# Focs Submission > Use when running the final pre-upload audit of a FOCS (IEEE Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science) submission — the April HotCRP deadline clock, the abstract-references-plus-ten-pages attention rule, the 11-point single-column format floor, PDF security restrictions, double-blind checks, and SIGACT publication-policy compliance. - Skill: `thedixitjain/focs-submission` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds add thedixitjain/focs-submission` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/thedixitjain/focs-submission/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Security - Author: thedixitjain (https://skillmd.com/u/thedixitjain) - Updated: 2026-09-08 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/thedixitjain/focs-submission --- # FOCS Submission Anchor cycle: FOCS 2026 (67th edition), submissions due Wednesday, April 1, 2026, 5:00 PM EDT — a US-Eastern wall clock equal to 21:00 UTC, not an anywhere-on-earth deadline — via `focs26.hotcrp.com` (CFP checked 2026-07-08; that deadline has passed, so this audit now serves the next cycle: reopen the live CFP before trusting any number here). ## What the 2026 CFP actually required | Requirement | 2026 wording (verify per cycle) | |---|---| | Length | No bound; full version encouraged as the submission | | Attention rule | Abstract + references + first **ten pages** guaranteed; the rest at the committee's discretion | | Typography | 11-point or larger font, single column, single-spaced with ample spacing, ≥1-inch margins, letter-size paper | | File | PDF **without security restrictions on copying or printing** | | Anonymity | Double-blind: no names/affiliations/emails, third-person self-references, acknowledgements omitted | | Publication policy | SIGACT rules: nothing published or scheduled before the conference month elsewhere; no simultaneous proceedings/journal submission | | Exceptions | Prior appearance in a venue with significantly different format/content/audience: contact the program chair **before** submitting | Note the guaranteed-read set: FOCS names the *references* as always-read material alongside the ten pages. Your bibliography is a reviewed object — stale, sloppy, or misattributed citations are visible even to the laziest reading (see `focs-related-work`). ## Mechanical pre-flight Run these on the exact PDF you will upload, not on a draft: ```bash # Page geometry and count of the guaranteed window pdfinfo submission.pdf | grep -E 'Pages|Page size' # letter = 612 x 792 pts # FOCS-specific: the CFP forbids copy/print security restrictions qpdf --show-encryption submission.pdf # want: "File is not encrypted" # Identity leakage in embedded metadata exiftool submission.pdf | grep -iE 'author|creator|company' # Self-reference sweep in the source grep -rn --include='*.tex' -iE '\b(we|our) (recent|previous|earlier|prior)\b|acknowledg|thank' . ``` The encryption check is easy to fail accidentally: some institutional PDF tooling and some print-to-PDF drivers stamp permission flags by default, and a restricted PDF violates the letter of the CFP. ## Deadline-week sequence 1. **T-7 days — content freeze.** No new theorems. Anything proved this week goes to the arXiv version later, not into the submission. 2. **T-5 days — window audit.** Confirm every result is stated by page ten and the technical overview reflects the proofs as they now exist. 3. **T-3 days — first upload.** HotCRP allows re-uploads until the deadline; an early upload converts a hard cliff into a soft one. Fill conflicts, topics, and co-author records now — PC conflict data affects assignment quality directly. 4. **T-1 day — blind and format pass** using the commands above, on the compiled final PDF. 5. **Deadline day — clock arithmetic.** 5 PM EDT is late evening in Europe and early morning in Asia; compute your local equivalent once, write it down, and stop trusting mental arithmetic under stress. ## HotCRP metadata is part of the submission Theory authors treat the web form as an afterthought; the committee's machinery does not. Three fields shape your paper's fate before anyone reads a word: - **Topics.** Assignment starts from your topic selections. Choosing only your micro-area starves the paper of breadth readers; choosing everything looks unserious. Pick the two or three areas whose reviewers you would actually want in the room. - **Conflicts.** Declare advisors, recent co-authors, and current-institution colleagues per the form's definitions. Under-declared conflicts discovered later can void a review cycle; over-declared conflicts (tagging everyone senior in the area) can be read as reviewer-shopping. - **Author records.** Complete them accurately even though the PDF is blind — the system uses them for conflict resolution, and errors are painful to repair after decisions. ## Policy traps specific to this venue - **The IEEE/SIGACT seam.** FOCS is an IEEE Computer Society (TCMF) event that enforces ACM SIGACT's publication policy. Authors who read only IEEE's generic submission rules miss the simultaneous-submission bar entirely. - **arXiv is safe, proceedings are not.** Posting the full version to arXiv or ECCC before submitting is normal community practice and does not violate the prior-publication rule; a workshop with *published proceedings* does. - **The invited-journal overlap.** If a journal version of a companion result is already in press with overlapping material, disclose to the chair before the deadline rather than hoping the overlap goes unnoticed. ## Readiness verdict ```text [FOCS submission audit] Window : all theorems stated by p.10 PASS/FAIL Format : 11pt+/single-column/1in/letter PASS/FAIL PDF : unencrypted, metadata clean PASS/FAIL Blind : third-person self-refs, no acks PASS/FAIL Policy : no simultaneous/prior publication PASS/FAIL HotCRP : conflicts, topics, authors complete PASS/FAIL Verdict : UPLOAD / FIX(ordered list) / CONSULT CHAIR ``` Any FAIL in the first three rows is fixable in hours; a policy FAIL is not fixable at all after upload — resolve those with the program chair first. --- **Source:** [`brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills`](https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills) → `FOCS-Skills/skills/focs-submission/SKILL.md`