md-to-tex

name	md-to-tex
description	Markdown to one LaTeX (.tex): one .md or several .md files (sections/chapters) combined into a single .tex. Pandoc-first when available; MCP LaTeX or manual skeleton as fallback. Triggers: md to tex, multiple md one tex, combine markdown latex, chapters md tex, pandoc merge md, outputs md bundle tex, foam detection md latex.
metadata	{"pattern":"pipeline","domain":"publishing","pairs_with":["mcp-latex","mermaid","mmdc","project-output-article","system-design-report-generator"]}
token_guardrails	- **One output .tex** per run unless the user names several output paths explicitly. - **Inputs:** either **one** `.md` or an **ordered list** of `.md` paths (sections) — confirm order before converting; do not merge unrelated folders without user confirmation. - **Do not** paste huge multi-file bodies into chat; read files incrementally or convert via shell **pandoc** on disk. - **Mermaid** is not auto-rendered to figures in LaTeX — see references (placeholder, verbatim, or **mmdc** + `\includegraphics`). - **Model truth** remains SysML / `outputs/*.md`; combined `.tex` is **derived**. - **UTF-8 encoding:** All input `.md` files must be UTF-8. When merging multiple `.md` files into one `.tex`, use Pandoc with explicit UTF-8: `pandoc -f utf-8 -t latex input1.md input2.md input3.md -o output.tex`. Check output for encoding corruption (e.g., `â†'` instead of `→`); if found, re-encode inputs.

Markdown → one LaTeX (.tex)

When: Export to one .tex from one Markdown file or from several Markdown files that represent sections/chapters (e.g. split outputs/ files).

Pipeline — single .md

1. Lock paths — Input file.md, output file.tex (or derive basename).

2. Pandoc — pandoc input.md -o output.tex -s — references/md-to-tex-conversion.md. For system-design-report packs, build the input list from hub llm_toc file order (often section files only, not the hub) — system-design-report-generator.

3. No Pandoc — Short doc: mcp-latex; else recommend installing Pandoc.

4. Mermaid — Per references § Mermaid.

5. Check — \documentclass in output; optional user-side pdflatex.

6. Pairing — Project outputs: project-output-article / llm_toc for stable section order.

Pipeline — multiple .md (sections) → one .tex

1. Ordered list — User supplies path1.md, path2.md, … in document order (or a glob with explicit sort rule). One output combined.tex (or user path). If files use overlapping heading levels, note whether to shift levels (see references).

2. Pandoc (preferred) — Concatenate inputs in order:

   pandoc "sec01.md" "sec02.md" "sec03.md" -o "book.tex" -s
   

   Details, metadata, and heading pitfalls: references/md-to-tex-conversion.md § Multiple inputs.

3. Alternatives — (a) Concatenate to a temporary single .md (strip duplicate YAML from non-first files), then run single-file Pandoc; (b) master .tex with \input{part1.tex} … after generating each part with Pandoc to fragment (-s off or custom template) — more control, more steps.

4. Mermaid / assets — Same as single-file; each source .md may contain diagrams — track which file needs mmdc pre-render.

5. Sanity check — One coherent preamble; sections read in order; fix duplicate \labels if Pandoc warns.

Docs hub: docs/mcp/LATEX_MCP.md · MCP skill: mcp-latex