Check Claude Code

Installation

Prerequisites

Before installing Academic Writing Skills, ensure you have:

1. Claude Code CLI: The official Claude Code command-line interface
2. LaTeX Distribution: A working LaTeX installation
   • macOS: MacTeX
   • Windows: MiKTeX or TeX Live
   • Linux: TeX Live (via package manager)
3. Python 3.8+: Required for skill scripts

Verifying Prerequisites

# Check Claude Code
claude --version

# Check LaTeX
pdflatex --version
xelatex --version

# Check Python
python --version  # or python3 --version

Installation Methods

There are two ways to install these skills: using skilks (recommended) or manual installation.

Method 1: Using skilks (Recommended)

You can easily install these skills using skilks, a community skill manager for Claude Code:

# Install specific skill
npx skilks add github.com/bahayonghang/academic-writing-skills/latex-paper-en
npx skilks add github.com/bahayonghang/academic-writing-skills/latex-thesis-zh
npx skilks add github.com/bahayonghang/academic-writing-skills/typst-paper

# Or install all skills at once
npx skilks add github.com/bahayonghang/academic-writing-skills

Method 2: Manual Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/bahayonghang/academic-writing-skills.git
   cd academic-writing-skills
   

2. Copy skills to Claude Code's skills directory:

Linux / macOS

# Create skills directory (if not exists)
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills

# Copy skill folders
cp -r latex-paper-en ~/.claude/skills/
cp -r latex-thesis-zh ~/.claude/skills/
cp -r typst-paper ~/.claude/skills/

Windows (PowerShell)

# Create skills directory (if not exists)
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path "$env:USERPROFILE/.claude/skills" -Force

# Copy skill folders
Copy-Item -Recurse "latex-paper-en" "$env:USERPROFILE/.claude/skills/"
Copy-Item -Recurse "latex-thesis-zh" "$env:USERPROFILE/.claude/skills/"
Copy-Item -Recurse "typst-paper" "$env:USERPROFILE/.claude/skills/"

Verifying Installation

After installation, verify the skills are available by checking the directory:

# Linux / macOS
ls ~/.claude/skills/

# Windows (PowerShell)
Get-ChildItem "$env:USERPROFILE/.claude/skills"

# You should see:
# - latex-paper-en
# - latex-thesis-zh
# - typst-paper

Installing Optional Dependencies

ChkTeX (Recommended)

ChkTeX provides LaTeX format checking:

# macOS (via Homebrew)
brew install chktex

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install chktex

# Windows (via MiKTeX)
mpm --install=chktex

latexmk (Recommended)

latexmk automates LaTeX compilation with dependency tracking:

# Usually included with TeX Live/MacTeX
# If not available:

# macOS (via Homebrew)
brew install latexmk

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install latexmk

# Windows
# Included with MiKTeX and TeX Live

Biber (For Modern Bibliography)

Biber is the modern BibLaTeX backend:

# Usually included with TeX Live/MacTeX
# If not available:

# macOS (via Homebrew)
brew install biber

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install biber

# Windows
# Included with MiKTeX and TeX Live

Configuration

LaTeX Compiler Priority

The skills will automatically detect and use available compilers in this order:

For English Papers (latex-paper-en):

1. pdfLaTeX (recommended for English-only papers)
2. XeLaTeX (for Unicode/international characters)
3. LuaLaTeX (alternative to XeLaTeX)

For Chinese Thesis (latex-thesis-zh):

1. XeLaTeX (recommended for Chinese documents)
2. LuaLaTeX (alternative for Chinese)
3. pdfLaTeX (not recommended for Chinese)

Custom Configuration

You can customize skill behavior by editing the skill files:

# Edit English paper skill configuration
nano ~/.claude/skills/latex-paper-en/SKILL.md

# Edit Chinese thesis skill configuration
nano ~/.claude/skills/latex-thesis-zh/SKILL.md

Updating

To update to the latest version, re-clone the repository and copy the skill folders again:

git clone https://github.com/bahayonghang/academic-writing-skills.git
cd academic-writing-skills

# Then copy skills using the commands above for your platform

Uninstalling

To remove the skills:

Linux / macOS

rm -rf ~/.claude/skills/latex-paper-en
rm -rf ~/.claude/skills/latex-thesis-zh

Windows (PowerShell)

Remove-Item -Recurse -Force "$env:USERPROFILE/.claude/skills/latex-paper-en"
Remove-Item -Recurse -Force "$env:USERPROFILE/.claude/skills/latex-thesis-zh"

Troubleshooting

"LaTeX not found" error

Problem: Compilation fails with "command not found: pdflatex"

Solution:

1. Verify LaTeX is installed: which pdflatex
2. Add LaTeX to your PATH:

   # macOS (MacTeX)
   export PATH="/usr/local/texlive/2024/bin/universal-darwin:$PATH"
   
   # Linux (TeX Live)
   export PATH="/usr/local/texlive/2024/bin/x86_64-linux:$PATH"
   

"Python not found" error

Problem: Skill scripts fail with "python: command not found"

Solution:

1. Install Python 3.8+
2. Create a symlink: ln -s /usr/bin/python3 /usr/local/bin/python
3. Or use python3 explicitly in skill scripts

Permission denied errors

Problem: Installation fails with "permission denied"

Solution:

# Fix permissions
chmod -R 755 ~/.claude/skills/

# Or use sudo for system-wide installation
sudo claude skill install ...

Next Steps

• Quick Start Guide - Get started in minutes
• Usage Guide - Learn how to use the skills
• Skills Overview - Understand available skills and workflows

Getting Help

• Documentation: Browse this site for guides and references
• GitHub Issues: Report bugs or request features
• Community: Join discussions on GitHub