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Rowboat creates professional PDF presentations by generating HTML slides with consistent themes, converting them to PDF using Playwright, and delivering the final deck to your Desktop.

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How It Works

1

Gather context from knowledge base

Rowboat searches your knowledge/ folder for relevant information about:
  • Your company and product
  • Team members
  • Projects and partnerships
  • Metrics and results
2

Plan the narrative arc

Before building slides, Rowboat maps out:
  • Hook: Opening statement or question that grabs attention
  • Core argument: The one thing the audience should remember
  • Supporting evidence: Data, examples, frameworks that back it up
  • Call to action: What the audience should do next
3

Select theme and layouts

Based on topic and audience, Rowboat picks:
  • A unified color theme (Dark Professional, Light Editorial, or Bold Vibrant)
  • Appropriate layouts from 35+ templates for each slide
  • Consistent typography and visual style
4

Generate HTML slides

Creates presentation.html with:
  • 8-15 slides (title + content + closing)
  • 1280x720px slides with proper PDF export settings
  • CSS-based visuals (no external images)
  • Consistent theme across all slides
5

Validate before export

Checks for common issues:
  • Title text overflow
  • Content extending beyond slide boundaries
  • Broken visuals or missing fonts
  • Theme consistency
6

Convert to PDF

Uses Playwright to:
  • Render HTML with full styling
  • Export each slide as a PDF page
  • Save final deck to ~/Desktop/presentation.pdf

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Example Usage

Create a pitch deck for our Series A fundraise

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Available Themes

Rowboat automatically selects the best theme based on your topic and audience:

Dark Professional

Deep navy/charcoal backgrounds with indigo and violet accents. White text.Best for: Tech, SaaS, keynotes, engineering presentations

Light Editorial

White/warm cream backgrounds with amber and stone accents. Dark text with serif headings.Best for: Reports, proposals, thought leadership, research

Bold Vibrant

Mixed dark and light slides with emerald and rose accents. High contrast.Best for: Pitch decks, marketing, creative work, fundraising
If you don’t specify a theme, Rowboat picks the best fit automatically. It will note which theme was used so you can request a different one if needed.

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Slide Layout Library

Rowboat has 35+ pre-built slide layouts grouped by purpose:

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Title & Structure

  • Title Slide (Dark Gradient) - Hero opening with atmospheric glow
  • Title Slide (Light Editorial) - Clean serif typography
  • Section Divider - Chapter break with oversized background number
  • Agenda / Table of Contents - Numbered items with descriptions
  • Full-Bleed Cinematic - Atmospheric background with grid texture

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Content Slides

  • Big Statement / Quote - Full-color background with bold quote
  • Big Stat Number - Single dramatic metric with context
  • Bullet List (Split Panel) - Dark sidebar + light content area
  • Numbered List - Ordered steps in numbered cards
  • Two Columns - Side-by-side content cards
  • Three Columns with Icons - Feature cards with icon accents

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Chart & Data Slides

  • Bar Chart (Vertical) - Gradient bars with labels
  • Horizontal Bar Chart - Ranked bars for long labels
  • Stacked Bar Chart - Segmented composition bars
  • Combo Chart (Bar + Line) - Volume bars + growth rate line
  • Donut Chart - CSS conic-gradient with legend
  • Line Chart - SVG polyline with area fill
  • KPI Dashboard - Color-coded metric cards
  • Data Table - Styled rows with status badges

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Diagrams

  • Horizontal Timeline - Connected milestone dots
  • Vertical Timeline - Left-rail progression
  • Process Flow - Step cards with arrows
  • Funnel Diagram - Tapered conversion stages
  • Pyramid Diagram - Tiered hierarchy levels
  • Cycle Diagram - Circular feedback loop
  • Venn Diagram - Overlapping circles
  • 2x2 Matrix - Four quadrants with axis labels

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Comparison & Closing

  • Comparison / Vs - Split A vs B layout
  • Pros & Cons - Checkmarks vs warnings
  • Pricing Table - Tiered cards with featured highlight
  • Team Grid - Avatar circles with roles
  • Thank You / CTA - Atmospheric closing with contact details

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Visual Consistency Rules

Rowboat follows strict design principles to ensure professional results:

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One Theme Per Deck

The most important rule: Pick ONE theme and apply it consistently to EVERY slide. Never mix color palettes mid-deck.
  • Define theme palette upfront (primary color, accent color, neutral base)
  • Use same accent color for all highlights, bullets, icons, chart fills
  • Typography colors stay consistent across all slides
  • Charts use shades/tints of theme colors only

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Background Strategy

For dark themes:
  • Deep base (e.g. #0f172a) for 80%+ of slides
  • Medium base (e.g. #1e293b) for subtle variation
  • Accent pop (e.g. #6366f1) for 1-2 key stat slides
  • NEVER use white or light backgrounds in dark-themed decks
For light themes:
  • Light base (e.g. #fafaf9) for most content slides
  • Warm tint (e.g. #fefce8) for visual rhythm
  • Accent pop for 1-2 key slides
  • NEVER use dark/navy backgrounds in light-themed decks
Never alternate between dark and light backgrounds. This creates a jarring effect. Use subtle shade variations within the same tone family instead.

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Title Slide Rules

  • Title text must span full slide width
  • No decorative elements beside the title competing for space
  • Single-column, vertically-stacked layout
  • Title font-size max 64px (48px for long titles)
  • Decorative visuals go BEHIND text, never beside it

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PDF Export Technical Details

Rowboat follows specific rules to ensure clean PDF rendering:

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No Layered Elements

❌ Avoid: 
<div class="background"></div>
<div class="shadow"></div>
<div class="content">Text</div>
✅ Use: 
<div class="content" style="background: #fff; border: 1px solid #e5e7eb;">
  Text
</div>

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Slides Must Fit

  • Slides are 1280x720px with 60px padding
  • Safe content area: 1160x600px
  • Use overflow: hidden to prevent content from extending beyond boundaries

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No External Images

❌ Avoid: 
<img src="https://example.com/photo.jpg">
✅ Use:
  • CSS gradients and shapes
  • Inline SVG graphics
  • Emoji for icons

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No Footers or Headers

❌ Avoid: 
<div style="position: fixed; bottom: 0;">Slide 5</div>
Fixed-positioned elements overlap with content in PDF rendering. Include slide numbers or metadata in the normal content flow if needed.

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Validation Checks

Before converting to PDF, Rowboat validates:
1

Title overflow check

Verifies title text fits within slide width at set font-size. Auto-reduces if needed:
  • Short titles (1-3 words): 72px max
  • Medium titles (4-6 words): 56px max
  • Long titles (7+ words): 44px max
2

Content bounds check

Confirms no elements extend beyond 1280x720 boundaries. Looks for:
  • Long titles
  • Bullet lists with 6+ items
  • Wide tables
  • Text wrapping beyond available height
3

Broken visuals check

Ensures no <img> tags reference external URLs. All visuals must be CSS, SVG, or emoji.
4

Font loading check

Verifies Google Fonts <link> includes all font families used in CSS.
5

Theme consistency check

Confirms all slides use the same palette with no rogue colors.

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Workflow Example

Here’s what happens behind the scenes: 
# 1. Rowboat searches knowledge base for context
workspace-readFile("knowledge/Organizations/Our Company.md")
workspace-readFile("knowledge/Projects/Series A.md")

# 2. Plans narrative and selects theme
# Hook: The market opportunity
# Core: Our unique approach
# Evidence: Traction metrics, customer stories
# CTA: Investment ask
# Theme: Bold Vibrant (pitch deck)

# 3. Generates HTML with 12 slides
workspace-writeFile("tmp/presentation.html", htmlContent)

# 4. Validates (checks all pass)

# 5. Creates conversion script
workspace-writeFile("tmp/convert.js", playwrightScript)

# 6. Converts to PDF
node /workspace/tmp/convert.js

# 7. Final output
~/Desktop/presentation.pdf
The entire process is invisible to you. Rowboat handles package installation, file creation, validation, and conversion automatically.

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Best Practices

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Provide context in your knowledge base

The richer your knowledge/ folder, the better your presentations:
  • Company overview with mission, product, market
  • Team member bios and roles
  • Project documentation with metrics and outcomes
  • Customer/partner information

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Be specific about purpose and audience

Instead of: “Make a presentation”
Try: “Create an investor pitch deck for Series A VCs” or “Build a quarterly business review for the board” This helps Rowboat:
  • Choose the right theme
  • Select appropriate layouts
  • Set the right tone and detail level

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Request theme changes

If the auto-selected theme doesn’t match your preference: 
Recreate this with a light editorial theme instead

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Keep it focused

Best presentations are 8-15 slides:
  • Title slide
  • Optional agenda
  • 6-10 content slides (every slide earns its place)
  • Closing/CTA
No filler content or unnecessary padding.

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Dependencies

Rowboat automatically handles installation: 
npm install playwright
npx playwright install chromium
You don’t need to run these commands yourself.

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Output Location

Final presentation is saved to: 
~/Desktop/presentation.pdf
Temporary files during generation: 
~/workspace/tmp/presentation.html
~/workspace/tmp/convert.js

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