mnras-latex-portable-build-and-package

name	mnras-latex-portable-build-and-package
description	Build and package an MNRAS LaTeX manuscript portably on Ubuntu, avoiding missing-font-package failures and fixing common two-column table issues.
version	1.0.0
author	Hermes Agent
license	MIT
metadata	{"hermes":{"tags":["latex","mnras","ubuntu","paper","bibtex","packaging"],"category":"research"}}

Portable MNRAS LaTeX build and packaging

Overview

This skill contains a reusable operational workflow. Follow the existing task-specific steps and examples in the sections below.

Pitfalls

• Do not hardcode credentials, tokens, or personal secrets.
• Verify external service URLs, paths, and permissions before making changes.
• Keep generated outputs reproducible and record input assumptions.

Verification

• Confirm required inputs and credentials are available.
• Run the smallest safe command or example before scaling up.
• Check produced files, API responses, or plots before reporting success.

Use this when a user wants an MNRAS-style paper prepared, compiled, or packaged on a Linux/Ubuntu machine, especially when the environment may have only a minimal TeX installation.

When to use

• Converting a generic LaTeX article into MNRAS format
• Preparing a submission-style package (main.tex, .bib, helper script)
• Fixing compilation failures on Ubuntu due to missing TeX packages
• Debugging MNRAS-specific layout issues in two-column mode

Key lessons learned

1. Avoid newtxtext,newtxmath for portability unless you know they are installed

A common failure on Ubuntu/minimal TeX installs is:

• ! LaTeX Error: File 'newtxtext.sty' not found.

For portability, prefer removing:

\usepackage{ae,aecompl}
\usepackage{newtxtext,newtxmath}

and keep a simpler preamble such as:

\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\usepackage{booktabs}
\usepackage{longtable}
\usepackage{tabularx}
\usepackage{array}
\usepackage{enumitem}
\usepackage{xcolor}
\usepackage{hyperref}

This may produce font-substitution warnings, but it compiles much more reliably.

2. longtable is not valid in MNRAS two-column mode

A typical hard error is:

• Package longtable Error: longtable not in 1-column mode.

If the manuscript is in standard MNRAS two-column layout, replace longtable with a floating table, usually:

\begin{table*}
\centering
\caption{...}
\label{tab:...}
\small
\begin{tabularx}{\textwidth}{...}
...
\end{tabularx}
\end{table*}

This is the correct fix for wide summary tables in MNRAS.

3. Prepare a clean package layout

For submission-style packaging, structure the directory as:

mnras_submission_package/
  main.tex
  references.bib
  compile.sh
  README.txt
  figures/
    README.txt
  notes/
    manifest.json
    package_notes.txt

Use:

• main.tex for the manuscript
• references.bib instead of inline thebibliography where possible
• compile.sh with latexmk -pdf main.tex fallback to manual pdflatex/bibtex sequence

4. Replace inline bibliography with BibTeX

If starting from a document using thebibliography, convert it to:

\bibliographystyle{mnras}
\bibliography{references}

Then place entries in references.bib.

For arXiv-heavy drafts, it is acceptable to create pragmatic BibTeX entries like:

@misc{aster,
  author = {Emilie Panek and Alexander Roman and Gaurav Shukla and Leonardo Pagliaro and Katia Matcheva and Konstantin Matchev},
  title = {ASTER -- Agentic Science Toolkit for Exoplanet Research},
  year = {2026},
  eprint = {2603.26953},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  primaryClass = {astro-ph.EP},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.26953}
}

5. Recommended Ubuntu packages

If asked what is required to compile on Ubuntu, recommend:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y latexmk texlive-latex-base texlive-latex-extra texlive-fonts-recommended texlive-publishers biber texlive-science

This was sufficient on Ubuntu 24.04 to compile an MNRAS manuscript.

6. Build command

Preferred:

cd /path/to/mnras_submission_package && latexmk -pdf main.tex

Fallback:

pdflatex main.tex && bibtex main && pdflatex main.tex && pdflatex main.tex

Practical workflow

1. Convert manuscript to MNRAS class:

   \documentclass[fleqn,usenatbib,useAMS]{mnras}
   

2. Use a portable preamble without newtxtext,newtxmath unless known installed.
3. Replace longtable with table* + tabularx in two-column MNRAS.
4. Convert inline bibliography to BibTeX.
5. Build with latexmk -pdf main.tex.
6. If compilation fails, inspect for:
   • missing style files
   • longtable errors in two-column mode
   • unresolved bibliography due to missing .bbl
7. Re-run latexmk until citations and references stabilize.

Expected remaining warnings

Warnings that may remain but are usually non-fatal:

• font size substitutions
• underfull/overfull boxes
• duplicate destination warnings for tables

These do not necessarily block PDF generation.

Deliverables

When done, provide:

• path to main.tex
• path to references.bib
• path to the generated main.pdf
• optional zip package path