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Guide · Agent skill

How to use the paper-compile agent skill for LaTeX PDFs

Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data

paper-compile is an agent skill, a packaged set of instructions that a Claude agent loads when your request matches its description. This guide explains what it does, how to install it from the ZIP on our page, how to trigger it with plain requests, and what it needs on your machine. By the end you will know whether it fits a LaTeX research paper you are preparing for submission.

LaTeX Paper Compilerwanshuiyin/Auto-claude-code-research-in-sleep · MIT

Quick start

  1. 1Download the ZIP. Get the paper-compile skill ZIP from our page. It contains SKILL.md.
  2. 2Install the skill. Unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ or a project's .claude/skills/ folder, or upload it under Settings → Capabilities → Skills in the Claude apps.
  3. 3Install LaTeX tools. Make sure pdflatex, latexmk, bibtex, pdfinfo, pdftotext and Python 3 are available on your system.
  4. 4Check your folder layout. Confirm your LaTeX source is in paper/ with main.tex at its root, or note the correct path.
  5. 5Ask for a build. Say something like "compile paper" or "build PDF" and name the folder if it is not paper/.
  6. 6Review the result. Read the agent's report on errors, fixes, undefined references, citations and page count, then check the PDF yourself.

What the paper-compile skill makes the agent do

Once the skill is installed, the agent knows how to build a LaTeX research paper into a PDF using latexmk and pdflatex. If the build fails, it reads the compile log, tries common fixes such as missing packages, broken figure paths, bad citation keys and BibTeX syntax, and recompiles up to three times.

After a successful build, the skill checks that the PDF exists and has content, counts pages against typical conference limits, and flags undefined references or citations. It also gives a quick visual scan of the output. The source describes this scan as a quick check, not a full review.

  • Builds the paper with latexmk, using pdflatex as the default engine
  • Diagnoses errors from compile.log and attempts fixes, up to three attempts
  • Verifies the PDF, checks page counts, and reports undefined references and citations
  • Can fall back to the Codex plugin's /codex:rescue command if it is installed and Claude is stuck

Install the paper-compile skill

Download the skill ZIP from our page. The package contains a single file, SKILL.md. Unzip it so the skill folder sits in one of these locations: ~/.claude/skills/ to make it available across your projects, or a project's .claude/skills/ folder to limit it to one project.

If you use the Claude apps instead of Claude Code, open Settings, go to Capabilities, then Skills, and upload the skill there.

  • Personal install: unzip into ~/.claude/skills/
  • Project install: unzip into .claude/skills/ inside your project
  • Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload

Install the LaTeX tools the skill depends on

The skill does not include a LaTeX distribution. It calls tools that must already be on your system: pdflatex, latexmk and bibtex, plus pdfinfo and pdftotext from the Poppler utilities for page checks, and Python 3 for the page-count snippet. The source lists MacTeX, TeX Live, or conda texlive-core as options.

The skill's own prerequisite step runs a check first. If the tools are missing, it prints install hints for each platform. The source gives these examples:

  • macOS: MacTeX via Homebrew (mactex-no-gui cask)
  • Ubuntu: texlive-full via apt
  • Servers: texlive-core from conda-forge
which pdflatex && which latexmk && which bibtex

Set up your paper folder

The skill expects your LaTeX source in a paper/ folder with main.tex at its root. The source treats these paths as hard-coded defaults, so if your project uses a different layout, tell the agent where the files are or adjust the instructions before you run it.

The skill checks for main.tex as a required file. It also looks for references.bib, the sections/ folder of .tex files, and a figures/ folder containing PDF or PNG images.

  • Required: paper/main.tex
  • Expected: paper/references.bib, paper/sections/*.tex, paper/figures/
  • Optional argument: the paper directory, passed as [paper-directory]

Trigger the skill with natural requests

You do not need a special command. The skill's description lists trigger phrases, so you can ask in plain language. The source names these: "编译论文", "compile paper", "build PDF", "生成PDF", and requests to compile LaTeX into a submission-ready PDF.

Be specific about the paper's location if it is not in paper/, and say what you want checked. For example, you can ask whether the main body fits a page limit.

  • Compile my paper and fix any errors
  • Build PDF for the submission in paper/
  • 编译论文
  • Check whether the main body fits the ICLR page limit
  • Compile the LaTeX paper into a submission-ready PDF and check for undefined citations

What people use it for

  • Building a LaTeX conference submission into a single PDF after editing sections
  • Diagnosing a build that fails on a missing package, a broken figure path or a BibTeX syntax error
  • Checking whether the main body of an ML paper fits the page limit before submitting
  • Checking an IEEE paper's total page count, since the source says references count toward the limit there

Frequently asked questions

Is the paper-compile skill free to use?

The skill is published under the MIT licence, as stated on this page. The LaTeX tools it calls, such as TeX Live or MacTeX, are separate installs, and you should check their own licences.

What do I need before I can use paper-compile?

You need a LaTeX distribution that provides pdflatex, latexmk and bibtex, Poppler utilities (pdfinfo and pdftotext) for page checks, and Python 3 for the page-count snippet. The skill relies on these tools being installed and does not install a TeX distribution for you.

How do I install a Claude agent skill like paper-compile?

Download the ZIP from this page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use or into .claude/skills/ inside a project. In the Claude apps, you can instead upload it under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.

Does paper-compile work with a LaTeX project that is not in a paper/ folder?

The source says the paths are hard-coded defaults that assume paper/main.tex. Tell the agent where your files are, or edit the instructions in SKILL.md before you run the skill, so the paths match your layout.

What happens if the build still fails after the skill tries to fix it?

The skill makes up to three attempts. If the Codex plugin is installed, it can use /codex:rescue after two stuck attempts; otherwise it continues with its own diagnosis. Some errors may still need your manual edits.

Can paper-compile proofread my paper or do a peer-review pass?

No. The skill checks build output, page counts and undefined references or citations, and gives a quick visual scan of the PDF. The source says it is not a full review, so you still need to proofread and get feedback yourself.

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Our verdict

Use paper-compile if you already have a LaTeX paper in a paper/ folder, have TeX Live or MacTeX installed, and want build errors diagnosed and page limits checked automatically. Skip it if you have no LaTeX installation and do not want one, if your project layout is very different and you do not want to adjust its paths, or if you need a full proofreading or peer-review pass.

Download the skill