showmaker is an open‑source, cross‑platform desktop app that turns Markdown —often authored with generative AI—into Quarto‑based, interactive HTML slides. Built with Rust and Tauri, it offers a simple, user‑friendly interface with no command‑line setup. With a straightforward installer, built‑in theme support, and smooth integration with existing Markdown workflows, showmaker streamlines the path from draft to polished web slides.

1. Download the installer for your operating system:

2. Run the installer and follow the prompts.
3. Launch showmaker from your applications menu.

Follow these five simple steps to create your first presentation with showmaker:

1. Prepare a markdown file – Create or obtain a sample .md file. Utilizing AI to generate a markdown file is recommended, see AI generated slide-markdown file below. You can use revealjs for HTML, pptx for Powerpoint, beamer for PDF.

---
title: "This is title"
author: "Author"
format: revealjs
embed-resources: true
---

2. Upload markdown to showmaker – Use the Upload button

3. Render and Download slide with showmaker – Use the Render button

4. Use your presentation – Open the generated Quarto-based slides.

• Seamless Workflow – Works with any existing Markdown content, including files generated by large language models.
• Easy Markdown to Quarto Slides – Instantly convert Markdown files into Quarto-based presentations.
• Cross-Platform – Runs on Windows, macOS, as a standalone desktop app.
• User-Friendly Interface – Simple GUI for non-technical users.
• Built with Rust + Tauri – Fast, lightweight, and secure by design.
• Offline Operation – No internet connection required, ensuring complete data privacy and security.

You can use this prompt to have an AI generate a markdown file.

Make a simple slide to introduce Tauri in markdown format.

1. The Markdown file must include a YAML header containing author, title, format, and embed-resources, as shown in the example below.

---
title: "This is title"
author: "Author"
format: revealjs
embed-resources: true
---

2. Each slide consists of a title and content, separated by # and -. For example:

# page1
- item 1
- item 2

# page2
- item 3
- item 4

and this will generate markdown like this:

---
title: "Introduction to Tauri"
author: "Your Name"
format: revealjs
embed-resources: true
---

# What is Tauri?

- A framework for building desktop applications
- Uses web technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript)
- Runs on a lightweight Rust backend

# Key Features

- Small bundle size
- Secure by default
- Cross-platform support (Windows, macOS, Linux)

# Why Use Tauri?

- Better performance than Electron
- Lower memory usage
- Flexible frontend framework choice (React, Vue, Svelte, etc.)

# Architecture Overview

- Frontend: Any modern web framework
- Backend: Rust-powered core
- Communication via secure API bridge

# Development Workflow

- Write frontend like a web app
- Integrate with Rust commands
- Build native executables

# Example Use Cases

- Productivity tools
- Note-taking apps
- Markdown editors

# Getting Started

- Install Rust
- Create Tauri project (`npm create tauri-app`)
- Develop, build, and ship your app

# Resources

- Official site: https://tauri.app
- GitHub repository: https://github.com/tauri-apps/tauri
- Community Discord & discussions

Contributions are welcome! Whether it’s reporting a bug, suggesting a new feature, improving documentation, or submitting code, your help is greatly appreciated.

1. Open an issue – Before starting any work, please open an issue to discuss your idea or report a bug. This helps prevent duplicated work and ensures your contribution aligns with the project’s goals.
2. Fork the repository and create your branch from main.
3. Make your changes – follow the project’s coding style and include relevant tests if applicable.
4. Commit your changes with a clear, descriptive message.
5. Push to your branch and open a Pull Request.

• Make sure your changes build and run correctly on your platform.
• Update the documentation if your changes affect usage or features.
• Check that your code passes all existing tests.

If you find a bug or have a feature request, please open an issue and include as much detail as possible.

showmaker includes a comprehensive test suite to ensure that Markdown parsing, Quarto rendering, and error handling work as expected.

To run all tests, execute:

cargo test

This will compile the project in test mode and run:

• Unit tests for YAML front matter validation
• Rendering tests (mocked) to verify HTML slide generation
• Error-handling tests for invalid input, unsupported formats, and missing dependencies

All tests are automated and can be run on any supported platform without requiring an internet connection.