latex-document

install

source · Clone the upstream repo

git clone https://github.com/ndpvt-web/latex-document-skill

Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/

git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/ndpvt-web/latex-document-skill ~/.claude/skills/ndpvt-web-latex-document-skill-latex-document

manifest: SKILL.md

source content

LaTeX Document Skill

Create any LaTeX document, compile to PDF, and generate PNG previews. Convert PDFs of any type to LaTeX.

Workflow: Create Documents

Determine document type (resume, report, letter, invoice, article, thesis, academic CV, presentation, poster, exam, book, cheat sheet)
If poster: Run the poster sub-workflow (see Poster Sub-Workflow below), then skip to step 5.
If cheat sheet / reference card: Run the cheat sheet sub-workflow (see Cheat Sheet / Reference Card Sub-Workflow below), then skip to step 5.
Ask the user which enrichment elements they want (use AskUserQuestion tool with multiSelect). Offer relevant options based on document type:
- AI-generated images -- custom illustrations, diagrams, photos (uses generate-image skill)
- Charts/graphs -- bar, line, pie, scatter, heatmap (pgfplots or matplotlib)
- Flowcharts/diagrams -- process flows, architecture, decision trees (TikZ or Mermaid)
- Citations/bibliography -- academic references, footnotes, works cited (BibTeX/biblatex)
- Tables with data -- comparison matrices, financial data, statistics (booktabs)
- Watermarks -- DRAFT, CONFIDENTIAL, or company logo background
- Skip this step for simple documents (cover letters, invoices) or when the user has already specified exactly what they want.
Copy the appropriate template from
```
assets/templates/
```
or write from scratch
Customize content based on user requirements

Generate external assets based on user's element choices:

AI images:

python3 <skill_path>/../generate-image/scripts/generate_image.py "prompt" --output ./outputs/figure.png

matplotlib charts:

python3 <skill_path>/scripts/generate_chart.py <type> --data '<json>' --output chart.png

Mermaid diagrams:

bash <skill_path>/scripts/mermaid_to_image.sh diagram.mmd output.png

For documents 5+ pages: Review the Long-Form Document Anti-Patterns section and run the Content Generation Checklist before compiling. Key rules: prefer prose over bullets, include global list compaction, escape
```
<
```
/
```
>
```
in text mode, vary section formats, limit
```
\newpage
```
, size images at 0.75-0.85 textwidth.
Compile with
```
scripts/compile_latex.sh
```
(auto-detects XeLaTeX for CJK/RTL, glossaries, bibliography)
Show PNG preview to user, deliver PDF

Poster Sub-Workflow

When the user requests a poster: read references/poster-design-guide.md for the complete workflow including conference size presets (NeurIPS/ICML/CVPR/ICLR dimensions), layout archetypes (Traditional/BetterPoster/Visual-Heavy), color schemes, and typography standards. Use

poster.tex

(portrait) or

poster-landscape.tex

(landscape). Ask the user for conference/orientation, layout style, and color scheme using AskUserQuestion, then proceed to step 5.

Cheat Sheet / Reference Card Sub-Workflow

When the user requests a cheat sheet, reference card, or formula sheet:

Read references/cheatsheet-guide.md for the complete workflow including template selection, content budgets, typography rules, and the PDF-to-cheatsheet pipeline.
Select template:
```
cheatsheet.tex
```
(general, 3-col landscape),
```
cheatsheet-exam.tex
```
(exam formula, 2-col portrait), or
```
cheatsheet-code.tex
```
(programming, 4-col landscape).
Follow the guide's workflow steps, then return to main workflow step 5.

Workflow: Mail Merge (Batch Personalized Documents)

Generate N personalized documents from a LaTeX template + CSV/JSON data source using

scripts/mail_merge.py

. Template syntax:

{{variable}}

for simple substitution, Jinja2 (

<< >>

<% %>

) for conditionals/loops. See

assets/templates/mail-merge-letter.tex

for an example. Full guide: references/interactive-features.md.

Workflow: Version Diffing (latexdiff)

Generate highlighted change-tracked PDFs using

scripts/latex_diff.sh

. Supports file-to-file diff, git revision diff, multi-file flatten, and custom markup styles. Full guide: references/interactive-features.md.

Workflow: Convert Document Formats

Convert between Markdown, DOCX, HTML, and LaTeX using

scripts/convert_document.sh

. Full guide: references/format-conversion.md.

Workflow: Convert PDF to LaTeX

Convert existing PDFs (handwritten notes, printed reports, legal docs) to LaTeX. Full pipeline: references/pdf-conversion.md.

Quick steps: Split PDF into page images (

scripts/pdf_to_images.sh

), select a conversion profile, create shared preamble, apply scaling strategy, validate with

scripts/validate_latex.py

, concatenate, compile.

Scaling strategy: 1-10 pages = single agent; 11-20 pages = split in half (2 agents); 21+ pages = batch-7 pipeline (ceil(N/7) agents with

run_in_background: true

Conversion profiles (in

references/profiles/

math-notes.md

(equations, theorems -- has beautiful mode),

business-document.md

(reports, memos),

legal-document.md

(contracts, statutes),

general-notes.md

(handwritten, mixed content).

Workflow: Fill PDF Forms

Fill existing PDF forms -- both fillable (with form fields) and non-fillable (image-based). Full guide: references/pdf-operations.md.

Step 1: Check form type:

python3 <skill_path>/scripts/pdf_check_form.py form.pdf

If fillable (has form fields):

# Extract field metadata
python3 <skill_path>/scripts/pdf_extract_fields.py form.pdf field_info.json
# Create field_values.json with values for each field, then fill
python3 <skill_path>/scripts/pdf_fill_form.py form.pdf field_values.json output.pdf

If non-fillable (no form fields):

# Convert to images for visual analysis
bash <skill_path>/scripts/pdf_to_images.sh form.pdf ./tmp/pages
# Visually identify fields, create fields.json with bounding boxes
# Validate bounding boxes (+ optional validation image)
python3 <skill_path>/scripts/pdf_validate_boxes.py fields.json --image page_1.png --output validation.png --page 1
# Fill with text annotations
python3 <skill_path>/scripts/pdf_fill_annotations.py form.pdf fields.json output.pdf

Workflow: Advanced PDF Operations

For text/table extraction (pdfplumber), OCR (pytesseract), programmatic PDF creation (reportlab), watermarking, page rotation/cropping, metadata extraction, JavaScript libraries (pdf-lib, pdfjs-dist), and batch processing, see references/pdf-operations.md.

Compile Script

# Basic compile (auto-detects engine)
bash <skill_path>/scripts/compile_latex.sh document.tex

# Compile + generate PNG previews
bash <skill_path>/scripts/compile_latex.sh document.tex --preview

# Compile + PNG in specific directory
bash <skill_path>/scripts/compile_latex.sh document.tex --preview --preview-dir ./outputs

# Force a specific engine
bash <skill_path>/scripts/compile_latex.sh document.tex --engine xelatex
bash <skill_path>/scripts/compile_latex.sh document.tex --engine lualatex

# Use latexmk for automatic multi-pass (recommended for complex documents)
bash <skill_path>/scripts/compile_latex.sh document.tex --use-latexmk --preview

# PDF/A output for thesis submissions and archival compliance
bash <skill_path>/scripts/compile_latex.sh document.tex --pdfa

# Verbose output for debugging compilation issues
bash <skill_path>/scripts/compile_latex.sh document.tex --verbose

# Quiet mode for batch/CI jobs (only errors shown)
bash <skill_path>/scripts/compile_latex.sh document.tex --quiet

# Clean auxiliary files only (no compilation)
bash <skill_path>/scripts/compile_latex.sh document.tex --clean

Compilation Flags

Flag	Description
`--preview`	Generate PNG previews of each page after compilation
`--preview-dir DIR`	Directory for PNG output (default: same as .tex file)
`--engine ENGINE`	Force engine: `pdflatex` , `xelatex` , or `lualatex`
`--use-latexmk`	Use `latexmk` as compilation backend (auto multi-pass, bibliography, index)
`--verbose`	Show full compilation output (all engine logs)
`--quiet`	Suppress all non-error output
`--clean`	Remove auxiliary files (.aux, .log, .bbl, .fdb_latexmk, etc.) and exit
`--pdfa`	Produce PDF/A-2b compliant output (auto-injects `pdfx` package)
`--auto-fix`	Auto-fix common compilation errors (float placement, encoding)

Compilation Backends

Manual multi-pass (default): Runs the engine multiple times with bibliography/index/glossary passes as needed. This is the traditional approach and works without

latexmk

installed.

latexmk (

--use-latexmk

): Uses

latexmk

for automatic dependency-driven compilation. Recommended for complex documents with bibliographies, indexes, glossaries, or cross-references -- latexmk determines the correct number of passes automatically. Requires

latexmk

(included with TeX Live).

Log Filtering (texfot)

When

texfot

is installed (included with TeX Live), compilation output is automatically filtered to show only relevant warnings and errors, suppressing noisy package loading messages. This applies in the default verbosity mode. Use

--verbose

to see unfiltered output, or

--quiet

to suppress all non-error output.

Engine auto-detection: If the .tex file uses

fontspec

xeCJK

, or

polyglossia

, the script automatically uses

xelatex

. If it uses

luacode

luatextra

, it uses

lualatex

. Otherwise defaults to

pdflatex

. Override with

--engine

The script auto-installs

texlive

(including

texlive-science

texlive-xetex

texlive-luatex

biber

) and

poppler-utils

if missing. It auto-detects

\bibliography{}

(runs bibtex),

\addbibresource{}

(runs biber),

\makeindex

(runs makeindex),

\makeglossaries

(runs makeglossaries), runs the correct number of passes, generates PNG previews with

pdftoppm

, and cleans auxiliary files.

Script & Tool Reference

For PDF utilities (encrypt, merge, optimize, extract pages, pdf-to-images), LaTeX quality tools (lint, word count, analysis, package check, citations), compilation auto-fix, bibliography fetching, and diagram scripts (Mermaid, Graphviz, PlantUML), see references/script-tools.md.

Templates

Copy from

assets/templates/

and customize.

Resume Templates (5 ATS-Compatible Options)

Select based on experience level, industry, and ATS requirements. See references/resume-ats-guide.md for full ATS guidance.

Template	Best For	Key Feature	ATS Score
`resume-classic-ats.tex`	Finance, law, government, any ATS portal	Zero graphics, plain text only, maximum parse safety	10/10
`resume-modern-professional.tex`	Tech, corporate, general professional	Subtle color accents, clean design, good ATS + human appeal	9/10
`resume-executive.tex`	VP, Director, C-suite (5-15+ years)	Two-page, executive summary, board roles, P&L focus	9/10
`resume-technical.tex`	Software, data, engineering roles	Skills-first hybrid, projects section, tech stack emphasis	9/10
`resume-entry-level.tex`	New graduates, career starters	Education-first, one page, coursework, activities	9/10

All 5 templates follow ATS rules: single-column, no graphics/images, no tables for layout, standard section headings, contact info in body (not header/footer).

STEM Student Templates

homework.tex
-- Homework/assignment submission template (
```
article
```
class, 11pt) with toggle-able solutions (
```
\showsolutionstrue
```
/
```
\showsolutionsfalse
```
), custom problem/solution environments, honor code section,
```
fancyhdr
```
headers,
```
amsmath
```
+
```
amssymb
```
+
```
amsthm
```
math,
```
listings
```
code highlighting (Python, Java, C++, Matlab styles),
```
enumitem
```
for (a), (b), (c) sub-parts,
```
hyperref
```
. Customization via
```
\coursename
```
,
```
\assignmentnumber
```
,
```
\studentname
```
,
```
\studentid
```
,
```
\duedate
```
. Example problems: calculus, proof by induction, Python coding, matrix algebra, kinematics, Java OOP.
lab-report.tex
-- STEM lab report template (
```
article
```
class, 11pt) with
```
siunitx
```
for uncertainties and SI units,
```
pgfplots
```
for data visualization,
```
booktabs
```
for professional tables,
```
amsmath
```
for equations,
```
fancyhdr
```
headers,
```
caption
```
+
```
subcaption
```
for figures. Structured sections: abstract, theory, procedure, data/results (with uncertainty tables), analysis (pgfplots graphs), discussion (error analysis), conclusion, references, appendix. Example: pendulum period measurement with error propagation.

Other Templates

lecture-notes.tex
-- Beautiful lecture notes (
```
scrartcl
```
KOMA-Script class) with Palatino font,
```
microtype
```
typography, color-coded
```
tcolorbox
```
theorem environments (blue theorems, green definitions, orange examples, purple remarks), TikZ graph theory diagram styles and macros (
```
\CompleteGraph
```
,
```
\CycleGraph
```
,
```
\PathGraph
```
), styled section headings with
```
titlesec
```
,
```
fancyhdr
```
headers,
```
hyperref
```
+
```
cleveref
```
navigation. Ideal for converting handwritten math/science notes to beautiful PDFs. Includes graph theory custom commands (
```
\V
```
,
```
\E
```
,
```
\deg
```
,
```
\chr
```
). Used by the math-notes conversion profile in beautiful mode.
thesis.tex
-- Thesis/dissertation (
```
book
```
class) with title page, declaration, abstract, acknowledgments, TOC, list of figures/tables, chapters, appendices, bibliography. Front matter uses roman numerals, main matter uses arabic. Includes theorem environments.
academic-cv.tex
-- Multi-page academic CV with publications (journal/conference/preprint sections), grants and funding, teaching, advising (current/graduated students), awards, professional service, invited talks. ORCID and Google Scholar links.
book.tex
-- Full book (
```
book
```
class) with half-title, title page, copyright page, dedication, preface, acknowledgments, TOC, list of figures/tables, parts, chapters, appendix, bibliography, index. Custom chapter headings, epigraphs, fancyhdr, microtype.
poster.tex
-- Conference poster (
```
tikzposter
```
class, A0 portrait) with 2-column layout, QR code, 5 color schemes, tikzfigure charts, tables, coloredbox highlights. Includes commented #BetterPoster layout variant (central billboard + sidebars). Portrait is standard for most conferences. See poster design guide for conference size presets.
poster-landscape.tex
-- Landscape conference poster (
```
tikzposter
```
class, A0 landscape) with 3-column (30/40/30) layout, QR code, tech purple color scheme. For CS/ML conferences (NeurIPS, ICML, CVPR, ICLR). Includes commented
```
\geometry{}
```
presets for CVPR/NeurIPS custom sizes.
cheatsheet.tex
-- General reference card (
```
extarticle
```
class, landscape A4, 7pt base font) with 3-column
```
multicols
```
layout,
```
tcolorbox
```
colored section boxes, tight spacing. For command references, concept summaries, quick-reference guides. Supports front+back printing.
cheatsheet-exam.tex
-- Exam formula sheet (
```
extarticle
```
class, portrait A4, 6pt base font) with 2-column layout, maximum content density, black-and-white printer-safe. For university exam "allowed cheat sheets" with formulas, theorems, definitions. Optimized for single-sided printing.
cheatsheet-code.tex
-- Programming reference card (
```
extarticle
```
class, landscape A4, 7pt base font) with 4-column layout,
```
minted
```
syntax highlighting, monospace font emphasis. For language syntax, API reference, CLI commands, keyboard shortcuts.
letter.tex
-- Formal business letter with colored letterhead bar, TikZ logo placeholder, company info, recipient block, date, subject line, signature. Professional corporate appearance.
exam.tex
-- Exam/quiz (
```
exam
```
class) with grading table, multiple question types (multiple choice, true/false, fill-in-blank, matching, short answer, essay), point values, solution toggle via
```
\printanswers
```
.
report.tex
-- Business report with TOC, headers/footers, data tables, bar chart (pgfplots), process flowchart (TikZ), recommendations
cover-letter.tex
-- Professional cover letter with sender/recipient blocks
invoice.tex
-- Invoice with company header, line items table, subtotal/tax/total
academic-paper.tex
-- Research paper with abstract, sections, bibliography, figures. Includes example
```
.bib
```
file (
```
references.bib
```
) for BibTeX citations.
presentation.tex
-- Beamer presentation with title slide, content frames, columns
fillable-form.tex
-- Fillable PDF form (
```
article
```
class) with hyperref form fields: text inputs, checkboxes, radio buttons, dropdowns, push buttons. Two-column layout with
```
tabularx
```
. Custom
```
\FormField
```
,
```
\FormCheck
```
,
```
\FormDropdown
```
helper commands. Requires Adobe Reader for full form support (browser PDF viewers have limited form capabilities).
conditional-document.tex
-- Configurable document (
```
article
```
class) with etoolbox toggle system: show/hide TOC, appendix, watermark, draft mode, confidential marking, abstract. Template variables via
```
\providecommand
```
(title, author, org, version). Three visual profiles (corporate, academic, minimal). Supports command-line variable passing for CI/CD.
mail-merge-letter.tex
-- Mail merge letter template with
```
{{variable}}
```
placeholders for use with
```
scripts/mail_merge.py
```
. Company-branded letterhead, recipient address block, body text with data-driven personalization. Pair with CSV/JSON data source.
resume.tex
-- Legacy resume template (has photo area and tables -- not ATS-optimized)

Usage:

cp <skill_path>/assets/templates/resume-classic-ats.tex ./outputs/my_resume.tex
# Edit content, then compile
bash <skill_path>/scripts/compile_latex.sh ./outputs/my_resume.tex --preview --preview-dir ./outputs

Document Type Selection

User Request	Template	Document Class
Resume, CV (ATS-safe)	`resume-classic-ats.tex`	`article`
Resume (modern look)	`resume-modern-professional.tex`	`article`
Resume (senior/executive)	`resume-executive.tex`	`article`
Resume (technical/engineering)	`resume-technical.tex`	`article`
Resume (new graduate)	`resume-entry-level.tex`	`article`
Homework, assignment, problem set	`homework.tex`	`article`
Lab report, experiment writeup	`lab-report.tex`	`article`
Lecture notes, math notes (beautiful)	`lecture-notes.tex`	`scrartcl`
Thesis, dissertation	`thesis.tex`	`book`
Academic CV (publications, grants)	`academic-cv.tex`	`article`
Report, analysis	`report.tex`	`article`
Cover letter	`cover-letter.tex`	`article`
Invoice	`invoice.tex`	`article`
Academic paper	`academic-paper.tex` + `references.bib`	`article`
Book	`book.tex`	`book`
Scientific poster (portrait)	`poster.tex`	`tikzposter`
Scientific poster (landscape)	`poster-landscape.tex`	`tikzposter`
Cheat sheet, reference card	`cheatsheet.tex`	`extarticle`
Exam formula sheet, crib sheet	`cheatsheet-exam.tex`	`extarticle`
Programming reference card	`cheatsheet-code.tex`	`extarticle`
Formal business letter	`letter.tex`	`article`
Exam, quiz, test	`exam.tex`	`exam`
Slides, presentation	`presentation.tex`	`beamer`
Fillable PDF form	`fillable-form.tex`	`article`
Conditional/configurable document	`conditional-document.tex`	`article`
Mail merge, batch letters	`mail-merge-letter.tex` + `scripts/mail_merge.py`	`article`
Version diff (latexdiff)	Use `scripts/latex_diff.sh` + see interactive-features.md	varies
Convert PDF to LaTeX	Select profile + see pdf-conversion.md	varies
Convert formats	Use `scripts/convert_document.sh` + see format-conversion.md	varies
Mail merge from CSV/JSON	Use `scripts/mail_merge.py` + see interactive-features.md	varies

Key LaTeX Patterns

Escaping Special Characters

Always escape:

→

\%

→

\$

→

\&

→

\#

→

\_

Angle brackets in text mode:

and

are NOT valid in LaTeX text mode with T1 encoding. They render as inverted question marks (¡ or ¿). Always use math mode or text commands:

```
<5%
```
→
```
$<$5\%
```
or
```
\textless 5\%
```
```
>50
```
→
```
$>$50
```
or
```
\textgreater 50
```
```
<$300
```
→
```
$<$\$300
```
```
>=
```
→
```
$\geq$
```
,
```
<=
```
→
```
$\leq$
```

This is one of the most common silent errors in generated LaTeX — the document compiles without errors but the PDF shows garbage characters.

Date ranges use en-dash:

2019--2025

(double hyphen).

Standard Preamble

\documentclass[11pt,a4paper]{article}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
\usepackage{geometry}
\usepackage{hyperref}
\usepackage{xcolor}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage{tabularx}
\usepackage{colortbl}
\usepackage{enumitem}
\usepackage{titlesec}

Code Patterns (load as needed)

For ready-to-use LaTeX code snippets (tables, charts, flowcharts, bibliography, watermarks, landscape pages, multi-language, images, Mermaid diagrams, matplotlib charts, CSV tables, AI images, fillable forms, conditional content, mail merge, version diff), read references/code-patterns.md.

Visual Elements in Reports

When creating reports, use the enrichment elements the user selected in step 4. For the quick reference table of visual element tools (charts, flowcharts, AI images, tables, timelines) and sizing guidelines, see references/advanced-features.md. Use

\begin{figure}[H]

(from

float

package) to prevent figures from floating. Size TikZ diagrams with

width=0.8\textwidth

or smaller.

Reference Guides (load as needed)

When uncertain about LaTeX patterns, compilation issues, or document quality, consult this table and load relevant files.

Topic	File	When to Read
Long-Form Best Practices	long-form-best-practices.md	MUST READ for 5+ page documents: 9 anti-patterns, report preamble, content generation checklist
Code Patterns (LaTeX snippets)	code-patterns.md	Ready-to-use LaTeX code: tables, charts, flowcharts, bibliography, watermarks, landscape, multi-lang, images, forms, mail merge, diffs
Script & Tool Reference	script-tools.md	PDF utilities (encrypt, merge, optimize, extract), LaTeX quality tools (lint, wordcount, analysis), compilation auto-fix, bibliography, diagrams
Bibliography/Citations	bibliography-guide.md	BibTeX/biblatex, citation styles, .bib format
Advanced Features & Visual Elements	advanced-features.md	Watermarks, landscape, multi-lang, code, algorithms, tcolorbox, siunitx, advanced charts, AI images, visual elements reference table
Mermaid Diagrams	mermaid-diagrams.md	Flowcharts, sequence, class, ER, Gantt, pie, mindmap
Python Charts (matplotlib)	python-charts.md	Bar, line, scatter, pie, heatmap, box, histogram, area, radar
Format Conversion (Pandoc)	format-conversion.md	Markdown/DOCX/HTML to/from LaTeX
Tables and Images	tables-and-images.md	Colored rows, multi-row/column, booktabs, long tables, images, TikZ
Charts and Graphs (pgfplots)	charts-and-graphs.md	Line plots, bar charts, scatter plots, pie charts in pgfplots
LaTeX Packages	packages.md	Common packages reference
Poster Design Guide	poster-design-guide.md	Conference size presets, typography, color schemes, layout archetypes, content guidelines
Resume ATS Guide	resume-ats-guide.md	ATS rules, LaTeX pitfalls, keywords
PDF-to-LaTeX Pipeline	pdf-conversion.md	Full conversion pipeline, scaling strategy, worker agents, validation
Interactive Features	interactive-features.md	Fillable PDF forms, conditional content, mail merge from CSV/JSON, latexdiff version tracking
Cheat Sheet Design	cheatsheet-guide.md	Template selection, typography, density optimization, PDF-to-cheatsheet pipeline
PDF-to-Cheatsheet Prompts	pdf-extraction-prompts.md	LLM prompts for extraction stages: structure analysis, subject-specific extraction, compression, formatting
Visual Packages (TikZ)	visual-packages.md	24 installed TikZ/visualization packages with working examples
Graphviz & PlantUML	graphviz-plantuml.md	.dot to PDF/PNG, .puml to PDF/PNG, LaTeX integration
Debugging & Errors	debugging-guide.md	Reading LaTeX errors, 20 common errors, .log analysis, silent failures
Accessibility & PDF/A	accessibility-guide.md	PDF/A for thesis, PDF/UA for screen readers, tagged PDFs, alt text
Beamer Presentations	beamer-guide.md	Themes, overlays/animations, code slides, handouts, presenter notes
Font Selection	font-guide.md	Font families, fontspec, mathematical fonts, fontawesome5, microtype, CJK
Collaboration & CI/CD	collaboration-guide.md	Git for LaTeX, GitHub Actions, Docker, multi-author workflows
PDF Operations	pdf-operations.md	Form filling (fillable + non-fillable), text/table extraction (pdfplumber), OCR (pytesseract), programmatic PDF creation (reportlab), watermarking, rotation/cropping, metadata, JavaScript (pdf-lib, pdfjs-dist), batch processing, performance tips

Critical Notes and Common Mistakes

Compile & Output

Run compile script from the directory containing the .tex file, or use absolute paths
Place output .tex files in
```
./outputs/
```
for user visibility
After compilation, read the PNG preview files to show the user how the document looks
PNG previews require
```
poppler-utils
```
(auto-installed by script)

Package Dependency Errors (MUST READ)

These cause

Undefined control sequence

-- always include the required package:

If you use...	You MUST include	Error without it
`\rowcolor{}`	`\usepackage{colortbl}`	Undefined control sequence `\rowcolor`
`\url{}` in .bib with natbib	`\usepackage{url}`	Undefined control sequence `\url`
`\checkmark`	`\usepackage{amssymb}`	Undefined control sequence `\checkmark`
`\begin{figure}[H]`	`\usepackage{float}`	Unknown float option `H`
`\rowcolors{}{}{}`	`\usepackage[table]{xcolor}` or `\usepackage{colortbl}`	Undefined control sequence

hyperref Package

```
hyperref
```
is fine for normal documents (most templates use it).
Only avoid it in PDF-to-LaTeX converted documents with theorem environments, where it causes
```
\set@color
```
errors.

Compilation Environment

If texlive is not installed, the compile script auto-installs it. Do NOT run multiple compile commands in parallel before texlive is installed -- they will all try to install simultaneously, causing dpkg lock contention. Install once first or run compiles sequentially.
The compile script uses
```
-interaction=nonstopmode
```
(not
```
-halt-on-error
```
) to ensure PDFs are produced even with warnings. This is intentional -- many documents produce warnings on first pass that resolve on subsequent passes.
latexmk and texfot are included with TeX Live. The setup script (
```
setup.sh
```
) verifies their availability. latexmk is used when
```
--use-latexmk
```
is passed; texfot is used automatically when available (default verbosity mode).
A
```
.chktexrc
```
configuration file is included at the skill root to suppress common false positives when linting generated LaTeX documents. The
```
latex_lint.sh
```
script uses it automatically.

Long-Form Document Anti-Patterns

For documents 5+ pages (reports, theses, books), read references/long-form-best-practices.md for 9 critical anti-patterns, the report preamble best practices, and the content generation checklist. This is MUST-READ material before generating any long document.