Files
deckcraft/docs/control-protocol.md
Brandon ThomasandClaude Opus 5.5 1660982e58 File tab: PowerPoint's File view (Home, New, Open, Info, Save As, Print, Export, Close) (#76) (#344)
* Engine: file.info and PowerPoint-style print slide ranges (#76)

file.info reports what File › Info shows (name, path, format, unsaved
changes, slide and hidden-slide counts, sections, size on disk,
properties). file.export's PDF `slides` also takes the range typed in
PowerPoint's Print page ("1-3, 5", 1-based); bad or out-of-range text is
an error instead of a silent full export.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* UI: the File tab (Backstage) like PowerPoint's (#76)

File (first ribbon tab) or Alt+F opens a full-window view in place of the
ribbon, slides and status bar: a side menu (Back, Home, New, Open, Info,
Save, Save As, Print, Export, Close; Account and Options at the bottom)
and the chosen page. Esc or Back returns; Up/Down walk the side menu and
show each page as it gets the focus; Enter runs Save/Close/Options.
Laid out after PowerPoint for Windows as observed: 160-pt menu a step
darker than the page, outline icons, current page in the accent colour.

The start screen is now File › Home (as in PowerPoint), with only Home,
New and Open at the top and no Back. Pages call existing commands and
file helpers: file.new {theme} and the sample deck (Home, New); recent
files with search, Browse and Recover Unsaved (Open); file.info and
file.properties, Accessibility Checker, Revert (Info); file.save /
file.saveAs / file.export by type (Save, Save As); a PDF with the Print
page's slides, layout (full page, notes, handouts 1-9), hidden slides and
frames, opened in the system viewer or downloaded on the web, with a
page preview (Print, Ctrl+P); Create PDF, Create Handouts and Change File
Type (Export); appearance and About (Account); Preferences (Options).
Share (cloud) is left out.

Close and Ctrl+W now ask Save / Don't Save / Cancel about unsaved
changes instead of closing at once. The Export dialog shares
SlideApp::export_as with the Export page. New UI commands: app.backstage
{page}, app.closePresentation, app.print; ui.inspect reports the page.
New icons drawn in code: back, save as, account, recent, new file, open
folder.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* Docs: File tab (Backstage) in ui-parity, gaps, checklist and progress log (#76)

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

---------

Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5.5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-10-12 23:56:02 -04:00

2.8 KiB
Raw Permalink Blame History

Control protocol

Start the app with --control <port>. The server listens on 127.0.0.1 only and speaks JSON lines: one request object per line, one reply per line.

{"id": 1, "method": "engine.execute", "params": {"command": "shape.insert", "params": {"preset": "roundRect", "rect": [100, 100, 240, 120], "text": "Hello"}}}
{"id": 1, "ok": true, "result": {"id": 258}}

Coordinates are slide points (1/72 inch; a 16:9 slide is 960 × 540) unless noted.

Method Params What it does
engine.execute / ui.menu.invoke / command {command, params} Run any command (see engine.commands; deckcraft-cli describe ID documents one)
engine.commands — Every command: id, label, menu path, shortcut, params doc, enabled / disabled reason
document.inspect — Slides, sections, layouts, shapes, selection
ui.inspect — UI state, active tool, window/canvas/slide rects, dialog, home (the File tab open over a presentation), backstage (its page, also the start screen), slide show state, documents, perf (fps, render ms)
ui.tool.select {tool, preset?} select, text, shape + preset, any preset name, curve, freeform, scribble, pen, highlighter, eraser
ui.pointer {events: [{kind: down|drag|up|move|doubleclick|tripleclick, x, y, mods?}], mods?} Drive the active tool in slide points through the same code path as the mouse
ui.key / ui.text {key, shift?, alt?, cmd?} / {text} Keyboard input (also drives a running slide show)
ui.ime {preedit, active?: [start, end]} / {commit} An input method's composition through egui, as a real one arrives: shown in place on the slide or in a focused field; {"preedit": ""} cancels
ui.move / ui.click / ui.drag screen points Real egui pointer input — reaches every widget, menu and pane
ui.set {tab?, view?, pane?, notes?, zoom?, brightness?, ruler?, gridlines?, guides?, …} UI state (returns the full state)
ui.dialog.open / ui.dialog.close {id, fields?} Open or close a dialog by id; fields pre-fills its fields (About: {"tab": "contributors"} or "models")
ui.screenshot {path?} PNG of the whole window (base64 when no path)
ui.render {path?, slide?, scale?} Render a slide headlessly
ui.resize / ui.focus Window control
show.start / show.end {from?: slide index, presenter?, reading?} Slide show
app.open / app.save / app.export / app.quit {path, …} Files (export takes the file.export params, e.g. {"path": "deck.pdf", "layout": "handouts", "perPage": 3})

The MCP server (deckcraft-cli mcp, see mcp.md) wraps the same methods for Claude and other agents; deckcraft-cli app METHOD [JSON] sends one request from a shell.