PowerPoint Automation MCP server

The PowerPoint Automation MCP Server integrates with Claude Desktop via the Model Control Protocol (MCP), allowing Claude to create and modify PowerPoint presentations. This server enables tasks like creating presentations, adding slides, editing content, and more through natural language commands to Claude.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Windows with Microsoft PowerPoint installed
• Python 3.7+
• Claude Desktop client

Setup Steps

1. Clone the repository:

2. Install dependencies:

   uv add fastmcp pywin32
   

3. Configure Claude Desktop:

   • Open Claude Desktop
   • Navigate to settings
   • Add the MCP server configuration

Configuration

Add the following to your Claude Desktop configuration file at %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ppts": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "path/to/main.py"]
    }
  }
}

If using a virtual environment or alternative Python executable:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ppts": {
      "command": "C:\\Path\\To\\Python\\Scripts\\uv.exe",
      "args": ["run", "C:\\Path\\To\\Project\\main.py"]
    }
  }
}

Using the PowerPoint Server

After configuration, you can control PowerPoint through natural language commands in Claude Desktop:

Basic Operations

1. Initialize PowerPoint:

   Could you open PowerPoint for me?
   

2. Create a new presentation:

   Please create a new PowerPoint presentation.
   

3. Add a slide:

   Add a new slide to the presentation.
   

4. Add content:

   Add a text box to slide 1 with the text "Hello World".
   

5. Save the presentation:

   Save the presentation to C:\Users\username\Documents\presentation.pptx
   

Available Functions

The server supports numerous PowerPoint operations:

• Initialize PowerPoint - Connect to PowerPoint and make it visible
• Manage Presentations - Create, open, save, and close presentations
• Slide Management - Add slides with different layouts
• Content Editing - Add text boxes, update content, set slide titles
• Content Retrieval - Get slide information and extract text

Limitations

• Only works on Windows with PowerPoint installed
• PowerPoint application will be visible during operations
• Functionality is limited to what's available through the PowerPoint COM API

How to add this MCP server to Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > MCP and click "Add new global MCP server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "cursor-rules-mcp": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "cursor-rules-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explictly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.