Typst

Typst Document Generation Skill

Trigger me when the user wants any of: PDF · CV · résumé · cover letter · academic paper · report · invoice · slides · poster · 简历 · 学术论文 · 报告 · 发票 · 幻灯片 · Typst — even if they did not say "Typst" explicitly.

You are an expert Typst typesetter. Generate professional PDF, PNG, SVG, or HTML documents using Typst.

Decision Tree — pick a template before writing

Ask, in this order, before writing any .typ:

1. What is the artefact?

   • Resume / CV → references/typst-templates.md § Simple Resume or Typographic Resume
   • Cover letter / formal letter → § Letter
   • Academic / research paper → § Academic Paper (two-column, abstract, bibliography)
   • Internal report / whitepaper → § Technical Report
   • Slide deck → § Presentation
   • Bill / receipt → § Invoice
   • Anything else → § General Document

2. Is the language CJK (Chinese / Japanese / Korean)? If yes, always layer the CJK font setup from § CJK Document on top of the chosen template — missing this is the #1 source of "tofu" (□) bugs.

3. Does the user have a JSON / CSV data source? If yes, generate a .typ that calls #let data = json("path.json") (or csv(...)) and loops over it — do not hardcode values from the data into the template.

Quick Reference

Task	Code / Command
Compile to PDF	typst compile doc.typ
Compile to PNG	typst compile doc.typ --format png --ppi 300
Compile & open	typst compile doc.typ --open
Set page	#set page(paper: "a4", margin: 2.5cm)
Set font	#set text(font: "Linux Libertine", size: 11pt)
CJK font	#set text(lang: "zh", font: ("Source Han Serif SC", "SimSun", "Microsoft YaHei"))
Heading	= Title / == Subtitle / === Sub-subtitle
Math	$ integral_0^infinity e^(-x^2) dif x = sqrt(pi) / 2 $
Import package	#import "@preview/cetz:0.3.4": canvas, draw
Load data	#let data = json("data.json") or csv("data.csv")
Evaluate expression	typst eval "1 + 2"
Conditional format	#if target() == "html" { ... } else { ... }
List fonts	typst fonts

Workflow

1. Verify the environment

typst --version

For a deeper check (CJK fonts available, write permissions, version ≥ 0.14), run the bundled script from this skill's directory:

bash scripts/verify-typst.sh

If typst is not installed:

• Windows: winget install --id Typst.Typst
• macOS: brew install typst
• Any platform with Rust: cargo install --locked typst-cli

2. Create the .typ source file

• Use the Decision Tree above to pick a template from references/typst-templates.md
• Consult references/typst-language-reference.md for syntax
• For advanced layouts, see references/typst-design-patterns.md
• Write the .typ file to the user's desired location

3. Compile to output

typst compile document.typ                          # PDF (default)
typst compile document.typ --format png --ppi 300   # High-res PNG
typst compile document.typ output.svg               # SVG

See references/typst-cli-reference.md for all options.

4. Iterate

Read compilation errors, consult the Recovery Recipes below, fix the .typ file, and recompile.

Gotchas / Common Mistakes

Mistake	Fix
CJK glyphs missing or tofu (□)	Set lang AND provide a CJK font fallback chain: #set text(lang: "zh", font: ("Source Han Serif SC", "SimSun"))
Windows path errors in #image() / #include()	Use forward slashes: image("images/photo.jpg"), not backslashes
Font not found	Run typst fonts to list available fonts; bundle custom fonts with --font-path ./fonts
context errors in Typst v0.14+	Accessing counter(), state(), or text.fill requires wrapping in a context block
show rules leaking to other sections	Wrap scoped show rules in a block { ... } to limit their effect
Multi-page PNG/SVG produces single file	Use {p} placeholder in output: typst compile doc.typ "page-{p}.png"
Package download fails	First compile with a new @preview package requires internet; check --package-cache-path
Paragraph spacing looks wrong	Set #set par(justify: true, leading: 0.8em) explicitly; defaults vary
Math script styles not working	Use scr(), cal(), frak(), bb() — not LaTeX \mathscr, \mathcal
typst compile works locally but the PDF is blank from a Vercel / serverless function	The Vercel runtime does not include the Typst CLI. Either ship a static prebuilt binary in the deploy bundle (vercel.json includeFiles) or call a separate compile service (Fly.io / Railway). See references/typst-design-patterns.md § Serverless.

Recovery Recipes

When typst compile fails, paste stderr's first line into this lookup before guessing:

stderr starts with	Most likely cause	First thing to try
error: file not found (...) image(...)	wrong relative path	cd to the .typ file's directory; use forward slashes
error: unknown variable: <name>	typo or missing #let <name>	grep the file for the symbol; check that imports use the right alias
error: failed to load package	offline / firewall blocks @preview	retry with internet; or vendor the package locally and import by path
error: cannot apply fill to ... (context error)	v0.14 introspection requires context	wrap the access in context { ... }
error: type mismatch: expected ..., found ...	passed wrong shape from JSON to a function	log the data with #repr(data) once, inspect, then narrow the access

When NOT to use

• Existing LaTeX projects — use LaTeX directly for .tex files
• Simple plain-text documents — Markdown is simpler
• Spreadsheet / tabular data output — use CSV or Excel tools
• Interactive web pages — use HTML/CSS directly (Typst HTML export available via --features html but limited)

Reference Documentation

Read these files on demand (not all at once):

Reference	Path	Content
CLI Reference	references/typst-cli-reference.md	All CLI commands, options, environment variables
Language Reference	references/typst-language-reference.md	Complete syntax, functions, and features
Templates	references/typst-templates.md	Ready-to-use templates (general, CJK, academic, resume, letter, report, slides, invoice)
Design Patterns	references/typst-design-patterns.md	Advanced patterns (themes, layouts, components, PDF capabilities)

Output Formats

Format	Extension	Notes
PDF	.pdf	Default. Supports PDF/A standards and tagged PDF.
PNG	.png	One image per page. Use --ppi for resolution (default 144).
SVG	.svg	One file per page. Vector graphics.
HTML	.html	Experimental. Use --features html.