Keyboard-first, by design
Every control is reachable by typing, and the live preview redraws the slide you're editing as you type. Your hands stay on the argument.
Ctrl+K · ~24 ms per slide
Markdown to consulting-grade slides
Plain text.
Board-ready.
Write your board deck in Markdown instead of painting it with a mouse. Decklay sets every slide in a consulting-grade design, so your time goes into the message, not the layout.
--- style: consulting --- # Margins recover to 14.0% by FY27 layout: 100 kicker: Outlook ::: column-chart head: EBIT margin, FY24–FY27 unit: % of revenue - FY24 :: 11.2 - FY25 :: 9.4 - FY26 :: 12.1 - FY27 :: 14.0 :: hi :: display=14.0 ::: source: Plan FY27. Illustrative.
Write, don't paint
At 11 pm before the board, work on the message, not the layout
Slide software makes you paint every slide with a mouse, then repaint it after every edit. In Decklay you type the argument, and the design system sets the slide.
Painting with a mouseWriting in Decklay
Draw, drag, align and resize every boxType one line per idea; the slide is laid out for you
Rebuild a slide to change its layoutChange the layout line; the slide re-fits
Fix fonts and spacing slide by slideOne locked design system for the whole deck
Hunt for the figure on slide 19Define it once; every slide agrees
Reach for the mouseKeyboard-first: Ctrl+K reaches every control
How it works
Three steps, and the design is never one of them
There is no font picker and no drag handle. You decide what the slide says; the compiler decides how it looks.
- 01 · Write
One Markdown file is the whole deck
One
#heading per slide, alayout:line, and:::blocks for exhibits. Any text editor or AI can write it, and the app picks up outside edits live. - 02 · Compile
Every block is fitted to its space
The compiler measures each block and squeezes it in a fixed order: spacing, then margin, then one type step, then a warning. Text never leaves its box.
- 03 · Deliver
Present it, or send it
Present from the app on a second screen with your notes beside you, or send the board a PDF or one HTML file.
Total control
From full page to 50/50 in a three-line edit
Every slide is text you control: its structure, its words, its numbers. Change the layout line, mark the two columns, and the compiler re-fits the slide. Nothing to drag.
# Margins recover to 14.0% by FY27 layout: 100 kicker: Outlook ::: column-chart - FY24 :: 11.2 - FY25 :: 9.4 - FY26 :: 12.1 - FY27 :: 14.0 :: hi :: display=14.0 ::: ::: textbox head: Why it recovers Repricing adds 2.7 points by FY26. Consolidation adds the final 1.9. :::
# Margins recover to 14.0% by FY27 layout: 50/50 kicker: Outlook ## left ::: column-chart - FY24 :: 11.2 - FY25 :: 9.4 - FY26 :: 12.1 - FY27 :: 14.0 :: hi :: display=14.0 ::: ## right ::: textbox head: Why it recovers Repricing adds 2.7 points by FY26. Consolidation adds the final 1.9. :::
Highlighted lines are the whole change.
Built for decision decks
The craft of a good board book, enforced by the compiler
Nothing overflows
Each slide solves its own density and never uses more than two type sizes. When content still won't fit, it is cut cleanly and you are told where.
spacing → margin → type step → warning
Every number agrees
Define a figure once as a named value and print it anywhere. The figures ledger checks that one number says the same thing on every slide.
{{revenue_fy26}} · Deck → Figures…
More than 60 consulting exhibits
Waterfalls, Mekko, slopegraphs, matrices, issue trees, Gantt charts, org charts, plus banking and frameworks packs that arrive pre-filled.
waterfall · Mekko · football field · Gantt
Craft Check before the partner does
Machine-checkable craft rules, reported as advice: numerals in titles, units, sources, dates. Errors point to the line and name the nearest valid field.
Deck → Craft Check… · decklay craft
Every version, side by side
A deck is text, so milestones and snapshots are plain files. Compare two versions slide by slide, even after reordering.
milestones · snapshots · compare
AI-native
Markdown is the language of AI, so your deck already speaks it
AI is optional. But because every deck is Markdown, any AI can draft it, restructure it or review it. The built-in co-author runs on your own Claude subscription or Anthropic API key.
- Any AI, any editorAsk any AI to write or rework a deck file, and Decklay picks up the change live. A Claude skill writes decks from any Claude session.
- Research and draftPick a style and a storyline: recommendation, status update, board book, lesson, white paper, talk. Answer its questions and watch the research.
- Start from your own materialPaste text, or drop in Markdown, Word or PDF, and get a deck built from it instead of from the web.
- The CommitteeAI reviewers read the deck as the offices you choose, as opinions that are never confused with compiler warnings.
CEOCFOCHROCOOCMOHead of strategy+ your own office
Research & draft a deckOutline
Each title is a claim. Read them top to bottom and they should tell the whole story.
- Freight margins recover to 14.0% by FY27 as fuel costs normaliseCover
- Fuel drove two-thirds of the FY25 margin declineWaterfall: margin bridge FY24 → FY25
- Contract repricing restores 2.7 points by FY26Table: contracts up for renewal
- Network consolidation adds the final 1.9 pointsColumn chart: depots before and after
- The plan is most exposed to a second fuel shockTornado: sensitivity of FY27 margin
House styles
Four styles, each built for how its slides are read
Re-skin with your colours and fonts; the layout rules stay locked. Any colour you pick gets readable contrast automatically.
For executives deciding
For books read line by line
For teaching
For a room listening, dark or light
Private by design
Your decks stay on your machine
Decks are files on your disk. There is no Decklay cloud, so there is nothing to approve as a new data processor.
- No cloud, no telemetry by defaultYour deck is a Markdown file wherever you keep it, a shared drive included.
- AI only when you ask, only to your providerDeck text leaves the machine only for AI requests, and only to your own Claude account. Switches control web search and what is sent.
- An audit trail you ownAn opt-in AI log is kept as text beside the deck, never sent anywhere.
- Deterministic outputThe same input produces byte-identical output, every time.
Who it's for
For people who make decision decks without a design team
Corporate teams
Strategy, finance, HR and PMO teams preparing ExCo pre-reads, board books, recommendations and one-to-ones. Start from a memo or report and let The Committee read it as the CFO first.
Independent consultants
Proposals and steering-committee decks that look like a big firm made them. The frameworks pack arrives pre-filled: SWOT, BCG matrix, five forces, 7S, PESTLE.
Investment banking
The banking pack covers trading comps, precedent transactions, football field, sources and uses, and EV build, with banking number conventions (8.1x, bps, NM, negatives in brackets).
Learning and research
Lessons, literature reviews and study references, with numbered LaTeX equations that stay editable in PowerPoint.
Questions
What people ask before they switch
Why write slides in Markdown?
Because typing is faster than drawing. You write one line per idea and the design system sets the slide, so there is nothing to drag, align or resize. You keep full control of every word and number, and the deck stays a text file you can search, compare and hand to any AI.
Do I need to know Markdown?
Not to start. A deck is a heading per slide, a layout line and short blocks for exhibits. The editor autocompletes as you type, a short tour shows the basics, and F1 opens the reference.
Does it run on a Mac?
Not yet. Decklay is a Windows desktop app with a command-line tool.
Do I need an AI subscription?
No. Writing, compiling, presenting and sharing all work without AI. The co-author uses your own Claude subscription (through Claude Code) or an Anthropic API key.
Can I still send a PowerPoint?
Yes, when someone needs the file: text, tables, equations, callouts and charts arrive as editable objects, and charts carry their data. Most decks never need it. Present from the app, or send a PDF or one HTML file.
Can I use my company's template?
Yes. Import the template file once and its colours, fonts and logo come across, each colour checked for legibility. Layouts are not imported: Decklay's own set the slides. If a brand typeface is installed on your machine, Decklay measures it so the layout fits it exactly.
Does it handle Greek?
Yes. Decklay detects a Greek deck and sets uppercase text correctly, without stray accents.
Where do my decks go?
Nowhere you don't put them. Decks are Markdown files on your disk or shared drive. Text leaves your machine only when you ask the AI, and only to your own provider.
Run it through Decklay.
14-day full trial. Everything included, no card needed.