mcpbeat

Paper Compilation

lingzhi227/paper-compilation

Compile LaTeX papers to PDF with automatic error detection, chktex style checking, and citation/reference validation. Runs the full pdflatex + bibtex pipeline. Use when the user wants to compile a paper, fix compilation errors, or debug LaTeX.

6k tokens
context cost
the whole folder, loaded on every use
3
files
ships runnable scripts
0
copies elsewhere
how many repositories repackaged it
256
stars on the repo
on the repository, not the skill itself

Install

one command, takes just this skill from the repository 
npx skills add https://github.com/lingzhi227/agent-research-skills --skill paper-compilation

The instruction itself

16 sections, as written by the author

Paper Compilation

Compile a LaTeX paper to PDF with error detection and correction.

Input

  • $ARGUMENTS — Path to the main .tex file

Scripts

Compile paper

python ~/.claude/skills/paper-compilation/scripts/compile_paper.py paper/main.tex
python ~/.claude/skills/paper-compilation/scripts/compile_paper.py paper/main.tex --check-style
python ~/.claude/skills/paper-compilation/scripts/compile_paper.py paper/main.tex --output paper/output.pdf

Reports: compilation status, page count, warnings, citation/reference stats, style issues.

Validate citations before compiling

python ~/.claude/skills/citation-management/scripts/validate_citations.py \
  --tex paper/main.tex --bib paper/references.bib --check-figures --figures-dir paper/figures/

Auto-fix LaTeX errors

python ~/.claude/skills/paper-compilation/scripts/fix_latex_errors.py \
  --tex paper/main.tex --log compile.log --output paper/main_fixed.tex

Fixes: HTML tags in LaTeX, mismatched environments, missing figures. Key flags: --dry-run, --auto-detect

Compile with auto-fix retry

python ~/.claude/skills/paper-compilation/scripts/compile_paper.py paper/main.tex --auto-fix

Runs fix_latex_errors.py + recompile up to 3 rounds until compilation succeeds.

Workflow

Step 1: Pre-Compilation Validation

Run validate_citations.py to catch issues before compiling:

  • Every \cite{key} has a matching .bib entry
  • Every \includegraphics{file} exists
  • No duplicate labels or sections

Step 2: Compile

Run compile_paper.py which executes: pdflatex → bibtex → pdflatex → pdflatex

Step 3: Error Correction Loop (up to 5 rounds)

If compilation fails, read the error output and fix:

  • ! Undefined control sequence → Add missing package or fix typo
  • ! Missing $ inserted → Wrap math in $...$
  • ! Missing } inserted → Fix unmatched brace
  • Citation 'key' undefined → Add to .bib or fix \cite
  • </end{figure}> → Replace with \end{figure} (HTML syntax in LaTeX)

Apply minimal fixes. Do not remove packages unnecessarily. Recompile after each fix.

Step 4: Post-Compilation Report

Check: page count vs venue limit, remaining warnings, chktex style issues.

Troubleshooting

pdflatex not found

# macOS
brew install --cask mactex-no-gui
# Ubuntu
sudo apt install texlive-full

Alternative: latexmk (auto-handles multiple passes)

latexmk -pdf -interaction=nonstopmode main.tex

Related Skills

  • Upstream: latex-formatting, citation-management, figure-generation, table-generation
  • Downstream: self-review
  • See also: paper-assembly

How to use it

Copy the folder

Take lingzhi227/paper-compilation from the repository into ~/.claude/skills for personal use, or into .claude/skills inside a project.

Check the name does not clash

The agent identifies a skill by the name field in its header. Two skills with the same name cannot sit side by side — one of them will be ignored.

Install what it needs

The instructions reference brew. Without those the skill loads but fails at the first command.