Freedom251 › Presentation software
Slidesdown
What Slidesdown is
Slidesdown is a free, open-source tool for creating presentations from Markdown files. A deck uses a file named SLIDES.md, where slide content, metadata, and presentation settings can be kept together. The project is powered by reveal.js and supports themes, code-highlighting themes, controls, progress display, looping, and automatic slide progression. Its online viewer opens a Markdown presentation from a URL. A command-line interface can open local files in the online viewer or a Docker-hosted local viewer, and can export slides to PDF through Docker or a local decktape installation. The Docker viewer supports fully offline presentations. Local files opened in the online viewer are served from a local web server to the browser rather than transmitted to an online service. Presentations can be published through GitHub repositories or GitHub Gists. Installation documentation covers Nix Flakes and nix run. The CLI requires nu, while Docker is needed for offline use and hot reloading.
Who it suits
Slidesdown suits Markdown users who want browser-based or self-hosted presentations, offline viewing, and PDF export. It also fits authors publishing through GitHub repositories or Gists.
What it does well
- Free and open source
- Markdown-based SLIDES.md authoring
- Fully offline Docker viewer
- PDF export available
- Supports presentation themes and controls
What to know first
- CLI requires the nu interpreter
- Docker required for offline presentations
- Docker needed for hot reloading
- Self-hosting setup is required
Verdict
Slidesdown offers a Markdown-centered workflow with web, local, and offline viewing options. Its command-line and Docker requirements matter when choosing how to author or present.
Facts from Slidesdown's own pages
- Authoring features
- The presentation template includes settings for themes, code highlighting, controls, progress display, looping, and automatic slide progression. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Authoring format
- Presentations use a file named SLIDES.md and can include metadata and presentation settings. · slidesdown.github.io, 12 Oct 2026
- CLI
- Slidesdown provides a CLI to open local presentation files in the online viewer or in a local Docker viewer. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Dependencies
- The CLI requires the nu interpreter; Docker is required for offline presentations and hot reloading while editing. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Getting started
- The Learn page says a first slideshow can be set up in less than five minutes. · slidesdown.github.io, 12 Oct 2026
- Local file privacy
- For local files opened in the online viewer, the README says the file is served from a local web server to the local browser and is not transmitted to an online service. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Nix support
- The README documents installation using a Nix Flake or one-time use with nix run. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Offline access
- Yes · github.com, 20 Sept 2026
- Offline use
- The README says the Docker-hosted viewer can be used fully offline. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Online viewer
- The online viewer opens a Markdown presentation using its URL. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- PDF export
- The CLI can export slides as PDF using Docker or a local decktape installation. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Presentation framework
- Slidesdown is powered by the reveal.js presentation framework. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Presenter mode
- Yes · github.com, 20 Sept 2026
- Publishing
- The instructions describe publishing presentations through a GitHub repository or GitHub Gist. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Publishing integrations
- The README describes publishing presentations through a GitHub repository or a GitHub Gist and opening them in the online viewer. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Slidesdown creates presentations from Markdown files. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Styling integrations
- The example presentation references UnoCSS and Tailwind CSS for styling and Icônes for icons. · slidesdown.github.io, 12 Oct 2026
- Supported platforms
- web · github.com, 20 Sept 2026
- Supported presentation settings
- The example configuration includes themes, code highlighting themes, controls, progress display, looping, and automatic slide progression. · slidesdown.github.io, 12 Oct 2026
- What it does
- Slidesdown creates presentations from Markdown files. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
Where Slidesdown stands on Freedom251
- Presentation software#93 of 93