| name | latexindent |
| description | Run latexindent one-sentence-per-line on thesis chapter files. Use when the user asks to format, indent, or break lines in a chapter's LaTeX files. |
LaTeX Indent — One Sentence Per Line
Formats thesis .tex files so each sentence starts on its own line, making diffs and edits easier.
Command
latexindent -s -w -m -l localSettings.yaml <file>
| Flag | Purpose |
|---|
-s | Silent mode |
-w | Overwrite original (creates .bak0 backup) |
-m | Enable modifyLineBreaks — required or the config is ignored |
-l | Use project-root localSettings.yaml |
Config
The config at localSettings.yaml (project root) enables oneSentencePerLine and excludes lines containing \begin, \end, \cite, \ref, \cref, \Cref, \eqref.
Scope Rules
- Include:
chapter_XX/chapter_X.tex and chapter_XX/sections/*.tex
- Exclude: Any
paper_* subdirectories — those are published papers and must not be reformatted
Procedure
- Identify all
.tex files in the target chapter(s) matching the scope rules above
- Optionally clean stale
.bak0 files from previous runs
- Run the command on each file from the project root
- Suppress stderr (
2>/dev/null) — latexindent emits harmless Perl regex warnings
- Spot-check one file via
diff <file>.bak0 <file> to confirm sentences were split
- Compile with
latexmk -pdf -interaction=nonstopmode main.tex to verify no breakage
Example
Format chapter 6:
cd /path/to/phd-thesis
for f in chapter_06/chapter_6.tex chapter_06/sections/*.tex; do
latexindent -s -w -m -l localSettings.yaml "$f" 2>/dev/null
done
