check-tex

name	check-tex
description	Lint LaTeX prose with textlint's latex2e parser (terminology, wordiness, passive voice), then apply the findings as targeted edits. Use when the user wants to check, proofread, or improve a .tex file. For grammar, pairs with ltex-cli (LanguageTool for LaTeX).
license	MIT

Check LaTeX prose

Lint the natural-language prose in .tex files, then read the findings and apply them as edits — do not blindly auto-fix. The bundled runner scripts/check-tex.mjs drives textlint with the latex2e parser and emits one merged JSON array.

Why LaTeX is separate from Markdown

The check-markdown toolchain does not transfer to LaTeX:

• Vale has no LaTeX parser (errata-ai/vale#54) — it would flag markup as prose.
• @textlint-rule/gramma (the LanguageTool bridge) crashes on the latex2e AST.

So this skill checks style and terminology through textlint-plugin-latex2e, which parses the LaTeX AST and lints only prose nodes — commands, environments, and math are ignored. For grammar, use ltex-cli (LanguageTool with a native LaTeX parser): references/ltex.md.

Setup

• Node.js ≥ 18. The runner runs npm install in assets/ automatically on first use; to do it ahead of time: npm install --prefix skills/documents/check-tex/assets.

That is the only prerequisite — no Vale, no Docker.

Run

node skills/documents/check-tex/scripts/check-tex.mjs path/to/paper.tex

node skills/documents/check-tex/scripts/check-tex.mjs path\to\paper.tex

Findings print as JSON to stdout, a summary to stderr. Each finding:

{
  "file": "paper.tex",
  "line": 4,
  "column": 17,
  "severity": "warning",
  "source": "textlint",
  "rule": "write-good",
  "message": "\"clearly\" is a weasel word and can weaken meaning",
  "fixable": false
}

Exit code: 0 clean, 1 findings, 2 setup/tool failure. Severity is normalized: write-good and terminology report as warning (style / judgment call).

Caveat: comments inside math environments are not parsed into the AST, so text hidden there is not checked. Regular prose paragraphs are fine.

Act on the findings

Read the JSON and triage — same philosophy as check-markdown:

• warning → judgment call. write-good (passive voice, weasel words, wordiness) and terminology. Rewrite only when it genuinely improves the sentence and preserves the author's meaning and voice. Academic prose may keep passive voice on purpose.
• False positives → skip. Macro names, labels, citation keys, and jargon the latex2e parser exposed as prose.

Apply edits to the source .tex with the Edit tool, then re-run and confirm the count dropped. For grammar/agreement/spelling, run ltex-cli separately (references/ltex.md) and apply those too.

Customize

Edit assets/textlintrc.json to add rules; add packages to assets/package.json and re-run npm install.