latex-forge

name

latex-forge

description

Create, fill in, compile and export LaTeX documents (project reports, internship reports, theses, research papers, lab reports, CVs, posters, presentations, letters, books...) using the latex-forge CLI and its 80+ template gallery. Use this skill whenever the user asks to write a report, paper, thesis, CV or any academic/professional LaTeX document, or to scaffold, build, watch or export a latex-forge project.

LaTeX Forge

LaTeX Forge turns a single command into a complete, self-contained, ready-to-write LaTeX project: folder structure, embedded styles, bibliography setup, and a pre-configured VS Code workspace with live PDF preview. This skill drives the latex-forge CLI and its template gallery (80+ templates) to scaffold the project, then writes the actual content for the user.

Always work inside the project that latex-forge create generates. Never hand-roll a LaTeX project structure when a suitable template exists.

Step 1 - Make sure the CLI is available

latex-forge --version

If the command is not found, install it without asking (it is a small, reversible, user-level Python package):

command -v pipx >/dev/null 2>&1 || python3 -m pip install --user pipx
pipx ensurepath
pipx install latex-forge

If latex-forge is still not on PATH after install, call it via ~/.local/bin/latex-forge (or pipx run latex-forge ...) for the rest of the session, or open a new shell.

Step 2 - Check the LaTeX toolchain

latex-forge diagnose --json

This reports whether a TeX distribution (pdflatex/xelatex/lualatex), latexmk and biber are available. If the toolchain is missing, ask the user before running the heavy installer (it downloads a full TeX distribution):

latex-forge setup --install-tex

If the user just wants the project files (no local compilation), you can skip this step entirely.

Step 3 - Choose the right template

Ask the user (briefly, only what's needed): document type (report, thesis, CV, paper, poster, presentation, letter...), language, and any institutional requirements (university template, IEEE/ACM/AFNOR style, etc.).

Six templates are built in and need no install:

Template	Use for
blank	Minimal document, anything custom
project-report-en	University project report, ISO/IEEE style (English)
project-report-fr	Rapport de projet universitaire, AFNOR/ISO (French)
research	Two-column research article
cv-en	English CV / résumé
cv-fr	CV en français

For everything else (theses, internship reports, lab reports, conference papers, posters, beamer slides, letters, books, the UPC L3 report set, and many more CVs), see references/templates.md for the full catalog with install URLs. A gallery template must be installed once before it can be used:

latex-forge template install https://github.com/thmsgo18/latex-forge-gallery/tree/main/templates/<category>/<name>

The user can also point to their own template (any GitHub repo, ZIP, or local folder with a main.tex at its root) — see references/commands.md.

Step 4 - Create the project

Use the non-interactive form so it works from a script:

latex-forge create --name <project-name> --template <template> --output <dir> [--git]

• <project-name>: kebab-case, derive it from the document's subject if the user didn't give one.
• <template>: a built-in name or the name used at install time for a gallery template.
• --output: ask where to put it if unclear (defaults to the current directory).
• --git: pass it if the user wants version control from the start.

Step 5 - Read AGENTS.md first, before touching anything

Every generated project ships an AGENTS.md at its root: a self-contained briefing written specifically for this project and template. Read it before making any edit. It documents:

• the file structure and what each folder is for
• the exact compile command (and engine: pdflatex/xelatex/lualatex)
• custom LaTeX commands defined by the template's styles
• how to add sections, bibliography entries, images, and appendices
• common compilation errors and their fixes
• files that must not be modified (usually styles/packages/* and assets/logos/)

Treat AGENTS.md as the source of truth for that project; this skill covers everything before and around it (choosing/installing the template, building, exporting).

Step 6 - Fill in metadata and personal info

Edit frontmatter/metadata.tex (or sections/heading.tex / sections/en-tete.tex for CV templates) with the user's real information: title, authors, university, supervisor, contact details, links, etc. AGENTS.md lists the exact commands used by that template (e.g. \reporttitle, \addauthor{Name}{}, \cvname, \universityname...).

If the user wants their info pre-filled automatically on future projects too, see references/commands.md for the profile schema (~/.latex-forge/profile.toml) — write it directly with the file tools rather than latex-forge profile set, which requires an interactive terminal.

Step 7 - Write the content

Ground the report in its source material first. A report documents real work, not imagination. If the user points you to a project — a code repository, a dataset, notes, an existing draft, a folder — read it thoroughly before writing, and base every factual claim, code excerpt, architecture description and result on what is actually there. If you are writing in-place inside an existing project, that surrounding project is the source. Where a needed result or figure isn't available, mark it with a % TODO rather than inventing it.

Following the structure described in AGENTS.md:

• one .tex file per section under sections/, \input{} from the main file
• bibliography entries go in bibliography/references.bib, cited with \cite{}
• images go in images/ (or figures/ for TikZ sources)
• appendices after \startannexes (or the template's equivalent)

Write real content based on what the user provides (notes, transcripts, code, data, existing drafts) — don't leave placeholder text in the final document.

Step 8 - Build, fix errors, iterate

latex-forge build            # compile once -> build/<name>.pdf
latex-forge build --clean    # wipe build artifacts first
latex-forge build --verbose  # full latexmk output
latex-forge watch            # recompile on every save

latex-forge build already auto-installs missing LaTeX packages via tlmgr when possible. If compilation still fails, read build/<name>.log, fix the .tex source, and rebuild. Cross-check unexpected errors against the "Common errors and fixes" table in AGENTS.md.

Step 9 - Export when the document is done

latex-forge export                    # -> ../<name>-export.zip
latex-forge export --output FILE.zip  # custom path

Bundles the sources and the compiled PDF into a clean ZIP, ready for submission.

Other useful commands

latex-forge rename new-name      # rename project, main file and build artifacts
latex-forge list-templates       # list built-in templates
latex-forge template list        # list built-in + installed templates
latex-forge template update      # update installed gallery templates

Full reference: references/commands.md.