How do I install the Compile Latex skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add brycewang-stanford/compile-latex-3 in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

What does the Compile Latex skill do?

Compile a LaTeX manuscript with pdflatex (3 passes + bibtex). Use when compiling the research paper. It is listed under Research & Search on SkillMD.

Is Compile Latex safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Capability flags: docs only. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Compile Latex?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Compile Latex free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Compile Latex?

brycewang-stanford (@brycewang-stanford) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Compile Latex by brycewang-stanford

Name: Compile Latex
Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Author: brycewang-stanford

File contents

Compile LaTeX Manuscript

Compile a LaTeX manuscript using the standard 3-pass sequence for full citation resolution.

Steps

Identify the file: Use $ARGUMENTS as the base name (without .tex). If no argument, look for the main .tex file in the paper folder.

Compile (from the paper folder):

pdflatex -interaction=nonstopmode $ARGUMENTS.tex
bibtex $ARGUMENTS
pdflatex -interaction=nonstopmode $ARGUMENTS.tex
pdflatex -interaction=nonstopmode $ARGUMENTS.tex

Check results:
- Grep for Overfull \\hbox warnings -- count them
- Grep for undefined citations or missing references
- Verify PDF was generated with non-zero size: ls -la $ARGUMENTS.pdf
- Report page count if pdfinfo is available
Report:
- Compilation: PASS / FAIL
- Warnings: N overfull hbox, N undefined citations
- PDF: exists, N pages, X KB

Notes

Uses pdflatex by default. Change to xelatex or lualatex if your project requires it.
The .bib file should be in the same directory or referenced with a relative path.
Parameter estimates loaded via \input{} must exist at their referenced paths.

Frequently asked questions

Compile Latex