latex

name: latex description: This skill should be used when the user asks to "create a LaTeX document", "convert markdown to LaTeX", "make a PDF from markdown", "format as LaTeX", "write LaTeX", or wants to produce beautifully typeset documents. Handles LaTeX generation from any input source with professional typography, and optionally compiles to PDF. allowed-tools: Read, Write, Bash(pdflatex:), Bash(xelatex:), Bash(lualatex:), Bash(latexmk:), Bash(biber:), Bash(bibtex:), Bash(which:), Bash(uname:)

LaTeX Document Creator

Create beautifully formatted LaTeX documents from any input source (markdown files, plain text, structured data, or user instructions). Produce professional-quality typeset output following modern LaTeX best practices.

Workflow

1. Analyze input - Read the source material, identify structure (headings, lists, tables, figures, math, code, citations)
2. Determine document class - Select appropriate class based on content type and length
3. Generate LaTeX - Produce a complete .tex file with proper preamble and body
4. Compile to PDF (if requested) - Detect platform and compile using latexmk

If the user provides additional formatting instructions, apply them. User instructions override defaults below.

Document Class Selection

Use KOMA-Script classes (scrartcl, scrreprt, scrbook) over standard classes for superior typography defaults and built-in customization.

Standard Preamble

Organize the preamble in this order. Include only packages the document actually needs.

\documentclass[a4paper, 11pt]{scrartcl}

% --- Typography ---
\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
\usepackage{lmodern}              % Clean, professional font
\usepackage{microtype}            % ESSENTIAL: character protrusion + font expansion

% --- Math (include only if document has math) ---
\usepackage{mathtools}            % Superset of amsmath with fixes
\usepackage{amssymb}

% --- Layout ---
\usepackage{geometry}

% --- Tables & Figures ---
\usepackage{booktabs}             % Professional table rules
\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage{caption}
\usepackage{subcaption}

% --- Lists ---
\usepackage{enumitem}

% --- Language & Quotes ---
\usepackage[english]{babel}
\usepackage{csquotes}

% --- Colors ---
\usepackage{xcolor}

% --- Code Listings (include only if document has code) ---
\usepackage{listings}

% --- Units (include only if document has quantities) ---
\usepackage{siunitx}

% --- Links & References (load near-last) ---
\usepackage{hyperref}
\hypersetup{
  colorlinks=true,
  linkcolor=blue!70!black,
  citecolor=green!50!black,
  urlcolor=blue!70!black,
}
\usepackage{cleveref}             % MUST be after hyperref

Package Notes

• microtype is non-negotiable for professional output - always include it
• mathtools loads amsmath automatically; never load both
• cleveref must load after hyperref
• hyperref should load near-last
• For bibliography: use biblatex with biber backend, not legacy bibtex/natbib

Typography Rules

Fonts

• Default: lmodern (Latin Modern) - clean, professional, widely available
• Alternative serif: libertinus, newtxtext/newtxmath (Times-like)
• For system fonts (Unicode): switch to LuaLaTeX with fontspec

Spacing and Punctuation

• En-dash for ranges: 2020--2025 renders as 2020–2025
• Em-dash for breaks: word---word renders as word—word
• Non-breaking space (~) before \cite, \cref, and between numbers and units
• Thin space before differentials: \int f(x) \, dx
• Use \enquote{} from csquotes for quotation marks, never manual quote characters
• Use \emph{} instead of \textit{} - semantic emphasis that adapts to context
• Use \dots for ellipses, never three periods

Sentence Spacing

• After abbreviations (not ending a sentence): e.g.\ this, i.e.\ that
• After a capital letter ending a sentence: NASA\@. The next sentence

Formatting Standards

Tables

• Always use booktabs: \toprule, \midrule, \bottomrule
• Never use vertical rules (|) or \hline
• Place table captions above the table
• Place figure captions below the figure

Figures

• Use \centering inside floats, not \begin{center}
• Default float placement: [htbp]
• Reference all figures in text before they appear

Cross-References

• Use \cref{} from cleveref - automatically produces "Figure 1", "Table 2", etc.
• Label prefixes: fig:, tab:, sec:, eq:, lst:
• Place \label immediately after \caption or \section

Lists

• Use enumitem for customization
• Avoid nesting deeper than 3 levels - restructure content instead

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Never use $$...$$ for display math - use \[...\] or equation environment
• Never use \\ for paragraph breaks - use a blank line
• Never use \begin{center} inside floats - use \centering
• Never place \label before \caption - produces wrong reference numbers
• Never hardcode reference numbers - always use \cref{}
• Never use bare function names in math - use \sin, \log, or \DeclareMathOperator
• Escape special characters: #, %, $, &, _, {, }

Markdown-to-LaTeX Conversion

When converting from markdown, apply these mappings:

Conversion Guidelines

• Infer document title from the first # heading or filename
• Infer \author and \date if present in the source, otherwise omit
• Preserve the semantic structure - do not flatten or over-nest headings
• Convert markdown tables to booktabs-styled tabular environments
• Escape all LaTeX special characters in text content
• For documents with chapters, promote heading levels (# → \chapter, ## → \section)

Compiling to PDF

When the user requests PDF output, detect the platform and compile.

Engine Selection

Using latexmk (Preferred)

latexmk automatically runs the correct number of passes for cross-references, bibliographies, and indices. Always prefer it over manual multi-pass compilation.

latexmk -pdf document.tex       # Compile to PDF (pdflatex)
latexmk -xelatex document.tex   # Compile with XeTeX
latexmk -lualatex document.tex  # Compile with LuaTeX
latexmk -c document.tex         # Clean auxiliary files (keep PDF)

Manual Compilation (When latexmk Is Unavailable)

# Simple document (no bibliography)
pdflatex document.tex && pdflatex document.tex

# Document with biblatex/biber bibliography
pdflatex document.tex && biber document && pdflatex document.tex && pdflatex document.tex

Platform-Specific Installation

If LaTeX tools are not installed or compilation fails due to missing packages, read the appropriate platform guide for installation instructions:

• Ubuntu/Debian: Read references/pdf-compilation-ubuntu.md
• macOS: Read references/pdf-compilation-macos.md

Detect the platform with uname -s (Linux or Darwin).

Package installation requires system permissions — present the installation command to the user and let them confirm before running sudo or brew commands.