Claude latex skill

LaTeX Skill

Purpose and Scope

This skill defines how Claude writes LaTeX. It is project-agnostic: the rules here apply to a terse formula sheet and a verbose lecture handout equally. Where a rule must be adapted for a specific project, that adaptation lives in the project's own project_philosophy.md, which takes precedence over this skill for that project only.

This skill governs both file production and LaTeX advice. When reviewing, explaining, or recommending LaTeX without producing a file, the same principles apply. Advising someone to use eqnarray is wrong for the same reason writing it is wrong.

What this skill governs:

• File header format and versioning
• Package import conventions
• Math environments and notation
• Table conventions
• Inline commenting discipline
• File structure and modularity (\input vs. \include)
• File naming (applies to all projects, not only multi-file ones)
• Bibliography and citation workflow (BibTeX vs. biblatex/biber)
• Symbol selection and disambiguation
• Antipatterns to avoid — consult antipatterns.md before generating, not only when reviewing
• Compile warning philosophy
• Verification workflow (chktex, full compile, KNOWN WARNINGS lifecycle)

What this skill does NOT govern:

• Document class selection
• Font choices
• Page geometry or margin widths
• Information density or whitespace preferences
• Project-specific macro libraries
• Any opinion about what a document should contain

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Systems-Level Framing

A .tex file is source code. It will be read by humans, diffed, versioned, compiled by machines, and handed to collaborators who weren't in the room when decisions were made. Every convention in this skill exists to serve one or more of these four goals:

1. Readability — a future reader (including future you) can understand intent without reverse-engineering it from output.
2. Maintainability — changes are local, diff-friendly, and don't ripple unexpectedly through the document.
3. Portability — the file compiles cleanly in standard distributions (TeX Live, MiKTeX) without undocumented dependencies.
4. Correctness — the typeset output faithfully represents the intended mathematics and structure, with no silent errors hiding in unread warnings.

When a rule in this skill seems arbitrary, trace it back to one of these four goals. If a project-level decision conflicts with this skill, ask which goals are being traded and whether that trade is intentional.

Rules below are tagged [R], [M], [P], or [C] to indicate which goal(s) they primarily serve.

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Reference Files

SKILL.md is a routing document. The detail lives in the reference files below. How much to read depends on what's being done — see Proportional Response immediately below the file table.

File	Contents
references/headers.md	File header format, versioning scheme, known-warnings field
references/packages.md	Package import conventions, grouping, load order
references/math.md	Math environments, notation, units, labeling, physics notation packages
references/tables.md	booktabs style, tabularx, siunitx, caption placement
references/comments.md	Inline commenting discipline, TODOs, sign conventions
references/structure.md	\input vs \include, standalone vs modular files, custom commands, collaborator communication
references/naming.md	File naming conventions for .tex, .bib, and figure files
references/antipatterns.md	Explicit list of things never to do, with rationale
references/warnings.md	Compile warning philosophy, triage, and documentation
references/compilation.md	Claude's verification workflow: chktex, full compile, log parsing, KNOWN WARNINGS updates
references/symbols.md	Common math/physics/engineering symbols, semantic meaning, correct commands
references/bibliography.md	BibTeX vs biblatex/biber, .bib conventions, citation styles, migration

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Proportional Response

Not every task warrants reading the full reference set. Unnecessary reads cost time and tokens without improving output. Match the effort to the scope.

Tier 1 — New file generation Read antipatterns.md first (always), then the full set of files relevant to what the document contains. Use the routing guide below. Run chktex after generating.

Tier 2 — Edits and advice This covers both surgical edits to existing source and LaTeX advice without producing a file. Both involve reasoning about specific LaTeX decisions rather than building something from scratch — the same proportional reading applies. Read antipatterns.md + the one or two reference files directly relevant to the specific change or question. Run chktex only if the edit changes compiled output (same threshold as VERSION increments).

Tier 3 — Comment, header, or metadata-only changes Changes that don't affect compiled output: updating PURPOSE, resolving a TODO, adding a KNOWN WARNINGS entry, fixing a comment. No reference file reads required. No chktex.

When in doubt about which tier applies, default to Tier 2.

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Routing Guide

Which reference files to read for common tasks:

• Starting a new .tex file from scratch → headers.md, packages.md, naming.md, structure.md
• Writing or editing math → math.md
• Writing or editing a table → tables.md
• Adding comments or TODOs → comments.md
• Setting up a multi-file project → structure.md, naming.md
• Naming any file (standalone or multi-file) → naming.md
• Defining or reviewing custom commands / macros → structure.md
• Looking up a symbol or choosing between symbol variants → symbols.md
• Setting up citations, a bibliography, or choosing between biblatex and bibtex → bibliography.md
• Setting up theorem, proof, lemma, or definition environments → math.md
• Physics notation packages (physics, physics2) → math.md
• Before generating any LaTeX output → scan antipatterns.md first
• Reviewing or auditing existing LaTeX → antipatterns.md, warnings.md
• Running chktex or deciding whether to compile → compilation.md
• Updating the KNOWN WARNINGS block after verification → compilation.md, headers.md
• Unsure → read antipatterns.md first; it covers the highest-impact issues in the smallest space

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Diff Discipline

When making edits to an existing .tex file, prefer surgical changes over full rewrites. A change that touches three lines should produce a three-line diff, not a re-emission of the entire file. This is not just housekeeping — minimal diffs preserve version history legibility and make review tractable.

Apply this principle to comment additions too: when a known-warnings entry is added to a file header, or a TODO is resolved, those are diffs, not rewrites.

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Project Philosophy Files

Each project that uses this skill should maintain a project_philosophy.md at the project root. This file is the bridge between this skill's universal rules and the specific decisions a project has made. Its primary audience is any future collaborator — human or AI — who needs to get up to speed without asking questions.

Minimum expected contents:

• Project name, author(s), and one-paragraph purpose statement
• Document class choice and rationale
• Compiler and distribution if non-default (e.g., LuaLaTeX, MiKTeX)
• Project-specific packages beyond this skill's defaults, with rationale
• Directory and file naming conventions if they deviate from naming.md
• Whitespace, density, and layout preferences
• Any deliberate deviation from this skill, with justification
• Domain conventions in force: sign conventions, unit systems, notation choices that affect how math and tables are written throughout the project
• Custom command inventory: what is defined in macros.tex and why

Every item above must be answered explicitly. If a project has no requirement for a given item, write N/A — not applicable with a brief reason (e.g., N/A — single standalone file, no directory structure to define). A missing item is ambiguous; N/A with a reason is not.

Decisions this skill explicitly leaves to project_philosophy.md:

The following are open by design and must be resolved per project: document class, font selection, page geometry, information density, custom label schemes, TODO/HACK variation labels beyond the defaults, and any versioning scheme other than YYYYMMDD.NNN.

If no project_philosophy.md exists, apply this skill's defaults without deviation and note its absence to the collaborator.