Installation
Prerequisites
Node.js 18+
Supaslidev requires Node.js 18.0.0 or higher.
node --version
If you need to install or update Node.js, use a version manager like fnm or nvm, or download from nodejs.org.
pnpm 9+
Supaslidev uses pnpm 9.0.0 or higher for monorepo workspace management.
pnpm --version
Install pnpm via Corepack (recommended):
corepack enable
corepack prepare pnpm@latest --activate
Or install globally:
npm install -g pnpm
Create a Workspace
Run the scaffolding command:
pnpm create supaslidev
The wizard prompts you for:
- Workspace name — The directory name for your workspace (e.g.,
my-presentations) - First presentation name — Name of your initial presentation (e.g.,
my-first-deck) - Initialize git — Whether to run
git init - Install dependencies — Whether to run
pnpm install
pnpm create supaslidev --name my-workspace --presentation intro-deck --git --install
What Gets Created
After scaffolding completes, your workspace looks like this:
my-workspace/
├── .supaslidev/ # Workspace metadata
│ └── state.json # Tracks version and migrations
├── presentations/ # Your Slidev presentations
│ └── my-first-deck/ # Your first presentation
│ ├── slides.md # Slide content
│ ├── package.json # Uses catalog: dependencies
│ ├── .gitignore
│ └── .npmrc
├── packages/ # Custom packages (optional)
├── scripts/ # Helper scripts
├── pnpm-workspace.yaml # Workspace config with dependency catalog
├── package.json # Root scripts (dev, new, present, export)
└── pnpm-lock.yaml # Dependency lockfile
Key files:
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
pnpm-workspace.yaml | Defines workspace packages and the dependency catalog |
.supaslidev/state.json | Tracks workspace version for migrations |
presentations/*/slides.md | Your slide content in Markdown |
Verify Installation
Navigate into your workspace and start the dashboard:
cd my-workspace
pnpm dev
This opens the interactive dashboard where you can manage all your presentations.
Or start your first presentation directly:
pnpm present my-first-deck
This starts a Vite dev server at http://localhost:3030 with hot reload enabled.
Troubleshooting
"command not found: pnpm"
pnpm is not installed or not in your PATH.
Fix: Install pnpm using the instructions in Prerequisites.
"This project requires pnpm"
You ran npm install or yarn install instead of pnpm install.
Fix: Use pnpm for all package management:
pnpm install
Permission errors on install
Node modules installation may fail due to permission issues.
Fix: Avoid using sudo. Instead, configure npm/pnpm to use a user directory:
mkdir -p ~/.pnpm-global
pnpm config set global-dir ~/.pnpm-global
Port 3030 already in use
Another process is using the default Slidev port.
Fix: Kill the existing process or specify a different port:
pnpm present my-deck -- --port 3031
"Cannot find module" errors
Dependencies may not be installed or linked correctly.
Fix: Clean install from the workspace root:
rm -rf node_modules pnpm-lock.yaml
pnpm install