Automate Presentation Generation with Python: 2Slides API Tutorial

Python is the go-to language for automation, data pipelines, and AI workflows. This tutorial shows you how to use the 2Slides REST API from Python to generate presentations automatically — from simple one-off slides to complex automated pipelines.

Prerequisites

pip install requests python-dotenv

Create a

file:

TWOSLIDES_API_KEY=sk-2slides-your-api-key

Quick Start: Generate Your First Slides

import os
import time
import requests
from dotenv import load_dotenv

load_dotenv()

API_KEY = os.getenv('TWOSLIDES_API_KEY')
BASE_URL = 'https://2slides.com/api/v1'
HEADERS = {
    'Authorization': f'Bearer {API_KEY}',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
}

def generate_slides(topic, theme_id=None, mode='async'):
    """Generate a presentation from a text topic."""
    payload = {
        'userInput': topic,
        'mode': mode,
        'responseLanguage': 'en',
        'resolution': '2K',
    }
    if theme_id:
        payload['themeId'] = theme_id

    response = requests.post(
        f'{BASE_URL}/slides/generate',
        headers=HEADERS,
        json=payload
    )
    response.raise_for_status()
    return response.json()

def wait_for_job(job_id, timeout=300, interval=3):
    """Poll until a job completes."""
    start = time.time()
    while time.time() - start < timeout:
        response = requests.get(
            f'{BASE_URL}/jobs/{job_id}',
            headers=HEADERS
        )
        data = response.json()
        status = data.get('status')
        print(f'  Job {job_id}: {status}')

        if status == 'success':
            return data
        if status == 'failed':
            raise Exception(f'Job failed: {data}')

        time.sleep(interval)
    raise TimeoutError(f'Job {job_id} timed out after {timeout}s')

# Generate a presentation
job = generate_slides('Top 10 AI Trends for 2026')
print(f'Job ID: {job["jobId"]}')

result = wait_for_job(job['jobId'])
print(f'Download: {result["downloadUrl"]}')

Convert Documents to Slides

def convert_file_to_slides(file_url, prompt='', theme_id=None):
    """Convert PDF, DOCX, XLSX, or other files to slides."""
    payload = {
        'fileUrl': file_url,
        'userInput': prompt,
        'mode': 'async'
    }
    if theme_id:
        payload['themeId'] = theme_id

    response = requests.post(
        f'{BASE_URL}/slides/create-pdf-slides',
        headers=HEADERS,
        json=payload
    )
    response.raise_for_status()
    job = response.json()
    return wait_for_job(job['jobId'])

# Convert a quarterly report PDF
result = convert_file_to_slides(
    file_url='https://your-storage.com/q1-report.pdf',
    prompt='Executive summary for the board, 10 slides max'
)
print(f'Download: {result["downloadUrl"]}')

Design-Matched Slides (Create Like This)

def create_like_this(topic, reference_image_url, resolution='2K'):
    """Generate slides matching a reference design."""
    payload = {
        'userInput': topic,
        'designStyle': {
            'global': {
                'referenceImageUrl': reference_image_url
            }
        },
        'resolution': resolution,
        'mode': 'async'
    }

    response = requests.post(
        f'{BASE_URL}/slides/create-like-this',
        headers=HEADERS,
        json=payload
    )
    response.raise_for_status()
    job = response.json()
    return wait_for_job(job['jobId'])

# Match your brand template
result = create_like_this(
    topic='Monthly Team Update — March 2026',
    reference_image_url='https://your-brand.com/slide-template.png'
)

Add Voice Narration

def add_narration(job_id, mode='single', voice='Charon', content_mode='concise'):
    """Add AI voice narration to existing slides."""
    payload = {
        'jobId': job_id,
        'mode': mode,
        'voice': voice,
        'contentMode': content_mode
    }

    response = requests.post(
        f'{BASE_URL}/slides/generate-narration',
        headers=HEADERS,
        json=payload
    )
    response.raise_for_status()
    return response.json()

def download_with_audio(job_id):
    """Download slides with voice audio files."""
    response = requests.post(
        f'{BASE_URL}/slides/download-slides-pages-voices',
        headers=HEADERS,
        json={'jobId': job_id}
    )
    response.raise_for_status()
    return response.json()

Browse Themes

def search_themes(query=''):
    """Search available slide themes."""
    params = {'query': query} if query else {}
    response = requests.get(
        f'{BASE_URL}/themes',
        headers=HEADERS,
        params=params
    )
    response.raise_for_status()
    return response.json()

themes = search_themes('corporate')
for theme in themes.get('themes', []):
    print(f"{theme['id']}: {theme['name']}")

Production Pipeline Example

"""
Automated weekly report pipeline.
Run via cron: 0 9 * * MON python weekly_report.py
"""

import json
from datetime import datetime

def weekly_report_pipeline():
    print(f'Generating weekly report: {datetime.now().isoformat()}')

    # 1. Generate slides
    job = generate_slides(
        topic='''Weekly Engineering Update — Week of March 23, 2026:
        - Deployed v2.4 to production (99.9% uptime)
        - 3 new API endpoints shipped
        - Performance: p99 latency down 40%
        - Sprint velocity: 42 story points (target: 40)
        - Next week: database migration, new auth system''',
        theme_id='corporate-standard-id'
    )

    result = wait_for_job(job['jobId'])
    print(f'Slides ready: {result["downloadUrl"]}')

    # 2. Add narration
    add_narration(job['jobId'], mode='single', voice='Kore')
    print('Narration added')

    # 3. Download package
    package = download_with_audio(job['jobId'])
    print(f'Full package: {json.dumps(package, indent=2)}')

    return result['downloadUrl']

if __name__ == '__main__':
    url = weekly_report_pipeline()
    print(f'\nReport URL: {url}')

Error Handling Best Practices

from requests.exceptions import HTTPError, Timeout, ConnectionError

def safe_generate(topic, retries=3):
    """Generate slides with retry logic."""
    for attempt in range(retries):
        try:
            job = generate_slides(topic)
            return wait_for_job(job['jobId'])
        except HTTPError as e:
            if e.response.status_code == 429:
                wait = 2 ** attempt * 5  # Exponential backoff
                print(f'Rate limited. Waiting {wait}s...')
                time.sleep(wait)
            elif e.response.status_code == 402:
                raise Exception('Insufficient credits')
            else:
                raise
        except (Timeout, ConnectionError) as e:
            print(f'Network error (attempt {attempt + 1}): {e}')
            time.sleep(5)
    raise Exception(f'Failed after {retries} retries')

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Python version is required?

Python 3.7+ for f-strings and

compatibility.

Can I use async Python (asyncio/aiohttp)?

Yes — replace

with for async HTTP calls. The polling pattern works the same way.

How do I handle large batch jobs?

Use asyncio to run multiple generations concurrently, respecting the rate limit (60 req/min).

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Start automating — get your 2Slides API key and generate presentations from Python.