Overleaf skill

Agent Skill for Overleaf — Automate LaTeX project management, sync, and compilation for AI assistants

Install

npx -y skills add aloth/overleaf-skill

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Sync and manage Overleaf LaTeX projects from the command line. Pull projects locally, push changes back, compile PDFs, and download compile outputs like .bbl files for arXiv submissions. Use when working with LaTeX, Overleaf, academic papers, or arXiv.

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SKILL.md

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Overleaf Skill

Manage Overleaf LaTeX projects via the olcli CLI.

Installation

# Homebrew (recommended)
brew tap aloth/tap && brew install olcli

# npm
npm install -g @aloth/olcli

Authentication

Get your session cookie from Overleaf:

Log into overleaf.com
Open DevTools (F12) → Application → Cookies
Copy the value of overleaf_session2

olcli auth --cookie "YOUR_SESSION_COOKIE"

Verify with:

olcli whoami

Debug authentication issues:

olcli check

Clear stored credentials:

olcli logout

Common Workflows

Pull a project to work locally

olcli pull "My Paper"
cd My_Paper/

Edit and sync changes

# After editing files locally
olcli push              # Upload changes only
olcli sync              # Bidirectional sync (pull + push)

Compile and download PDF

olcli pdf                      # Compile and download
olcli pdf -o paper.pdf         # Custom output name
olcli compile                  # Just compile (no download)

Download .bbl for arXiv submission

olcli output bbl               # Download compiled .bbl
olcli output bbl -o main.bbl   # Custom filename
olcli output --list            # List all available outputs

Upload figures or assets

olcli upload figure1.png "My Paper"          # Upload to project root
olcli upload diagram.pdf                      # Auto-detect project from .olcli.json

Download specific files

olcli download main.tex "My Paper"           # Download single file
olcli zip "My Paper"                          # Download entire project as zip

arXiv Submission Workflow

Complete workflow for preparing an arXiv submission:

# 1. Pull your project
olcli pull "Research Paper"
cd Research_Paper

# 2. Compile to ensure everything builds
olcli compile

# 3. Download the .bbl file (arXiv requires .bbl, not .bib)
olcli output bbl -o main.bbl

# 4. Download any other needed outputs
olcli output aux -o main.aux    # If needed

# 5. Package for submission
zip arxiv.zip *.tex main.bbl figures/*.pdf

# 6. Verify the package compiles locally (optional)
# Then upload arxiv.zip to arxiv.org

Commands Reference

Command	Description
`olcli auth --cookie <value>`	Authenticate with session cookie
`olcli whoami`	Check authentication status
`olcli logout`	Clear stored credentials
`olcli check`	Show config paths and credential sources
`olcli list`	List all projects
`olcli info [project]`	Show project details
`olcli pull [project] [dir]`	Download project files
`olcli push [dir]`	Upload local changes
`olcli sync [dir]`	Bidirectional sync
`olcli upload <file> [project]`	Upload a single file
`olcli download <file> [project]`	Download a single file
`olcli zip [project]`	Download as zip archive
`olcli compile [project]`	Trigger compilation
`olcli pdf [project]`	Compile and download PDF
`olcli output [type]`	Download compile outputs

Tips

Auto-detect project: Run commands from a synced directory (contains .olcli.json) to skip the project argument
Dry run: Use olcli push --dry-run to preview changes before uploading
Force overwrite: Use olcli pull --force to overwrite local changes
Project ID: You can use project ID instead of name (24-char hex from URL)
Debug auth: Run olcli check to see where credentials are loaded from