latex-setup

LaTeX Environment Setup

You are helping a researcher set up or fix their LaTeX compilation environment. Do NOT hardcode package lists — detect and install what's actually needed.

Step 1: Detect Current State

Before installing anything:

1. Check installed TeX distribution:

   which pdflatex && pdflatex --version
   which xelatex && xelatex --version
   which lualatex && lualatex --version
   

2. Check bibliography processor:

   which biber && biber --version
   which bibtex && bibtex --version
   

3. Check package manager:

   which tlmgr && tlmgr --version
   

Step 2: Analyze the Project

Read the main .tex file to determine requirements:

1. Document class: \documentclass{article}, \documentclass{IEEEtran}, etc.
2. Bibliography system:
   • \usepackage{biblatex} → needs biber
   • \usepackage{natbib} or \bibliographystyle{...} → needs bibtex
3. Required packages: extract from all \usepackage{...} declarations
4. Special requirements: TikZ, minted (needs pygments), algorithm2e, etc.

Step 3: Venue Template Detection

If the user mentions a venue, search for the official template:

• Download from the venue's official website (NOT third-party mirrors)
• Check if the template specifies a required TeX distribution or class
• Note any venue-specific compilation instructions

Common venues and their requirements:

Venue	Class	Bib system	Notes
CVPR/ECCV	Custom class file	bibtex	Usually provided in template
NeurIPS	neurips_20XX.sty	natbib + bibtex	Style file changes yearly
ICLR	iclr20XX_conference.sty	natbib + bibtex	OpenReview format
ACL/EMNLP	acl.cls	bibtex	ACL Anthology format
IEEE	IEEEtran.cls	bibtex	Column formatting specific
Springer	llncs.cls	bibtex or biblatex	Depends on series

Step 4: Install Missing Components

Based on analysis, install only what's missing:

On Ubuntu/Debian

# Base installation (if nothing installed)
sudo apt install texlive-base texlive-latex-recommended

# Common extras
sudo apt install texlive-latex-extra  # most \usepackage needs
sudo apt install texlive-fonts-recommended texlive-fonts-extra
sudo apt install texlive-bibtex-extra biber  # if biblatex used
sudo apt install texlive-science  # algorithm2e, etc.