| name | brief-compliance-check |
| description | Use when you need to check a LaTeX submission against a PDF assessment brief. |
| allowed-tools | ["Read","Glob","Bash(uv:*)","Bash(ls*)"] |
Brief Compliance Check
Given a PDF brief and a LaTeX submission, report exactly what is met, missing, or over-limit.
Report-only — never modifies files.
Output Path
Per rules/review-artefact-routing.md (auto-loads in research projects (path-scoped to paper-*/ and paper/)):
- Source slug:
brief-compliance-check
- Write reports to:
reviews/<paper-slug>/brief-compliance-check/<YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM>.md inside the project, where <paper-slug> is the paper directory name (e.g., paper-jtp, paper-philtech). Path is relative to the research project root, not the Task-Management repo.
- Never at project root (
./CRITIC-REPORT.md-style filenames are forbidden — pre-rule layout).
- Idempotency: if today's file exists, append a same-day descriptor (
{date}-revision.md, {date}-r2.md, {date}-pre-submission.md) — never overwrite.
- Index update: if
reviews/INDEX.md exists, write a one-line entry under "Latest per source" pointing at the new file. Otherwise review-recap will rebuild the index next time it runs.
- Infrastructure repos (Task-Management, atlas-workspace, etc.): this section does not apply — the path-scoped rule won't load there.
When to Use
- "Do we meet the requirements of the brief?"
- "Check my submission before I submit"
- Any coursework or report with per-task deliverables and word limits
- Argument:
[brief.pdf] [submission/] or auto-detect from context
Defaults
| Setting | Default |
|---|
| Brief path | Prompt if not found automatically |
| Submission dir | CWD or submission/ subdirectory |
| LaTeX file | main.tex in submission dir |
| Word counting | Strips lstlisting, tikzpicture, tabular/tabularx, LaTeX commands |
Protocol
Step 1: Read the Brief
Read the full brief PDF. Extract for each task/section:
- Deliverables — what files or content must be present
- Word limits — any "maximum N words" constraints
- Required files — non-LaTeX files (YAML specs, workflow files, code, etc.)
- Total marks — note the rubric criteria for context
Present a one-paragraph summary: how many tasks, total marks, submission format.
Step 2: Check Word Counts
For any task with a word limit, count words in the corresponding LaTeX section using this script:
import re
with open('main.tex', 'r') as f:
tex = f.read()
sections = {
'Task X': (r'\section{Heading}', r'\section{Next Heading}', limit),
}
for task, (start, end, limit) in sections.items():
s = tex.find(start)
e = tex.find(end) if end else len(tex)
chunk = tex[s:e]
chunk = re.sub(r'\\begin\{lstlisting\}.*?\\end\{lstlisting\}', '', chunk, flags=re.DOTALL)
chunk = re.sub(r'\\begin\{tikzpicture\}.*?\\end\{tikzpicture\}', '', chunk, flags=re.DOTALL)
chunk = re.sub(r'\\begin\{tabular[x]?\}.*?\\end\{tabular[x]?\}', '', chunk, flags=re.DOTALL)
chunk = re.sub(r'\\[a-zA-Z]+\*?\{([^}]*)\}', r' \1 ', chunk)
chunk = re.sub(r'\\[a-zA-Z]+\*?', ' ', chunk)
chunk = re.sub(r'[{}\$~^%]', ' ', chunk)
count = len(chunk.split())
status = 'OK' if count <= limit else f'OVER by {count - limit}'
print(f'{task}: ~{count} words (limit {limit}) [{status}]')
Adapt section headings and limits from the brief before running.
Step 3: Check File Deliverables
For each required non-LaTeX file, verify existence:
ls submission/
ls openapi/
ls .github/workflows/
ls services/*/
Report each as ✅ present / ❌ missing.
Step 4: Report
Produce a compliance table per task. Then summarise overall status.
Output Format
## Brief Compliance Report — [Module/Assessment Name]
### Overview
[1-para summary: N tasks, N marks, submission format]
### Per-Task Compliance
| Task | Requirement | Status |
|------|-------------|--------|
| A | Architecture diagram | ✅ |
| A | Written explanation ≤600 words | ✅ ~540 words |
| B | Security requirements ≤800 words | ✅ ~416 words |
| C | Five OpenAPI YAML files | ✅ |
| C | Linting output in PDF | ✅ |
| D | Test logs | ✅ |
| D | Written analysis ≤600 words | ❌ ~764 words (OVER by 164) |
| E | GitHub Actions workflow file | ✅ |
| F | Reflection ≤700 words | ✅ ~645 words |
### File Deliverables
| File/Directory | Required | Status |
|----------------|----------|--------|
| main.pdf | Yes | ✅ |
| openapi/*.yaml (5 files) | Yes | ✅ |
| .github/workflows/ci.yml | Yes | ✅ |
| services/*/Dockerfile (5) | Yes | ✅ |
### Summary
- ✅ N requirements met
- ❌ N gaps or violations
- ⚠️ N warnings (approaching limit, optional items)
[Action items for any ❌ or ⚠️]
Never Do These
- Never modify the submission to fix issues — report only
- Never count words from
lstlisting, tikzpicture, or table body content — these are not prose
- Never guess word limits — read them from the brief before counting
- Never report "approximately compliant" — every requirement is either met or not
- Never skip file existence checks — a missing deliverable is a hard gap
Log to REVIEW-STATE.md (final step)
Write the brief-compliance report to reviews/<paper-slug>/brief-compliance-check/<YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM>.md (where <paper-slug> is extracted from the paper directory, e.g. paper-jtp; create mkdir -p reviews/<paper-slug>/brief-compliance-check/ first). Then append a row to the project's REVIEW-STATE.md:
bash <skills-root>/_shared/review-state-log.sh \
--check brief-compliance-check \
--paper "<paper-{venue} dir>" \
--verdict "<PASS|PARTIAL|FAIL>" \
--score "<met-count>/<total-criteria>" \
--open-issues "<gap-count>/<total-criteria>" \
--report "reviews/<paper-slug>/brief-compliance-check/<YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM>.md" \
--notes "<one-line: e.g. 'over word limit by 250; missing appendix C'>" \
[--trigger "pre-submission-report|review-cluster"]
- Verdict: PASS if every criterion met; PARTIAL if some met; FAIL if any hard gap (missing deliverable, over hard word limit).
- Score: criteria met / total criteria (e.g.
8/10).
- Open issues: total gaps at run time / total criteria.
- Trigger: pass orchestrator name only if invoked as a sub-agent. Otherwise omit.
Schema: the installed shared resource shared/review-state-schema.md.