> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.slideless.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Quickstart
> Upload your first presentation (single HTML file or a folder with assets) and get a public share URL in under five minutes, starting from nothing but an email
## Goal
By the end of this page you'll have a public share URL pointing at a presentation you uploaded with the `slideless` CLI — either a single self-contained HTML file or a folder with images, videos, or 3D assets.
## Prerequisites
* **Node.js 20+** (`node --version` to check)
* An email you can check
* A deck to share. Either a single HTML file, or a folder with an `index.html` plus sibling assets. See the [Generate with Claude](/guides/with-claude) guide if you need to make one.
No Slideless account yet? That's fine. Step 2 creates one.
## Step 1 — Install the CLI
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
npm install -g slideless
slideless --version
```
If `npm install -g` is blocked, `npx slideless ...` works for any command.
## Step 2 — Request a signup code
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
slideless auth signup-request --email you@example.com
```
This emails a 6-digit code to `you@example.com` and exits. The email arrives in a few seconds. See [`cli/auth`](/cli/auth) if you hit any error.
## Step 3 — Complete signup
Check your inbox for the code, then (`--first-name` is required):
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
slideless auth signup-complete --email you@example.com --code 123456 --first-name "Alex"
```
Output:
```text theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
✓ Signup complete
Name: Alex
Organization: Alex's workspace
Org ID: 4XYwOrZ8...
Profile: alexs-workspace (now active)
API key: cko_xxxx... (scopes: presentations:write, presentations:read)
Try it: slideless whoami
```
Your `cko_` key is now stored in `~/.config/slideless/config.json` (mode `0600`) and set as the active profile. You can pass extra flags like `--last-name "Morgan"`, `--company "Acme"`, `--brand-primary "#0a0a0a"`, or `--logo ./logo.png` to fill in user/organization details at the same time — see [`cli/auth`](/cli/auth) for the full list.
## Step 4 — Push your first presentation
### Option A: single HTML file
Save a minimal `deck.html`:
```html theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
Hello
Hello, Slideless
```
Upload it:
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
slideless push ./deck.html --title "My first deck"
```
### Option B: folder with assets
Create a folder:
```
my-deck/
├── index.html
├── styles.css
└── images/
└── hero.png
```
`index.html`:
```html theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
Hello, Slideless
```
Upload the folder — the CLI walks it, hashes every file, and uploads only what's missing on the backend (later pushes will skip unchanged files):
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
slideless push ./my-deck --title "My first deck"
```
Either way the output looks like:
```text theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
📦 Deck: ./my-deck
📝 Entry: index.html
📁 Files: 3 (42 KB)
→ Prechecking…
↑ [1/3] images/hero.png (38 KB)
↑ [2/3] index.html (287 B)
↑ [3/3] styles.css (154 B)
→ Committing version…
✓ Presentation pushed
Share ID: 0192f1c3-...
Version: 1
Assets uploaded: 3
Assets deduped: 0
Total bytes: 42 KB
```
A `slideless.json` was also written at the folder root. That's how the CLI knows the folder is a Slideless deck — subsequent `slideless push` calls from here re-publish in place. Don't edit or delete it.
## Step 5 — Mint a public viewer URL
The push created the deck but didn't publish it. Mint a viewer token:
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
slideless share 0192f1c3-...
```
```text theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
✓ Share URL minted
Token ID: 0192f1c3-...
Share URL: https://app.slideless.ai/share/0192f1c3-...?token=...
```
Paste the `Share URL` into a new browser tab. You'll see your HTML rendered inside the Slideless viewer chrome: fullscreen toggle, download menu, "Made with Slideless" footer.
Open it on your phone too. The same URL works everywhere.
## Step 6 — Watch the view count
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
slideless list
```
Each time the share URL is opened, `totalViews` ticks up. For per-token view counts:
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
slideless get 0192f1c3-...
```
## Updating in place
Edit your deck (change the HTML, swap an image), then re-publish from the same folder:
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
slideless push ./my-deck
```
The CLI reads `slideless.json` from the folder, recognises this as an update, and bumps the version. Recipients see the new content on next load. The URL doesn't change, the view count is preserved, and only files whose contents actually changed re-upload — the rest are deduplicated. A one-image swap on a 200 MB deck transfers \~the size of that one image, not 200 MB.
## Pick it up on another device
Already pushed on your laptop and want to keep iterating from your desktop? On the second machine:
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
slideless pull 0192f1c3-... ./my-deck
cd my-deck
# edit freely…
slideless push
```
`pull` writes the same `slideless.json` at the root so `push` knows which deck to update. See [Collaboration](/concepts/collaboration) for the conflict model when two machines push concurrently.
## Pin a recipient to a specific version
If you emailed v3 to investors and then fixed a typo in v4, you might want the investors to stay on v3 — their token can be frozen:
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
slideless pin 0192f1c3-... --to-version 3
```
Put them back on auto-update:
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
slideless pin 0192f1c3-... --latest
```
Recipients can never see other versions by URL manipulation — only the owner can browse history. See [Versioning](/concepts/versioning).
## What just happened
| Step | Behind the scenes |
| ---------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Signup | A Firebase Auth user, a `users/{uid}` doc, a one-owner organization, and a `cko_…` key were created atomically; the raw key was returned once and saved locally |
| Uploaded deck | The CLI hashed every file, precheck'd with the backend, uploaded only the missing blobs (content-addressed by SHA-256), and committed a version manifest |
| Opened share URL | Slideless served the entry HTML plus its assets from private Cloud Storage, inside a sandboxed iframe, and incremented the per-token view counter |
## Alternative: paste a key from the dashboard
If you already created a key in [app.slideless.ai](https://app.slideless.ai) → **Organization → API Keys**, skip the OTP flow and paste it:
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
npm install -g slideless
slideless login
# paste the cko_ key when prompted (input is masked)
```
This does the same thing as `signup-complete` / `login-complete`: verifies the key, saves a profile at `~/.config/slideless/config.json`, and makes it the active one. Continue from **Step 4**.
## Next steps
* **[CLI command reference](/cli/commands)** — every command, every flag.
* **[Auth (OTP signup & login)](/cli/auth)** — deep dive on the OTP flow, including the full error-code table.
* **[Why Slideless](/why-slideless/portable)** — why HTML beats `.pptx` for sharing decks.
* **[Collaboration](/concepts/collaboration)** — invite a teammate, move a deck across devices, resolve push conflicts.
* **[Presentation lifecycle](/concepts/lifecycle)** — exists vs deleted, unshare vs delete.
* **[Use with Claude](/guides/with-claude)** — have Claude generate and publish decks for you with the marketplace skills.
* **[HTTP API reference](/api-reference/overview)** — for when you need to call the backend without the CLI.
