Latex Scaffold

LaTeX Scaffold

Convert an approved Markdown draft into a minimal, compilable LaTeX project. This is a deterministic format conversion — prose quality should already be addressed in the source draft.

When to Use

• Converting a literature review, survey, or report from Markdown to LaTeX for PDF output
• Turning meeting notes or drafts into a formatted document
• Bootstrapping a LaTeX project from an existing outline
• Any time you need md→tex without rewriting content

Inputs

• A Markdown file (.md) — the draft to convert
• A .bib file (optional) — if the draft contains citations

Outputs

• A .tex file ready to compile with /latex
• A .latexmkrc if one doesn't already exist (see /latex for config details — must include $out_dir = 'out' and the END {} block to copy the PDF back)

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Workflow

Step 1: Analyse the Draft

Read the Markdown file and inventory:

• Heading structure (determine \section / \subsection depth)
• Citations ([@Key] or [@Key1; @Key2] patterns)
• Tables (Markdown pipe tables)
• Math blocks ($...$ inline, $$...$$ display)
• Figures (``)
• Code blocks (fenced with language)
• Whether an abstract section exists

Step 2: Create the LaTeX File

Apply these conversion rules:

| Markdown | LaTeX | |----------|-------| | # Title (first H1) | \title{...} | | ## Section | \section{...} | | ### Subsection | \subsection{...} | | #### Subsubsection | \subsubsection{...} | | ## Abstract | \begin{abstract}...\end{abstract} | | Headings starting with Appendix | \appendix once, then \section{...} | | **bold** | \textbf{...} | | *italic* | \emph{...} | | ` code | \texttt{...} | | [@Key] | \citep{Key} | | [@Key1; @Key2] | \citep{Key1,Key2} | | @Key (inline) | \citet{Key} | | $...$ / $$...$$ | Pass through unchanged | | - item | \begin{itemize}\item ...\end{itemize} | | 1. item | \begin{enumerate}\item ...\end{enumerate} | | > quote | \begin{quote}...\end{quote} | | | \begin{figure}[htbp]\includegraphics{path}\caption{caption}\end{figure} | | Pipe tables | \begin{table}[htbp]\begin{tabular}{...}...\end{tabular}\end{table} | | Fenced code blocks | \begin{verbatim}...\end{verbatim} | | --- (horizontal rule) | \bigskip\hrule\bigskip` or omit |

Preamble Template

\documentclass[a4paper,11pt]{article}

\usepackage[a4paper,margin=1in]{geometry}
\usepackage{hyperref}
\hypersetup{colorlinks=true,linkcolor=blue,citecolor=blue,urlcolor=blue}
\usepackage{booktabs}
\usepackage{tabularx}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage{amsmath,amssymb}
\usepackage{enumitem}
\usepackage[backend=biber,style=authoryear,natbib=true]{biblatex}
\addbibresource{references.bib}

\title{...}
\author{...}
\date{\today}

\begin{document}
\maketitle
% content here
\printbibliography
\end{document}

Adjust the preamble based on what the draft actually uses (e.g., skip graphicx if no figures). The natbib=true option provides \citet/\citep compatibility. If the project already uses natbib (e.g., with a journal .bst file), keep natbib — but for new scaffolds, biblatex is the default.

Step 3: Strip Markdown Residue

After conversion, scan the .tex file for any remaining Markdown syntax:

• ## heading markers
• ** bold markers
• [@ citation markers
• Pipe | table syntax
• ![ image markers

These indicate incomplete conversion — fix them.

Step 4: Wire Bibliography

• If a .bib file exists in the project, point \addbibresource{} to it
• If the project has a references.bib, use that
• If no .bib exists but citations are present, create placeholder comments: % TODO: create .bib with keys: Key1, Key2, ...
• Ensure \printbibliography is at the end of the document (not \bibliography{})

Step 5: Compile and Verify

Run /latex to compile. Verify:

• [ ] Document compiles without errors
• [ ] All citations resolve (or are marked as TODO)
• [ ] Tables render correctly
• [ ] Math renders correctly
• [ ] Page count is reasonable

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Rules

• No content rewriting — this is format conversion only. Do not improve prose, fix grammar, or reorganise sections.
• Preserve all content — every paragraph, figure reference, and citation in the draft must appear in the .tex output.
• Strip heading numbering — if the draft has numbered headings like 1.2 Methods, let LaTeX handle the numbering (just use \subsection{Methods}).
• Use /latex for compilation — never bare pdflatex or latexmk without out/ directory.
• Bold caption lines like **Table 1. Description** immediately before a pipe table should become \caption{Description} inside a table float.

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Cross-References

| Skill | When to use alongside | |-------|----------------------| | /latex | Compile the scaffolded .tex file | | /latex | For manual compilation config and .latexmkrc setup | | /bib-validate | After scaffolding to verify all citation keys resolve | | /proofread | After scaffolding for grammar and consistency check | | /latex-template | After scaffolding to verify preamble aligns with the working paper template |

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: flonat
• Source: flonat/claude-research
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.