PowerPoint MCP servers compared: open source, live-app, and hosted

A PowerPoint MCP server gives an AI agent tools to create and edit slides over the Model Context Protocol. In 2026 there are three kinds: open-source servers that write .pptx files with python-pptx, servers that drive a live copy of PowerPoint on your machine, and hosted services that return a finished deck from one call.

I build heydecks, which runs a hosted PowerPoint MCP server, so I have a stake and I will say so up front. I also checked every open-source repo below in September 2026, because the most-linked one on this topic was archived in March and most comparison posts have not noticed. If MCP itself is new to you, what MCP is is the five-minute primer.

#Which PowerPoint MCP servers exist in 2026?

Here are the seven worth knowing, with GitHub stars as of September 2026:

Stars are a rough signal, not a quality score. What matters more is whether someone is still merging fixes, because python-pptx servers break quietly when Python or MCP SDK versions move.

#Open-source python-pptx servers: free, local, plain

Most results for "powerpoint mcp" are python-pptx servers. They wrap the python-pptx library in MCP tools such as create presentation, add slide, add text, add table, add chart, and save. Because python-pptx writes real OpenXML, the output opens in PowerPoint as editable slides.

The best known, GongRzhe's Office-PowerPoint-MCP-Server, shipped 32 tools across 11 modules, 25 built-in layouts, and an MIT license. It was archived on March 3, 2026. You can still install it (uvx --from office-powerpoint-mcp-server ppt_mcp_server), and it still works for many people, but nobody is fixing bugs, so treat it as a starting point to fork rather than a dependency. Another often-listed option, gtonic/pptx-mcp, was archived in January 2026. The smaller active projects, like Ichigo3766/powerpoint-mcp and ltc6539/mcp-ppt, are worth a look if you want something to read and modify; check the commit history before you build on one.

Setup is the same shape for all of them: register the server with your host as a local command it launches over stdio.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "powerpoint": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["--from", "office-powerpoint-mcp-server", "ppt_mcp_server"]
    }
  }
}

What you sign up for is ownership. The default output is the plain white python-pptx template, and making it look like your company means writing the styling yourself. For a Python developer building internal tooling, that control is the point. For someone who wants on-brand slides out of an agent, it is an afternoon, and then another one each time the layout needs to change.

#Live PowerPoint servers: the agent drives the app

A newer category skips the file library and controls a running copy of PowerPoint. ykuwai/ppt-mcp uses COM on Windows and Apple Events on macOS, exposes 156 tools (slides, shapes, tables, charts, animations, SmartArt), and installs with uvx ppt-mcp. trsdn/mcp-server-ppt does the same on Windows through the native COM API, with 33 tools covering 224 operations, installed through dotnet tool install --global PptMcp.McpServer or npx -y mcp-server-ppt.

You watch the slides change on screen as the agent works, and anything PowerPoint can do is in reach, including your real template. The catch is that PowerPoint has to be installed and open on the same machine, so these cannot run on a server or in CI. If that is your setup, compare them with Anthropic's own Claude for PowerPoint add-in, which does the in-app job with less configuration on a paid Claude plan.

#Hosted PowerPoint MCP servers: nothing to run

A hosted server connects over HTTP, so there is no Python environment or desktop app to keep alive. SlideSpeak runs one at mcp.slidespeak.co/mcp that needs a paid SlideSpeak API key. heydecks is the one I build.

heydecks is the AI slide creator for AI agents, and its hosted MCP server is the one I know best. Your agent writes the copy and picks from 95 fixed, hand-designed slide templates; heydecks renders the deck locked to your brand through the Brand Kernel, which you extract once from your website. Each deck comes back as a live link, a PDF, and (on Solo and up) a native, editable .pptx. It does not rewrite your copy: the tools persist exactly what the agent sends.

Setup is one line in Claude Code, and the first call opens a browser for OAuth:

claude mcp add --transport http heydecks https://heydecks.com/mcp

Cursor takes the same URL:

{ "mcpServers": { "heydecks": { "url": "https://heydecks.com/mcp" } } }

In claude.ai and Claude Desktop, add https://heydecks.com/mcp as a custom connector. For a headless box or CI, mint an mcp_ token in the dashboard and pass it as an Authorization: Bearer header, or run npx heydecks install to wire up Claude Desktop, Claude Code, and Cursor at once. The agent can then call export_deck to hand back a short download link for the PDF or .pptx. Per-host details are in the MCP docs and in Claude MCP setup; the Cursor flow is on building decks with Cursor.

#Open source vs hosted: how do they compare?

Pick python-pptx when you want full control and are comfortable owning Python code, ideally by forking a repo you can maintain. Pick a live-app server when a person is at a desktop with PowerPoint and the deck already exists. Pick a hosted server when the deck has to look like your brand, has to be generated without anyone watching, or has to come back as a link and a PDF as well as a .pptx.

#Do you need a deck API instead of MCP?

Sometimes. MCP fits when an agent designs the deck in a conversation. A deck API fits when a script or backend job needs a deck from one HTTP call, with no model in the loop. heydecks exposes both from the same backend: the deck API takes a brief and generates the deck itself.

curl -X POST https://heydecks.com/v1/generate \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer hd_live_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "input": "Monthly investor update: MRR up 9%, two key hires, runway 22 months", "brand_id": "brd_..." }'
# => 202 { "job_id": "...", "status": "queued", "poll": "/v1/jobs/..." }

Poll GET /v1/jobs/{id} until it succeeds; the result carries the deck URL and download links for the PDF and .pptx. A deck costs 100 credits on either channel. The Free plan has 200 one-time credits with watermarked exports, and editable PPTX export starts on Solo at $19 a month. Here is an investor update built from the same templates, on a sample brand:

If you want your agent building decks like this, the heydecks MCP server page lists every tool and the one-line setup for each host.

#Frequently asked questions

#Is there a free PowerPoint MCP server?

Yes. The python-pptx servers (GongRzhe's, Ichigo3766's, ltc6539's) and the live-app servers (ykuwai's ppt-mcp, trsdn's mcp-server-ppt) are free and open source. The cost is setup and styling time, and the most popular one is archived, so plan to maintain your own fork.

#What is the best PowerPoint MCP server?

It depends on the job. For editing a deck open on your desktop, ykuwai/ppt-mcp has the widest tool set. For headless, branded decks with a PDF and .pptx from one call, a hosted server like heydecks fits better. For a free file writer you control, fork a python-pptx server.

#Is GongRzhe's Office-PowerPoint-MCP-Server still maintained?

No. The repository was archived on March 3, 2026. It still installs from PyPI and works in many setups, but it will not get fixes for new Python or MCP SDK versions.

#Does a PowerPoint MCP server work with Claude and Cursor?

Yes. Local servers register as a command in Claude Desktop, Claude Code, or Cursor. Hosted servers connect by URL: claude mcp add in Claude Code, a JSON block in Cursor, or a custom connector in claude.ai.

#Can a PowerPoint MCP server make an editable .pptx, not just images?

Yes. python-pptx servers write real slide XML, live-app servers edit PowerPoint directly, and heydecks exports a native .pptx with real text boxes alongside the live link and PDF.