The .slaide File Structure

Learn the .slaide file format: the headmatter block, slide separators, per-slide frontmatter, and placeholders like {{page}} and {{title}}.

A .slaide file starts with a headmatter block. After that come the slides, separated by ---.

---                         ← leading fence: deck HEADMATTER (deck-wide config)
master: ./theme.slaide.yaml
title: My Talk
company: Acme, Inc.          ← any key becomes a {{placeholder}}
~transition: slide-left      ← `~` cascades this default to every later slide
---
layout: cover                ← per-slide FRONTMATTER (one config block per slide)
footer: Hello world          ← per-slide value, also usable as {{footer}}
---
:: title ::                  ← route Markdown into the layout slot "title"
My Talk
:: subtitle ::
An optional subtitle
---                          ← slide separator
## A content slide           ← a slide with no frontmatter. body goes to the main slot
- point one    >>>           ← `>>>` reveals this item as a build step
- point two    >>>
??? Speaker note. Hidden from the audience.

Separators and fences

A line that is exactly --- separates slides.
Inside a fenced code block (``` or ~~~), --- is literal text. It is not a separator.
The first config block is the deck headmatter.
After a separator, a block is that slide’s frontmatter only if two things are true. Every line is key: value. And it ends with another --- before the body. Otherwise the whole block is body.
Edge case: a body line that just contains a colon, like We offer: Tooling, is still body. When in doubt, an empty frontmatter (--- then ---) forces the next block to be body.

Headmatter keys

Key	Meaning
`master`	Path to the master file, relative to the deck. Omit it to use the bundled `aurora` theme.
`title`, `author`, `date`, `company`, …	Deck metadata. Any key here becomes a `{{placeholder}}`.
`~<key>`	Sets a cascading default from here on. For example `~transition: fade`.
`progress`	`true` or `false`. Shows a position bar and counter in the web deck. Default `true`. Web only, never in the PDF.

Per-slide frontmatter keys

Key	Values	Meaning
`layout`	a layout name from the master	Which layout to use.
`transition`	`none`, `fade`, `slide-left/right/up/down`, `zoom`, `morph`	How this slide animates in.
`background`	a background name from the master	Override the layout’s background.
`variant`	a variant name from the master	Apply scoped overrides, like a light section.
`morph`	an id	Take part in a shared-element morph.
`footer`	Markdown text	Per-slide footer. Also available as `{{footer}}`.
`chrome`	`both`, `header`, `footer`, `none`, `false`	Show or hide the header and footer on this slide.
`logo`	`false`	Hide the corner logo on this slide.

Cascade vs scope. A bare key like transition: zoom applies to this slide only. A ~ key like ~transition: zoom becomes the default for this slide and every slide after it, until something overrides it.

Placeholders

Any key from headmatter or the current slide is available as {{ key }}. You use them inside chrome bands and master text. The built-ins:

Placeholder	Value
`{{page}}` / `{{total}}`	slide number / slide count
`{{pagePadded}}` / `{{totalPadded}}`	zero-padded, like `05` / `08`
`{{date}}`	the `date:` value, or today
`{{title}}` / `{{author}}`	from headmatter
`{{slideTitle}}`	the slide’s first heading
`{{footer}}`	the current slide’s `footer:` value