Deck format (.deck.json)

A deck is described by a single .deck.json manifest: the slides it contains, where they sit on the grid, the edges between them, and any groups. Like all scrolly sources it is authored as JSON5 but kept on the .json extension, so tooling that defaults to *.json keeps working while you write the friendlier JSON5 superset.

Slides and positions

The manifest lists each slide and its grid position: [col, row]. Positions may be negative and need not start at the origin (see The 2D canvas). Each entry points at a .slide.json file described in Slide format.

Edges

Edges connect grid-neighboring slides to show the reader where they can navigate. Each edge names its endpoints; scrolly draws the connector in the deck map and the corresponding navigation arrow in slide view.

Groups

A group collects slides under a shared background color and a labeled tab in the deck map. A group has a label, the slide_ids it contains, and an optional color.

Label coloring

By default a group's label color is derived automatically from its background color for legibility — scrolly picks black or white by whichever gives the higher contrast against the background. This means that just setting a background gets you a readable label with no extra work.

When the automatic black-or-white choice isn't what you want — for example a tinted label that matches the group's hue — set label_color explicitly to override it. Both color and label_color accept the same hex forms (#RGB or #RRGGBB).

The complete manifest field list is in the Element schemas reference.