Direct Template Invocation with AI + Skills

What This Tutorial Teaches

You'll learn to use AI to directly call Presto templates, converting Markdown to Typst without opening the Presto application. Just say a sentence in Claude Code, and AI will automatically find the template, read the file, and perform the conversion.

• Estimated time: 15-20 minutes
• Final deliverable: Complete a Markdown -> Typst conversion using AI from the command line
• Prerequisites: Presto installed (with templates), Claude Code installed

Ready? Let's begin.

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Part 1: Install the Presto Skill

Claude Code's Skill mechanism enables AI to automatically recognize your intent and call the appropriate tool. We need to place the presto-convert Skill where Claude Code can read it.

Option 1: Install to Current Project (Recommended)

Best when you frequently use Presto conversion in a specific project:

mkdir -p .claude/skills/presto-convert
cp ~/Developer/Presto-io/Presto-doc/skills/presto-convert/SKILL.md \
   .claude/skills/presto-convert/SKILL.md

Option 2: Install to Global Directory

Best when you want to use it from any directory:

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/presto-convert
cp ~/Developer/Presto-io/Presto-doc/skills/presto-convert/SKILL.md \
   ~/.claude/skills/presto-convert/SKILL.md

Verify Installation

Open Claude Code and mention something related to Presto templates, like "Help me see what Presto templates are available." If AI recognizes the Skill and starts scanning the ~/.presto/templates/ directory, the installation was successful.

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Part 2: View Installed Templates

After installing the Skill, let's see which templates are available locally.

Conversation Replay

You: Help me see what Presto templates are installed locally?

AI: Let me scan your templates directory.

ls ~/.presto/templates/

You have the following templates installed:

Template Name	Directory
letter	~/.presto/templates/letter/
report	~/.presto/templates/report/

Let me check the detailed information for each template.

~/.presto/templates/letter/presto-template-letter --manifest

{
  "name": "letter",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "description": "Chinese business letter template",
  "author": "Presto"
}

~/.presto/templates/report/presto-template-report --manifest

{
  "name": "report",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "description": "Technical report template",
  "author": "Presto"
}

You have two templates:

• letter — Chinese business letter template
• report — Technical report template

Which template would you like to use for document conversion?

Verification Point

You should be able to see template names and descriptions. If the ~/.presto/templates/ directory is empty, it means no templates are installed yet. You'll need to install some through the Presto application first.

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Part 3: Convert Documents with AI

Now let's do a complete conversion. Let's say you have a Markdown file you want to convert to Typst.

Conversation Replay

You: Use the letter template to convert ./notes/meeting-2026-03.md to Typst

AI: Let me first check the contents of this file.

cat ./notes/meeting-2026-03.md

---
to: Manager Zhang
from: Li Ming
date: 2026-03-01
subject: Q1 Project Progress Report
---

Dear Manager Zhang,

The project has progressed smoothly this quarter. The following work has been completed:

1. Core module development completed
2. Passed security audit
3. Positive user testing feedback

Please review.

Content confirmed. Now converting with the letter template.

cat ./notes/meeting-2026-03.md | ~/.presto/templates/letter/presto-template-letter > ./notes/meeting-2026-03.typ

Conversion complete. The generated Typst file is saved at ./notes/meeting-2026-03.typ. Let me check the output:

cat ./notes/meeting-2026-03.typ

#import "@preview/letter:0.1.0": *

#show: letter.with(
  to: "Manager Zhang",
  from: "Li Ming",
  date: "2026-03-01",
  subject: "Q1 Project Progress Report",
)

Dear Manager Zhang,

The project has progressed smoothly this quarter. The following work has been completed:

+ Core module development completed
+ Passed security audit
+ Positive user testing feedback

Please review.

Typst source code generated. If you have the typst CLI installed locally, I can compile it further to PDF.

Verification Point

Check that the output .typ file exists and contains Typst-formatted code.

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Part 4: Advanced Usage

Now that you've mastered the basics, here are some practical tips.

Batch Convert Multiple Files

You: Convert all .md files in ./notes/ using the report template

AI will iterate through the directory and perform conversions one by one:

for f in ./notes/*.md; do
  cat "$f" | ~/.presto/templates/report/presto-template-report \
    > "${f%.md}.typ"
done

Specify Output Path

You: Convert draft.md using the letter template, output to ./output/draft.typ

AI will automatically create the directory and output to the specified location:

mkdir -p ./output
cat draft.md | ~/.presto/templates/letter/presto-template-letter \
  > ./output/draft.typ

View Template's Example Document

Want to know what format a template expects? Use --example to view:

~/.presto/templates/letter/presto-template-letter --example

This outputs a sample Markdown demonstrating the frontmatter fields and body structure that the template supports.

Compile to PDF

If you have the typst CLI installed, you can go straight to PDF in one step:

cat input.md | ~/.presto/templates/letter/presto-template-letter \
  | typst compile - output.pdf

Or do it in two steps:

# First convert to Typst
cat input.md | ~/.presto/templates/letter/presto-template-letter > output.typ
# Then compile to PDF
typst compile output.typ output.pdf

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Next Steps

This tutorial covered the complete workflow from installing the Skill to completing a conversion. Next, you can:

• Next tutorial: Auto-Adapt Content to Template Format with AI — Learn how to have AI automatically adjust document structure to match template requirements