FlashSlides API & MCP Server

Quick start

1. Create an API key in Settings (sign in first). Copy it right away; it is shown only once.
2. Create a deck: POST /api/v1/presentations.
3. Poll GET /api/v1/presentations/:slug until status is completed (usually 20 to 90 seconds).
4. Download it as PowerPoint, PDF or Word with GET /api/v1/presentations/:slug/export/pptx.

API generations use the same credits as the website: your first generation each day is free for up to 5 slides, and every other slide costs 1 credit. Buy credits.

Authentication

Send your key as a bearer token on every request. Keys start with fs_live_. Keep them secret: anyone with a key can spend your credits. Revoke a leaked key in Settings.

Authorization: Bearer fs_live_your_key_here

Base URL: https://flashslides.com/api/v1

Errors & limits

Errors always use the same JSON shape with a matching HTTP status:

{ "error": { "code": "insufficient_credits", "message": "Not enough credits: you need 5 credits for 10 slides." } }

Each key can make 60 requests per minute across the REST API and MCP server. Responses include X-RateLimit-Limit, X-RateLimit-Remaining and X-RateLimit-Reset headers. Exports are also queued, so heavy use may get a 429 with Retry-After.

REST endpoints

GET /api/v1/me

Your account, credit balance and whether today's free generation is still available.

curl https://flashslides.com/api/v1/me \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FLASHSLIDES_API_KEY"

{
  "user": { "id": 42, "name": "Ada", "email": "[email protected]", "createdAt": "2026-01-02 10:00:00" },
  "credits": 25,
  "freeGeneration": { "available": true, "freeSlidesPerDay": 5, "generationsPerDay": 1 },
  "pricing": { "creditsPerSlide": 1, "note": "..." },
  "slideLimits": { "min": 1, "max": 50, "default": 5 }
}

POST /api/v1/presentations

Start generating a deck. Returns 202 Accepted right away with status: "generating".

curl -X POST https://flashslides.com/api/v1/presentations \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FLASHSLIDES_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"topic": "The history of the printing press", "slidesCount": 8, "visibility": "private"}'

# From a YouTube video
curl -X POST https://flashslides.com/api/v1/presentations \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FLASHSLIDES_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID", "slidesCount": 5}'

{
  "presentation": {
    "id": 1234, "slug": "the-history-of-the-printing-press-x1y2z3",
    "title": "The history of the printing press", "status": "generating",
    "slidesCount": 8, "isPublic": false, "sourceType": "text", "sourceUrl": null,
    "url": "https://flashslides.com/p/the-history-of-the-printing-press-x1y2z3"
  },
  "billing": { "creditsUsed": 3, "freeSlidesUsed": 5 },
  "statusUrl": "https://flashslides.com/api/v1/presentations/the-history-of-the-printing-press-x1y2z3"
}

If generation fails, the credits are refunded automatically.

GET /api/v1/presentations

Your presentations, newest first. Query parameters: page (default 1) and per_page (1 to 100, default 20).

curl "https://flashslides.com/api/v1/presentations?page=1&per_page=20" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FLASHSLIDES_API_KEY"

{
  "presentations": [ { "slug": "...", "title": "...", "status": "completed", "slidesCount": 8, "isPublic": false, "url": "...", "createdAt": "..." } ],
  "pagination": { "page": 1, "perPage": 20, "total": 37, "totalPages": 2 }
}

GET /api/v1/presentations/:slug

Status and, once completed, every slide's title, bullet points and image URL. status is generating, completed or failed (with error set).

curl https://flashslides.com/api/v1/presentations/the-history-of-the-printing-press-x1y2z3 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FLASHSLIDES_API_KEY"

{
  "presentation": {
    "slug": "the-history-of-the-printing-press-x1y2z3", "title": "The Printing Press",
    "status": "completed", "slidesCount": 8, "thumbnailUrl": "https://...",
    "slides": [
      { "index": 0, "title": "Before Gutenberg", "content": ["Hand-copied manuscripts", "..."], "imageUrl": "https://..." }
    ]
  }
}

GET /api/v1/presentations/:slug/export/:format

Download a completed deck. format is pptx, pdf or docx. The response is the file itself.

curl -o deck.pptx https://flashslides.com/api/v1/presentations/the-history-of-the-printing-press-x1y2z3/export/pptx \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FLASHSLIDES_API_KEY"

DELETE /api/v1/presentations/:slug

Permanently delete one of your presentations.

curl -X DELETE https://flashslides.com/api/v1/presentations/the-history-of-the-printing-press-x1y2z3 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FLASHSLIDES_API_KEY"

{ "deleted": true, "slug": "the-history-of-the-printing-press-x1y2z3" }

MCP server

FlashSlides runs a remote Model Context Protocol server so AI assistants can create and export decks for you. It uses Streamable HTTP and the same API key.

Server URL: https://flashslides.com/mcp

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http flashslides https://flashslides.com/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer fs_live_your_key_here"

Claude Desktop

Add this to claude_desktop_config.json (Settings → Developer → Edit Config). It uses mcp-remote to pass your key as a header, which needs Node.js installed. Restart Claude Desktop afterwards.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "flashslides": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://flashslides.com/mcp", "--header", "Authorization:${FLASHSLIDES_AUTH}"],
      "env": { "FLASHSLIDES_AUTH": "Bearer fs_live_your_key_here" }
    }
  }
}

Cursor

Add this to ~/.cursor/mcp.json (or .cursor/mcp.json in a project):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "flashslides": {
      "url": "https://flashslides.com/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer fs_live_your_key_here" }
    }
  }
}

Other clients that support Streamable HTTP with custom headers can use the same URL and header.

Tools

Try asking your assistant: "Make an 8-slide FlashSlides deck about photosynthesis for a 10th grade class and give me the PowerPoint."

Need help?

Questions or feature requests? Contact us.