ARPAHLS · rosspeili · Sep 16, 2026 · Sep 4, 2026 · Sep 4, 2026 · Sep 6, 2026
diff --git a/.skillware.yaml.example b/.skillware.yaml.example
@@ -102,3 +102,35 @@ legacy:
 #           task_id: host.task_id
 #           current_token_count: host.current_token_count
 #           max_allowed_tokens: host.max_allowed_tokens
+#   deck_build_pipeline:
+#     description: Validate, lint, and render a deck_spec from host variables.
+#     when: Automated pipeline generating and quality-checking presentations.
+#     steps:
+#       - id: validate
+#         skill: creative/deck_builder
+#         params:
+#           action: validate_spec
+#           strict: true
+#         input_from:
+#           deck_spec: host.deck_spec
+#       - id: lint
+#         skill: creative/deck_builder
+#         when:
+#           prior_step: validate
+#           field: valid
+#           equals: true
+#         params:
+#           action: lint_deck
+#           min_score: 70
+#         input_from:
+#           deck_spec: host.deck_spec
+#       - skill: creative/deck_builder
+#         when:
+#           prior_step: lint
+#           field: passed
+#           equals: true
+#         params:
+#           action: render
+#         input_from:
+#           deck_spec: host.deck_spec
+#           output_path: host.output_path
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@ Contributors add user-facing entries under `[Unreleased]` in the same PR. Mainta
 - **Core:** `SkillLoader.to_bedrock_tool()` for AWS Bedrock Converse tool-use API — maps manifest parameters to `toolSpec` / `inputSchema.json` (#262).
 - **Docs:** Enterprise cloud usage guides — [enterprise_cloud.md](docs/usage/enterprise_cloud.md) (hosting + adapter routing), [bedrock.md](docs/usage/bedrock.md), [azure_openai.md](docs/usage/azure_openai.md), [vertex.md](docs/usage/vertex.md) (#262).
 - **Examples:** [`bedrock_tos_evaluator.py`](examples/bedrock_tos_evaluator.py) — Bedrock Converse loop with `to_bedrock_tool()` (#262).
+- **Skill (`creative/deck_builder` v0.2.0):** Enterprise presentation platform baseline — procedural Pillow placeholders, image fit policies, layouts (`timeline`, `metrics`, `comparison`), `lint_deck` quality gates, `suggest_outline` archetypes, governance ribbons/footers, and [`deck_builder_chain_demo.py`](examples/deck_builder_chain_demo.py) (#336, #337).
+- **Examples:** [`deck_builder_chain_demo.py`](examples/deck_builder_chain_demo.py) — `suggest_outline` → `bg_remover` → `lint_deck` → `render` via `SkillContext` (#337).
 
 ### Changed
 

diff --git a/docs/skills/README.md b/docs/skills/README.md
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ Skills for image processing, media editing, and creative utilities.
 | Skill | ID | Version | Issuer | Description |
 | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
 | **[Background Remover](bg_remover.md)** | `creative/bg_remover` | `0.2.0` (2 Aug 2026) | [@AyushSrivastava1818](https://github.com/AyushSrivastava1818) ([@ARPAHLS](https://github.com/ARPAHLS)) | Removes image backgrounds locally using rembg and returns transparent PNGs. |
-| **[Deck Builder](deck_builder.md)** | `creative/deck_builder` | `0.1.0` (3 Sep 2026) | [@tusharjamunkar](https://github.com/tusharjamunkar) ([@ARPAHLS](https://github.com/ARPAHLS)) | Deterministic PowerPoint (.pptx) presentation assembly from structured JSON deck specs. |
+| **[Deck Builder](deck_builder.md)** | `creative/deck_builder` | `0.2.0` (16 Sep 2026) | [@tusharjamunkar](https://github.com/tusharjamunkar) ([@ARPAHLS](https://github.com/ARPAHLS)) | Offline PPTX assembly from JSON deck specs — placeholders, lint_deck, suggest_outline, and 13 layouts. |
 
 ## Finance
 Tools for financial analysis, blockchain interaction, and regulatory compliance.

diff --git a/docs/skills/deck_builder.md b/docs/skills/deck_builder.md
@@ -3,24 +3,26 @@
 **ID**: `creative/deck_builder`  
 **Issuer**: [@tusharjamunkar](https://github.com/tusharjamunkar) ([@ARPAHLS](https://github.com/ARPAHLS))  
 <!-- skill-doc-meta:begin -->
-**Version**: `0.1.0`
+**Version**: `0.2.0` — 16 Sep 2026
 <!-- skill-doc-meta:end -->
 
 **Recommended install:** `pip install "skillware[creative_deck_builder]"`. See [Install extras](../usage/install_extras.md).  
 **Category**: Creative
 
 [Skill Library](README.md) · [Testing](../TESTING.md)
 
-Deterministic, offline assembly of Microsoft PowerPoint (`.pptx`) presentations from structured JSON deck specifications. Supports multi-slide layouts (title, section, bullets, two-column, image, image with caption, quote, table, chart, blank), custom theme token overrides, speaker notes, and pre-flight validation.
+Deterministic, offline assembly of Microsoft PowerPoint (`.pptx`) presentations from structured JSON deck specifications. Supports 13 slide layouts (title, section, bullets, two-column, image, image with caption, quote, table, chart, timeline, metrics, comparison, blank), smart image placeholders, `fit` policies, presentation quality linting (`lint_deck`), archetype outline generation (`suggest_outline`), custom theme token overrides, speaker notes, and pre-flight validation.
 
 ## Capabilities
 
 - **Deterministic Assembly**: Generates standard editable `.pptx` documents without remote network calls or image generation APIs.
-- **10 Layout Types**: Supports cover titles, section headers, bullet lists, two-column comparisons, images, image captions, pull-quotes, tables, native OpenXML charts (bar, line, pie), and blank canvases.
+- **13 Layout Types**: Supports cover titles, section headers, bullet lists, two-column comparisons, images, image captions, pull-quotes, tables, native OpenXML charts (bar, line, pie), milestone timelines, KPI metric cards, comparative matrices, and blank canvases.
+- **Smart Image Engine & Placeholders**: Normalizes images via Pillow (EXIF orientation, CMYK to RGB) with configurable `fit` policies (`contain`, `cover`, `crop_center`, `stretch`) and neutral offline placeholders (`hero`, `logo`, `icon`, `chart_backdrop`, `headshot`).
+- **Quality Gates (`lint_deck`)**: Heuristic deck scoring (0–100) assessing bullet density, text length caps, image alt tags, orphan bullets, and visual monotony.
+- **Archetype Outlines (`suggest_outline`)**: Offline template outline generator for `investor_pitch`, `technical_brief`, `quarterly_review`, `product_launch`, and `training_workshop`.
 - **Pre-flight Validation (`validate_spec`)**: Validates JSON specifications against strict JSON Schema and flags soft-limit warnings (e.g. text truncations, missing assets) before writing to disk.
 - **Widescreen 16:9 Templates**: Bundles 3 distinct master templates (`pitch_v1`, `corporate_v1`, `minimal_v1`) with configurable font and accent color tokens.
 - **Inspection (`inspect`)**: Examines existing `.pptx` files and extracts slide counts, layout hints, titles, and speaker notes presence.
-- **Asset Normalization**: Ingests local file paths or Base64 image payloads with Pillow validation and directory traversal defenses.
 
 ## Actions
 
@@ -30,6 +32,8 @@ Deterministic, offline assembly of Microsoft PowerPoint (`.pptx`) presentations
 | `render` | `deck_spec`, `output_path`, `template_id` *(optional)*, `theme` *(optional)*, `strict` *(optional)* | Assembles slides, applies theme tokens, inserts images/charts, writes `.pptx` to disk. |
 | `inspect` | `input_path` | Reads an existing `.pptx` presentation and returns slide counts, titles, layout names, and notes presence. |
 | `list_templates` | *(none)* | Enumerates bundled template IDs, names, descriptions, and aspect ratios. |
+| `lint_deck` | `deck_spec`, `min_score` *(optional)*, `strict_a11y` *(optional)* | Analyzes deck specification for presentation design and accessibility best practices. |
+| `suggest_outline` | `archetype`, `topic` *(optional)*, `constraints` *(optional)* | Generates a structured slide outline and skeleton `deck_spec` for an archetype. |
 
 ## Slide Layouts
 
@@ -39,11 +43,14 @@ Deterministic, offline assembly of Microsoft PowerPoint (`.pptx`) presentations
 | `section` | Section divider | `title`, optional `subtitle`, optional `speaker_notes` |
 | `bullets` | Bulleted takeaways | `title`, `bullets` (array of strings; >120 chars emits warning), `speaker_notes` |
 | `two_column` | Comparison / two-panel layout | `title`, `left` (text/bullets), `right` (text/bullets), `speaker_notes` |
-| `image` | Visual showcase | `title`, `image` (path or base64), optional `caption`, `speaker_notes` |
+| `image` | Visual showcase | `title`, `image` (path, base64, or placeholder_id), optional `caption`, `speaker_notes` |
 | `image_caption` | Image with side text | `title`, `image`, `body` (explanatory text), `speaker_notes` |
 | `quote` | Pull quote | `quote`, `attribution`, `speaker_notes` |
 | `table` | Tabular data grid | `title`, `columns`, `rows`, `speaker_notes` |
 | `chart` | Data visualization | `title`, `chart` (`kind`: `bar`/`line`/`pie`, `categories`, `series`), `speaker_notes` |
+| `timeline` | Milestone roadmap | `title`, `items` (array of `{date, title, description, status}`), `speaker_notes` |
+| `metrics` | KPI big numbers | `title`, `metrics` (array of `{value, label, delta, trend}`), `speaker_notes` |
+| `comparison` | Comparative cards | `title`, `left`, `right` (or `columns`), `speaker_notes` |
 | `blank` | Clean canvas | optional `speaker_notes` |
 
 ## Usage Examples
@@ -218,39 +225,43 @@ print(json.dumps(result, indent=2))
 
 ### Skill Chaining (with `creative/bg_remover`)
 
-Compose with other skills using host orchestration or `SkillContext` (see [Skill chaining](../usage/skill_chaining.md)). For example, remove backgrounds from brand logos or product photos with [`creative/bg_remover`](bg_remover.md) before passing the transparent PNG into `creative/deck_builder`:
+Compose with other skills using host orchestration or `SkillContext` (see [Skill chaining](../usage/skill_chaining.md)). For example, bootstrap an archetype outline, remove backgrounds from brand logos with [`creative/bg_remover`](bg_remover.md), evaluate deck quality gates (`lint_deck`), and assemble the final presentation (see full runnable script in [`examples/deck_builder_chain_demo.py`](../../examples/deck_builder_chain_demo.py)):
 
 ```python
 from skillware import SkillContext
 
 ctx = SkillContext(skills=["creative/bg_remover", "creative/deck_builder"])
 
-# Step 1: Strip background from raw logo or product image
-bg_res = ctx.execute("creative/bg_remover", {"input_path": "assets/raw_logo.jpg"})
-
-# Step 2: Assemble presentation using the transparent PNG
-deck_spec = {
-    "title": "Product Launch",
-    "template_id": "pitch_v1",
-    "slides": [
-        {
-            "type": "title",
-            "title": "Autonomous Infrastructure",
-            "subtitle": "Q4 Executive Review",
-            "image": {"base64": bg_res["image_base64"], "mime_type": "image/png"},
-        },
-        {
-            "type": "bullets",
-            "title": "Highlights",
-            "bullets": ["100% offline assembly", "Deterministic slide layout"],
-        },
-    ],
+# Step 1: Suggest outline via archetype
+outline = ctx.execute(
+    "creative/deck_builder",
+    {
+        "action": "suggest_outline",
+        "archetype": "product_launch",
+        "topic": "Skillware Autonomous Runtime",
+        "constraints": ["no pricing"],
+    },
+)
+deck_spec = outline["deck_spec_skeleton"]
+
+# Step 2: Strip background from brand mark
+bg_res = ctx.execute("creative/bg_remover", {"input_path": "assets/raw_logo.png"})
+deck_spec["slides"][0]["image"] = {
+    "base64": bg_res["image_base64"],
+    "mime_type": "image/png",
+    "fit": "contain",
 }
+
+# Step 3: Run presentation quality linting
+lint_res = ctx.execute("creative/deck_builder", {"action": "lint_deck", "deck_spec": deck_spec, "min_score": 80})
+assert lint_res["passed"] is True, f"Quality gate failed: score={lint_res['score']}"
+
+# Step 4: Render final presentation
 render_res = ctx.execute(
     "creative/deck_builder",
     {"action": "render", "deck_spec": deck_spec, "output_path": "launch_deck.pptx"},
 )
-print("Rendered:", render_res["output_path"], "with", render_res["slide_count"], "slides")
+print("Rendered:", render_res["output_path"], "with", render_res["slide_count"], "slides (score:", lint_res["score"], ")")
 ```
 
 ---
@@ -262,6 +273,7 @@ Commits that touched this skill bundle or its catalog page ([`creative/deck_buil
 
 | Commit | Description | Date | Version | Contributors |
 | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
+| _#337_ | feat(creative): deck_builder v0.2.0 baseline — placeholders, quality linting, archetypes, and new layouts (#336) | 16 Sep 2026 | `0.2.0` | [@tusharjamunkar](https://github.com/tusharjamunkar) |
 | [`790787d`](https://github.com/ARPAHLS/skillware/commit/790787d0e72262ddfeb26f747f880012ca2b1ca6) | docs: five-provider Usage Examples guard and catalog loop backfill (#347) | 10 Sep 2026 | `0.1.0` | [@rosspeili](https://github.com/rosspeili) |
 | [`1903f30`](https://github.com/ARPAHLS/skillware/commit/1903f30f32bd75567270058f3b255452d8bddd97) | feat(creative): add deck_builder skill for deterministic PPTX assembly (#276) (#331) | 4 Sep 2026 | `0.1.0` | [@tusharjamunkar](https://github.com/tusharjamunkar) |
 <!-- skill-history:end -->

diff --git a/docs/usage/agent_loops.md b/docs/usage/agent_loops.md
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ skills in one harness.
 | `security/prompt_injection_firewall` | `prompt_injection_firewall_demo.py`, `sanitize_input_chain_demo.py` (local execute) | (catalog page) | (catalog page) | (catalog page) | (catalog page) | (catalog page) |
 | `security/deceptive_ui_guard` | `deceptive_ui_guard_demo.py` (local execute) | (catalog page) | (catalog page) | (catalog page) | (catalog page) | (catalog page) |
 | `creative/bg_remover` | `bg_remover_demo.py` (local execute) | (catalog page) | (catalog page) | (catalog page) | (catalog page) | (catalog page) |
-| `creative/deck_builder` | `deck_builder_demo.py` (local execute) | (catalog page) | (catalog page) | (catalog page) | (catalog page) | (catalog page) |
+| `creative/deck_builder` | `deck_builder_demo.py`, `deck_builder_chain_demo.py` (local execute) | (catalog page) | (catalog page) | (catalog page) | (catalog page) | (catalog page) |
 | `optimization/prompt_rewriter` | `prompt_compression_demo.py`, `sanitize_input_chain_demo.py` (local execute) | (catalog page) | (catalog page) | (catalog page) | (catalog page) | `ollama_skills_test.py` (multi-skill) |
 | `data_engineering/synthetic_generator` | `build_dataset_demo.py` (local execute, Gemini backend) | (catalog page) | (catalog page) | (catalog page) | (catalog page) | (catalog page) |
 | `data_engineering/novelty_extractor` | `novelty_extractor_demo.py` (local execute) | `gemini_novelty_extractor.py` | (catalog page) | (catalog page) | (catalog page) | `ollama_novelty_extractor.py` |

diff --git a/examples/README.md b/examples/README.md
@@ -73,6 +73,7 @@ pip install -e ".[dev,all,agents]"
 | `uk_companies_house_handler_demo.py` | `finance/uk_companies_house_handler` | Local execute | `[finance_uk_companies_house_handler]` | None | Mocked v1.2.1 flows: composite, turn-by-turn run_pipeline, disambiguation resume, record truncation limits. |
 | `bg_remover_demo.py` | `creative/bg_remover` | Local execute | `[creative_bg_remover]` | None | Demonstrates offline background removal from a local image and optionally writes a transparent PNG. |
 | `deck_builder_demo.py` | `creative/deck_builder` | Local execute | `[creative_deck_builder]` | None | Demonstrates offline presentation assembly from JSON deck specs with charts, tables, bullets, and speaker notes. |
+| `deck_builder_chain_demo.py` | `creative/bg_remover`, `creative/deck_builder` | Local execute | `[creative_bg_remover]`, `[creative_deck_builder]` | None | Demonstrates SkillContext chaining for outline suggestion, transparent logo generation, deck linting, and final rendering. |
 | `semantic_web_proxy_demo.py` | `data_engineering/semantic_web_proxy` | Local execute | `[data_engineering_semantic_web_proxy]` | None | Demonstrates offline boilerplate stripping, opt-in comments, the JavaScript-render warning, and the SSRF guard using bundled fixture HTML. |
 | `gmail_handler_demo.py` | `office/gmail_handler` | Local execute | `[office_gmail_handler]` | None | Mocked resolve, preview/send gate, search, and read flow (no Gmail credentials). |
 | `gmail_signature_test_send.py` | `office/gmail_handler` | Local execute | `[office_gmail_handler]` | `GMAIL_ADDRESS`, `GMAIL_APP_PASSWORD`; run `skillware mail signature init` first | Preview or send one test message to verify plain + HTML signature. |

diff --git a/examples/deck_builder_chain_demo.py b/examples/deck_builder_chain_demo.py
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+"""Chain execution demo for creative/bg_remover and creative/deck_builder.
+
+Demonstrates host orchestration via SkillContext:
+1. Suggest deck outline via archetype (creative/deck_builder)
+2. Remove background from raw brand mark to produce transparent PNG (creative/bg_remover)
+3. Quality lint the presentation specification (creative/deck_builder)
+4. Render the final presentation to an editable .pptx (creative/deck_builder)
+Runs entirely offline without remote API keys.
+"""
+
+from pathlib import Path
+import tempfile
+from PIL import Image
+import io
+import base64
+
+from skillware import SkillContext
+
+
+def run_demo():
+    print("Loading SkillContext with creative/bg_remover and creative/deck_builder...")
+    ctx = SkillContext(skills=["creative/bg_remover", "creative/deck_builder"])
+
+    # Step 1: Suggest outline via archetype
+    print("\n=== Step 1: Suggest Outline via Archetype ===")
+    outline_res = ctx.execute(
+        "creative/deck_builder",
+        {
+            "action": "suggest_outline",
+            "archetype": "product_launch",
+            "topic": "Skillware Autonomous Runtime",
+            "constraints": ["no pricing"],
+        },
+    )
+    print(f"  archetype: {outline_res.get('archetype')}")
+    print(f"  recommended_slides: {outline_res.get('recommended_slide_count')}")
+    deck_spec = outline_res["deck_spec_skeleton"]
+
+    # Step 2: Background removal on brand mark
+    print("\n=== Step 2: Background Removal on Brand Mark ===")
+    sample_img_path = Path("examples/sample_input.png")
+    if sample_img_path.exists():
+        bg_res = ctx.execute(
+            "creative/bg_remover", {"input_path": str(sample_img_path)}
+        )
+        transparent_logo_b64 = bg_res.get("image_base64")
+        print(
+            f"  bg_remover processed {sample_img_path}: success={bg_res.get('success')}"
+        )
+    else:
+        print("  sample_input.png not present; using synthetic transparent brand asset")
+        logo_img = Image.new("RGBA", (120, 120), color=(110, 87, 224, 255))
+        buf = io.BytesIO()
+        logo_img.save(buf, format="PNG")
+        transparent_logo_b64 = base64.b64encode(buf.getvalue()).decode("utf-8")
+        print(f"  transparent_logo length: {len(transparent_logo_b64)} chars")
+
+    # Embed transparent logo into cover slide
+    deck_spec["slides"][0]["image"] = {
+        "base64": transparent_logo_b64,
+        "mime_type": "image/png",
+        "fit": "contain",
+    }
+
+    # Step 3: Lint deck specification
+    print("\n=== Step 3: Lint Deck Specification ===")
+    lint_res = ctx.execute(
+        "creative/deck_builder",
+        {
+            "action": "lint_deck",
+            "deck_spec": deck_spec,
+            "min_score": 70,
+        },
+    )
+    print(f"  lint_score: {lint_res.get('score')}/100")
+    print(f"  passed: {lint_res.get('passed')}")
+    print(f"  findings_count: {lint_res.get('findings_count')}")
+
+    # Step 4: Render final presentation
+    print("\n=== Step 4: Render Final Presentation ===")
+    with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmp_dir:
+        output_pptx = Path(tmp_dir) / "skillware_launch.pptx"
+        render_res = ctx.execute(
+            "creative/deck_builder",
+            {
+                "action": "render",
+                "deck_spec": deck_spec,
+                "output_path": str(output_pptx),
+            },
+        )
+        print(f"  render success: {render_res.get('success')}")
+        print(f"  output_path: {render_res.get('output_path')}")
+        print(f"  file_size_bytes: {render_res.get('file_size_bytes')}")
+        print(f"  rendered_slides: {len(render_res.get('slides', []))}")
+
+    print("\nChain demo complete.")
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    run_demo()