latex

LaTeX Document Compilation

Default compilation skill for all LaTeX documents. Compiles with autonomous error detection and resolution (up to 5 iterations), runs a citation audit on clean builds, and produces a quality score.

When to Use

• Default method for all LaTeX compilation
• Any .tex file that should compile to PDF
• When compilation fails and you want automatic diagnosis and repair
• When you want a post-compilation citation audit

When NOT to Use

• Markdown documents — use plain markdown, not LaTeX
• Quick notes or drafts — LaTeX overhead not worth it
• Documents that don't need citations, equations, or precise formatting
• Documents with exotic custom classes that need manual debugging

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Quality Scoring

Apply numeric quality scoring using the shared framework and skill-specific rubric:

• Framework: ../shared/quality-scoring.md — severity tiers, thresholds, verdict rules
• Rubric: references/quality-rubric.md — issue-to-deduction mappings for this skill

Start at 100, deduct per issue found, apply verdict. Include the Score Block in the final report.

Critical Rules

1. Build artifacts go to out/, PDF stays in the source directory. Use this skill's fail-closed canonical bundle at templates/build-config/.latexmkrc; do not hand-write an END { system(...) } copy block because it can mask latexmk's failure status and copy stale PDFs. For VS Code builds, use the bundled canonical recipe that explicitly loads %DIR%/.latexmkrc—-cd alone is insufficient.
2. NEVER write BibTeX entries from memory. Verify against authoritative metadata sources such as Crossref or the DOI resolver before writing. Use an installed literature-search workflow when one is configured.
3. Check document class before adding packages. Some classes load packages internally (e.g., elsarticle loads natbib — adding \usepackage{natbib} causes errors).
4. Maximum 5 fix iterations. If the document still has errors after 5 auto-fix cycles, stop and report the unresolved errors to the user.
5. Never silently swallow errors. Every fix must be reported: what was wrong, what was changed, and which file was edited.
6. Preserve user intent. Auto-fixes should be minimal and conservative. Add packages or overrides — never remove user content.
7. Citation audit requires clean compilation. Only run the \cite{} vs .bib cross-check after zero errors.
8. Validate new bibliography entries. The built-in citation audit checks key cross-references. When .bib entries were added or modified, also check DOI resolution, required fields, author formatting, and whether a preprint has a published version. If a dedicated bibliography validator is installed, use it for this extended check; otherwise perform and report the direct checks.