Marp MCP Server

Marp MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for managing Marp presentation projects with academic theme support. Optimized for use with Claude Code, Cursor, and other AI-powered editors.

Features

• 🎨 Academic Theme Support - Pre-configured academic_custom.css theme
• 📁 Project Initialization - Automatic directory structure setup
• 🎯 Structured Slide Generation - 6 layout templates for consistent design
• 🔧 Editor Integration - Designed for Claude Code and Cursor
• 📝 Markdown Output - Generate slides as markdown strings for easy editing

Installation

Via npx (Recommended)

npx @masaki39/marp-mcp

Global Installation

npm install -g @masaki39/marp-mcp

Local Installation

npm install @masaki39/marp-mcp

Configuration

Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "marp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@masaki39/marp-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Or with global installation:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "marp": {
      "command": "marp-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Claude Code / Cursor

The server works seamlessly with Claude Code and Cursor. The generated markdown can be directly inserted into your editor.

Available Tools

1. init_presentation

Initialize a new Marp presentation project with complete directory structure.

Parameters:

• projectPath (string) - Directory where project will be created
• projectName (string) - Name of the presentation project
• presentationTitle (string) - Title of the presentation
• presentationSubtitle (string, optional) - Subtitle
• description (string, optional) - Brief description

Generated Structure:

my-presentation/
├── slides.md                    # Main presentation file
├── themes/
│   └── academic_custom.css      # Academic theme
├── attachments/
│   ├── images/                  # Image files
│   ├── videos/                  # Video files
│   └── data/                    # Data files
├── .gitignore
└── README.md

Example:

{
  "projectPath": "/Users/yourname/presentations",
  "projectName": "research-2024",
  "presentationTitle": "Research Findings",
  "presentationSubtitle": "Annual Report 2024",
  "description": "Research results presentation"
}

2. generate_slide

Generate a slide using academic theme layouts. Returns markdown string for copy-paste.

Parameters:

• layoutType (string) - Layout type (title, lead, content, table, multi-column, quote)
• params (object) - Layout-specific parameters

Example:

{
  "layoutType": "title",
  "params": {
    "title": "Presentation Title",
    "subtitle": "Subtitle"
  }
}

3. list_slide_layouts

List all available slide layouts with their parameters and descriptions.

No parameters required.

Available Layouts

Title Slide (title)

Centered title and subtitle with .title class.

Parameters:

• title (required, max 60 chars)
• subtitle (optional, max 100 chars)

Output:

# Presentation Title
## Subtitle

<!-- _class: title -->

Lead Slide (lead)

Left-aligned with maroon color headings using .lead class.

Parameters:

• heading (required, max 80 chars)
• content (optional, markdown supported)

Output:

# Main Heading

Content goes here

<!-- _class: lead -->

Content Slide (content)

Standard content slide with optional heading.

Parameters:

• heading (optional, max 80 chars)
• content (required, markdown supported)

Output:

# Heading

Content with markdown support
- List item 1
- List item 2

Table Slide (table)

Table with customizable size and alignment.

Parameters:

• heading (optional, max 80 chars)
• tableMarkdown (required, markdown table)
• tableClass (optional: "center", "100", "tiny", "small", "large")

Output:

# Table Heading

| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|----------|----------|
| Data 1   | Data 2   |

<!-- _class: table-center table-100 -->

Multi-Column Slide (multi-column)

2-3 column layout using double blockquote syntax.

Parameters:

• heading (optional, max 80 chars)
• columns (required, array of strings)

Output:

# Comparison

> > Column 1 content
> > - Point 1
>
> > Column 2 content
> > - Point 2

Quote Slide (quote)

Quote with citation in footer.

Parameters:

• heading (optional, max 80 chars)
• content (optional)
• quote (required, max 300 chars)
• citation (optional, max 100 chars)

Output:

# Heading

Main content

> Quote text here — Citation

Academic Theme Features

The included academic_custom.css theme provides:

• Page numbering - Automatic slide numbers
• Custom fonts - Noto Sans JP and Source Code Pro
• Color scheme - Maroon highlights (#800000)
• Table styles - Multiple size and alignment options
• Multi-column support - Flexible column layouts
• Header support - Customizable presentation headers

CSS Classes

• .title - Title slide (centered)
• .lead - Lead slide (left-aligned, maroon)
• .table-center - Centered table
• .table-100 - Full-width table
• .table-tiny - Small font table (0.7em)
• .table-small - Small font table (0.8em)
• .table-large - Large font table (1.1em)

Building Presentations

Prerequisites

Install Marp CLI:

npm install -g @marp-team/marp-cli

Build to PDF

marp slides.md -o slides.pdf

Build to HTML

marp slides.md -o slides.html

Build to PowerPoint

marp slides.md -o slides.pptx

Preview in VS Code

Install Marp for VS Code extension for live preview.

Development

Building from Source

git clone https://github.com/masaki39/marp-mcp.git
cd marp-mcp
npm install
npm run build

Testing Locally

npm link

Then configure Claude Desktop to use the local version.

Troubleshooting

Server Not Starting

Check logs in ~/Library/Logs/Claude/:

tail -f ~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp*.log

Template Files Not Found

Ensure the package was built correctly:

npm run build
ls build/templates/

Should show:

• academic_custom.css
• slides.template.md
• README.template.md
• gitignore.template

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

Credits

• Academic theme based on marp-theme-academic by kaisugi
• Built on Model Context Protocol
• Powered by Marp

Links

• GitHub Repository
• npm Package
• Marp Documentation
• MCP Documentation