
# Another normal slide

---
src: ./slides/conclusion.md
---

Benefits of modular slide structure:

• Stable identity: Use meaningful filenames (e.g., microservices-benefits.md) instead of numbers
• Easy reordering: Move src includes in master file without renaming files
• Independent editing: Edit individual slide files separately
• Better collaboration: Team members can work on different slides simultaneously
• Version control: Meaningful file names in git diffs

Example structure:

presentation/
├── slides.md                      # Master file with includes
├── slides/
│   ├── 01-title.md                # Slide 1: Title
│   ├── 02-hook.md                 # Slide 2: Opening hook
│   ├── 03-problem-statement.md    # Slide 3: Problem introduction
│   ├── 04-architecture-overview.md # Slide 4: Architecture slide
│   ├── 18-conclusion.md           # Conclusion
│   └── 19-questions.md            # Q&A
└── public/images/

File naming: Individual slides use numeric prefix (01-, 02-, etc.) plus descriptive name for easy ordering in directory listings while maintaining meaningful names.

Master file example with slide number comments:

---
theme: default
title: My Presentation
---

---
src: ./slides/01-title.md
---
<!-- Slide 1: Title -->

---
src: ./slides/02-hook.md
---
<!-- Slide 2: Opening Hook -->

---
src: ./slides/03-problem-statement.md
---
<!-- Slide 3: Problem Statement -->

Note: Comments must come AFTER the closing --- (not inside frontmatter block) per Slidev specs.

Frontmatter merging: You can override frontmatter from external files:

---
src: ./slides/content.md
layout: two-cols  # Overrides layout in content.md
---

Frontmatter Configuration

Configure presentation globally in frontmatter at the top of slides.md:

---
theme: default
background: https://source.unsplash.com/collection/94734566/1920x1080
class: text-center
highlighter: shiki
lineNumbers: false
drawings:
  persist: false
transition: slide-left
title: Welcome to Slidev
---

Key frontmatter fields:

• theme: Visual theme (default, seriph, apple-basic, etc.)
• background: Global background image or color
• highlighter: Code highlighting engine (shiki or prism)
• lineNumbers: Show line numbers in code blocks
• transition: Slide transition effect
• title: Presentation title for metadata

Per-Slide Frontmatter

Configure individual slides with frontmatter after ---:

---
layout: center
background: './images/background.jpg'
class: 'text-white'
---

# Centered Slide

With custom background

Layouts

Slidev provides built-in layouts for different slide types:

Common Layouts

default - Standard layout with title and content:

# Title

Content here

center - Centered content:

---
layout: center
---

# Centered Title

cover - Cover slide for presentation start:

---
layout: cover
background: './bg.jpg'
---

# Presentation Title

Subtitle or author

intro - Introduction slide:

---
layout: intro
---

# Topic

Brief description

image-right - Content on left, image on right:

---
layout: image-right
image: './diagram.png'
---

# Content

Text goes here

image-left - Image on left, content on right:

---
layout: image-left
image: './photo.jpg'
---

# Content

Text goes here

two-cols - Two column layout:

---
layout: two-cols
---

# Left Column

Content for left

::right::

# Right Column

Content for right

quote - Large quote display:

---
layout: quote
---

# "Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower."

Steve Jobs

fact - Emphasize key fact or statistic:

---
layout: fact
---

# 95%

User satisfaction rate

Code Highlighting

Basic Code Blocks

\```python
def hello():
    print("Hello, World!")
\```

Line Highlighting

Highlight specific lines with {line-numbers}:

\```python {2-3}
def process():
    important_line()
    another_important()
    return result
\```

Line Numbers

Enable line numbers for a code block:

\```python {1|2|3} {lines:true}
first_line()
second_line()
third_line()
\```

Monaco Editor

Enable live code editing with Monaco:

\```python {monaco}
def editable():
    return "Users can edit this code"
\```

Animations and Clicks

Click Animations

Reveal content incrementally with v-click:

- First point
- <v-click>Second point (appears on click)</v-click>
- <v-click>Third point (appears on next click)</v-click>

After Clicks

Show content after specific click:

<div v-after="2">
  Appears after 2 clicks
</div>

Click Counting

Use click counters for complex animations:

<div v-click="1">First</div>
<div v-click="2">Second</div>
<div v-click="3">Third</div>

Mermaid Diagrams

Embed mermaid diagrams directly:

\```mermaid
graph LR
    A[Start] --> B[Process]
    B --> C[End]
\```

Supported diagram types:

• Flowchart: graph LR, graph TD
• Sequence: sequenceDiagram
• Class: classDiagram
• State: stateDiagram-v2
• ER: erDiagram
• Gantt: gantt

Custom Theme

Apply custom colors to mermaid diagrams:

\```mermaid
%%{init: {'theme':'base', 'themeVariables': { 'primaryColor':'#3b82f6'}}}%%
graph TD
    A[Blue themed]
\```

Images and Media

Images

![Alt text](./path/to/image.jpg)

With custom size:

<img src="./image.jpg" class="w-50 mx-auto" />

Background Images

Per-slide background:

---
background: './images/slide-bg.jpg'
---

Presenter Notes

Add notes visible only in presenter mode:

# Slide Title

Content visible to audience

<!--
These are presenter notes
Only visible in presenter mode
Press 'p' to toggle presenter view
-->

Components

Built-in Components

Arrows:

<Arrow x1="100" y1="100" x2="200" y2="200" />

YouTube:

<Youtube id="video-id" width="500" height="300" />

Tweet:

<Tweet id="tweet-id" />

Custom Components

Create reusable Vue components in components/ directory:

<!-- components/CustomButton.vue -->
<template>
  <button class="custom-btn">
    <slot />
  </button>
</template>

<style scoped>
.custom-btn {
  background: #3b82f6;
  color: white;
  padding: 1rem 2rem;
  border-radius: 0.5rem;
}
</style>

Use in slides:

<CustomButton>Click me</CustomButton>

Themes

Using Themes

Set in frontmatter:

---
theme: seriph
---

Popular themes:

• default - Clean, minimal
• seriph - Elegant serif fonts
• apple-basic - Apple keynote style
• shibainu - Playful, colorful
• bricks - Modern, structured

Custom Styling

Add custom CSS in frontmatter or separate style.css:

---
---

<style>
h1 {
  color: #3b82f6;
}

.custom-class {
  background: linear-gradient(45deg, #3b82f6, #8b5cf6);
}
</style>

Exporting

PDF Export

slidev export slides.md --output presentation.pdf

PPTX Export

slidev export slides.md --format pptx

PNG Export (slides as images)

slidev export slides.md --format png --output slides/

Development Workflow

Start Dev Server

slidev slides.md

Opens at http://localhost:3030 with hot reload.

Build for Production

slidev build slides.md

Generates static HTML in dist/ directory.

Presenter Mode

Press p during presentation to enter presenter mode with notes and preview.

Best Practices (Evidence-Based)

Slide Content

One idea per slide (Critical):

• Each slide communicates exactly one central finding
• If explaining takes >2 minutes → split into multiple slides
• Slide title should state the one clear point

Meaningful titles (Critical):

• Use assertions, not labels: "API handles 10K req/sec" not "Performance"
• Format: subject + verb + finding
• Reading titles in sequence should tell the story

Minimal text (Critical):

• <50 words per slide (excluding title)
• Use keywords and phrases, not full sentences
• Put detailed explanations in presenter notes (not on slide)
• Remember: Audience cannot read and listen simultaneously

Visual over text:

• Almost never have text-only slides
• Use diagrams, charts, images, code
• Text-only acceptable only for: quotes, definitions, bold statements

Cognitive load management:

• Max 6 distinct elements per slide (bullets, images, diagrams, charts)
• If >6 needed, use progressive disclosure with v-click
• Example of elements: title + 1 diagram + 3 bullets = 5 ✓

Progressive disclosure - Use v-click for complex ideas:

- Key point 1
- <v-click>Key point 2 (reveals on click)</v-click>
- <v-click>Key point 3 (reveals next)</v-click>

Prevents audience from reading ahead while you explain

File Organization

presentation/
├── slides.md           # Main presentation
├── public/             # Static assets
│   └── images/
├── components/         # Custom Vue components
└── styles/            # Custom CSS

Performance

• Optimize images - Compress before using
• Lazy load - Use v-after for heavy content
• Limit animations - Don't overuse transitions
• Test export - Verify PDF/PPTX render correctly

Accessibility (Required)

Font requirements (from research):

• Body text: Minimum 18pt, ideally 18-24pt
• Headings: Minimum 24pt or larger
• Font family: Sans-serif for body (Arial, Helvetica, Verdana)
• AVOID: Italics, underlines, ALL CAPS in body text (reduces readability)

Configure in frontmatter or custom CSS:

---
theme: default
---

<style>
/* Accessibility-focused defaults */
h1 { font-size: 3rem; }      /* ~48pt */
h2 { font-size: 2rem; }      /* ~32pt */
h3 { font-size: 1.5rem; }    /* ~24pt */
p, li { font-size: 1.25rem; } /* ~20pt */

body {
  font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif;
}
</style>

Color requirements:

• Contrast ratio: Minimum 4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text (>24pt)
• Colorblind-safe: Use tools like ColorBrewer to verify palettes
• Don't rely on color alone: Add patterns, labels, or shapes
  • Example: In charts, use both color AND patterns/icons
• Core scheme: 2 main colors (one light, one dark), 1-2 accents

Test contrast:

# Online tools
# - WebAIM Contrast Checker
# - Colorblind Web Page Filter

Layout requirements:

• Adequate margins and white space
• Consistent layout across slides
• Clear section demarcation
• Alt text for all images (in presenter notes)

Keyboard navigation:

• Test presentation without mouse
• Arrow keys, space bar should work
• Presenter mode accessible via 'p' key

Recommended accessible theme:

---
theme: default  # Good contrast, clean design
# OR create custom theme with accessibility defaults
---

Common Patterns

Title Slide

---
layout: cover
background: './background.jpg'
---

# Presentation Title

## Subtitle

Author Name · Date

Agenda Slide

# Agenda

- <v-click>Introduction</v-click>
- <v-click>Main Topics</v-click>
- <v-click>Conclusion</v-click>
- <v-click>Q&A</v-click>

Code Comparison

---
layout: two-cols
---

# Before

\```python
old_code()
\```

::right::

# After

\```python
improved_code()
\```

Diagram with Explanation

---
layout: image-right
---

# Architecture

\```mermaid
graph TD
    A[Client]
    B[Server]
    A --> B
\```

::right::

Key points:
- Client initiates
- Server responds
- Simple flow

Troubleshooting

Slides not rendering

• Check markdown syntax (especially --- separators)
• Verify frontmatter YAML is valid
• Ensure images paths are correct

Code highlighting not working

• Verify highlighter is set (shiki or prism)
• Check language identifier in code block
• Ensure code block syntax is correct

Export fails

• Install playwright browsers: npx playwright install
• Check for syntax errors in slides
• Verify all image paths are accessible

Theme not applying

• Ensure theme is installed: npm install slidev-theme-name
• Check theme name spelling in frontmatter
• Restart dev server after theme installation

For more advanced features and detailed API documentation, consult Slidev official documentation at https://sli.dev