Paper Compile: LaTeX to Submission-Ready PDF
Compile the LaTeX paper and fix any issues: $ARGUMENTS
Constants
- COMPILER =
latexmk — LaTeX build tool. Handles multi-pass compilation automatically.
- ENGINE =
pdflatex — LaTeX engine. Options: pdflatex (default), xelatex (for CJK/custom fonts), lualatex.
- MAX_COMPILE_ATTEMPTS = 3 — Maximum attempts to fix errors and recompile.
- PAPER_DIR =
paper/ — Directory containing LaTeX source files.
- MAX_PAGES — Page limit. ML conferences: main body to Conclusion end (excluding references & appendix). ICLR=9, NeurIPS=9, ICML=8. IEEE venues: references ARE included in page count. IEEE journal ≈ 12-14 pages, IEEE conference ≈ 5-8 pages (all inclusive).
- RESCUE_ON_REPEAT_FAILURE = true — If the same compile class fails after two attempts, preserve
compile.log and ask for a focused rescue / second opinion before further edits.
Workflow
Step 1: Verify Prerequisites
Check that the compilation environment is ready:
# Check LaTeX installation
which pdflatex && which latexmk && which bibtex
# If not installed, provide instructions:
# macOS: brew install --cask mactex-no-gui
# Ubuntu: sudo apt-get install texlive-full
# Server: conda install -c conda-forge texlive-core
Verify all required files exist:
# Must exist
ls $PAPER_DIR/main.tex
# Should exist
ls $PAPER_DIR/references.bib
ls $PAPER_DIR/sections/*.tex
ls $PAPER_DIR/figures/*.pdf 2>/dev/null || ls $PAPER_DIR/figures/*.png 2>/dev/null
Step 2: First Compilation Attempt
cd $PAPER_DIR
# Clean previous build artifacts
latexmk -C
# Full compilation (pdflatex + bibtex + pdflatex × 2)
latexmk -pdf -interaction=nonstopmode -halt-on-error main.tex 2>&1 | tee compile.log
Step 3: Error Diagnosis and Auto-Fix
If compilation fails, read compile.log and fix common errors:
Missing packages:
! LaTeX Error: File `somepackage.sty' not found.
→ Install via tlmgr install somepackage or remove the \usepackage if unused.
Undefined references:
LaTeX Warning: Reference `fig:xyz' on page 3 undefined
→ Check \label{fig:xyz} exists in the correct figure environment.
Missing figures:
! LaTeX Error: File `figures/fig1.pdf' not found.
→ Check if the file exists with a different extension (.png vs .pdf). Update the \includegraphics path.
Citation undefined:
LaTeX Warning: Citation `smith2024' undefined
→ Add the missing entry to references.bib or fix the citation key.
[VERIFY] markers in text:
→ Search for [VERIFY] markers left by /paper-write. These indicate unverified citations or facts. Search for the correct information or flag to the user.
Overfull hbox:
Overfull \hbox (12.5pt too wide) in paragraph at lines 42--45
→ Minor: usually ignorable. If severe (>20pt), rephrase the text or adjust figure width.
BibTeX errors:
I was expecting a `,' or a `}'---line 15 of references.bib
→ Fix BibTeX syntax (missing comma, unmatched braces, special characters in title).
\crefname undefined for custom theorem types:
→ Ensure \crefname{assumption}{Assumption}{Assumptions} and similar are in the preamble after \newtheorem{assumption}.
Step 4: Iterative Fix Loop
for attempt in 1..MAX_COMPILE_ATTEMPTS:
compile()
if success:
break
parse_errors()
auto_fix()
For each error:
- Read the error message from
compile.log
- Locate the source file and line number
- Apply the fix
- Recompile
Step 5: Post-Compilation Checks
After successful compilation, verify the output:
# Check PDF exists and has content
ls -la main.pdf
# Check page count
pdfinfo main.pdf | grep Pages
# macOS: open for visual inspection
# open main.pdf
Automated checks:
# Check for undefined references
grep -c "LaTeX Warning.*undefined" compile.log
# Check for missing citations
grep -c "Citation.*undefined" compile.log
Step 6: Page Count Verification
CRITICAL: Verify paper fits within MAX_PAGES.
For ML conferences (ICLR/NeurIPS/ICML/CVPR/ACL/AAAI): Main body = first page through end of Conclusion section (not necessarily §5 — could be §6, §7, or §8 depending on structure). References and appendix are NOT counted.
For IEEE venues: The TOTAL page count (including references) must fit within the limit. There is no separate "main body" counting — everything up to and including the references counts.
Precise check using pdftotext:
# Extract text and find where Conclusion ends vs References begin
pdftotext main.pdf - | python3 -c "
import sys
text = sys.stdin.read()
pages = text.split('\f')
for i, page in enumerate(pages):
if 'Ethics Statement' in page or 'Reproducibility' in page:
print(f'Conclusion ends on page {i+1}')
if any(w in page for w in ['References', 'Bibliography']):
lines = [l for l in page.split('\n') if l.strip()]
for l in lines[:3]:
if 'References' in l or 'Bibliography' in l:
print(f'References start on page {i+1}')
break
"
If Conclusion ends mid-page and References start on the same page, the main body is that page number (e.g., if both are on page 9, main body = ~8.5 pages, which is fine for a 9-page limit since it leaves room for the References header).
If over limit:
- Identify which sections are longest
- Suggest specific cuts (move proofs to appendix, compress tables, tighten writing)
- Report: "Main body is X pages (limit: MAX_PAGES). Suggestion: move [specific content] to appendix."
Step 6.5: Stale File Detection
Check for orphaned section files not referenced by main.tex:
# Find all .tex files in sections/ and check which are \input'ed by main.tex
for f in paper/sections/*.tex; do
base=$(basename "$f")
if ! grep -q "$base" paper/main.tex; then
echo "WARNING: $f is not referenced by main.tex — consider removing"
fi
done
This prevents confusion from leftover files when section structure changes (e.g., old 5_conclusion.tex left behind after restructuring to 7 sections).
Step 7: Submission Readiness
For conference submission, additional checks:
Step 8: Output Summary
## Compilation Report
- **Status**: SUCCESS / FAILED
- **PDF**: paper/main.pdf
- **Pages**: X (main body to Conclusion) + Y (references) + Z (appendix)
- **Within page limit**: YES/NO (MAX_PAGES = N)
- **Errors fixed**: [list of auto-fixed issues]
- **Warnings remaining**: [list of non-critical warnings]
- **Undefined references**: 0
- **Undefined citations**: 0
### Next Steps
- [ ] Visual inspection of PDF
- [ ] Run `/paper-write` to fix any content issues
- [ ] Submit to [venue] via OpenReview / CMT / HotCRP
Key Rules
- Never delete the user's source files — only modify to fix errors
- Keep compile.log — useful for debugging
- Don't suppress warnings — report them, let the user decide
- If LaTeX is not installed, provide clear installation instructions rather than failing silently
- Font embedding is critical — some venues reject PDFs with non-embedded fonts
- Page count rules differ by venue — ML conferences: main body to Conclusion (refs excluded). IEEE venues: total pages including references.
Common Venue Requirements
| Venue | Style File | Citation | Page Limit | Refs in limit? | Submission |
|---|
| ICLR 2026 | iclr2026_conference.sty | natbib (\citep/\citet) | 9 pages (to Conclusion end) | No | OpenReview |
| NeurIPS 2025 | neurips_2025.sty | natbib (\citep/\citet) | 9 pages (to Conclusion end) | No | OpenReview |
| ICML 2025 | icml2025.sty | natbib (\citep/\citet) | 8 pages (to Conclusion end) | No | OpenReview |
| IEEE Journal | IEEEtran.cls [journal] | cite (\cite{}, numeric) | ~12-14 pages (Transactions) / ~4-5 (Letters) | Yes | IEEE Author Portal / ScholarOne |
| IEEE Conference | IEEEtran.cls [conference] | cite (\cite{}, numeric) | 5-8 pages (varies by conf) | Yes | EDAS / IEEE Author Portal |