Initialize LaTeX Academic Project

Set up a complete LaTeX academic paper project from the standard template.

Skill Directory Layout

<installed-skill-dir>/
├── SKILL.md
├── sources.yaml                    # Authoritative download sources per venue (verified)
├── templates/
│   ├── macros.tex                  # Full math macro library
│   ├── main.tex                    # Generic arXiv/whitepaper template
│   ├── CLAUDE.md                   # Writing rules for AI agents
│   └── venues/
│       ├── icml/main.tex           # ICML two-column template
│       ├── acl/main.tex            # ACL/*ACL single-column template
│       ├── emnlp/main.tex          # EMNLP (same acl.sty as ACL)
│       ├── naacl/main.tex          # NAACL (same acl.sty as ACL)
│       ├── iccv/main.tex           # ICCV two-column template
│       ├── eccv/main.tex           # ECCV single-column (Springer LNCS)
│       ├── neurips/main.tex        # NeurIPS single-column template
│       ├── iclr/main.tex           # ICLR single-column template
│       ├── cvpr/main.tex           # CVPR two-column template
│       └── acm/main.tex            # ACM SIGCONF template
└── scripts/
    └── init.sh                     # Builds project + downloads official style files

How venue_preamble.tex works

Every venue template uses

\input{venue_preamble}

instead of a hardcoded

\usepackage{neurips_<year>}

init.sh

downloads the official

.sty

.bst

files from the venue's authoritative source (see

sources.yaml

), detects the actual filename, and writes

venue_preamble.tex

automatically.

project/
├── main.tex              ← \input{venue_preamble}  (stable, never changes)
├── venue_preamble.tex    ← generated by init.sh  (edit here to change mode)
├── neurips_<year>.sty    ← downloaded from neurips.cc
└── ...

To switch submission mode (e.g., anonymous → camera-ready), only edit
venue_preamble.tex
—

main.tex

never needs to change.

Steps to Follow

1. Parse

$ARGUMENTS

Position/Flag	Meaning	Required
First word	Project name	Yes
Second word	Target directory (default: current dir)	No
`--venue <name>`	Conference venue	No
`--git`	Initialize git repo	No
`--offline`	Skip style-file download (creates placeholder venue_preamble.tex)	No

Supported venues (by deadline month):

Venue	Month	Style	Source
`icml`	Jan	two-column	icml.cc
`acl`	Feb	single-column	github.com/acl-org/acl-style-files
`iccv`	Mar (biennial, odd)	two-column	CVF / iccv.thecvf.com
`eccv`	Mar (biennial, even)	single-column (LNCS)	github.com/paolo-favaro/paper-template
`neurips`	May	single-column	neurips.cc
`emnlp`	May	single-column	github.com/acl-org/acl-style-files
`iclr`	Sep	single-column	github.com/ICLR/Master-Template
`cvpr`	Nov	two-column	github.com/cvpr-org/author-kit
`naacl`	Dec	single-column	github.com/acl-org/acl-style-files
`acm`	varies	single-column	CTAN (pre-installed)

2. Run the init script

bash

bash <init-latex-project-skill-dir>/scripts/init.sh <project-name> [target-dir] [--venue <venue>] [--git]

Important: Resolve

<init-latex-project-skill-dir>

as the installed directory for this skill and use the absolute path to

init.sh

. Do not assume a Claude-specific install path.

3. Offer to immediately customize

After the script runs, ask the user if they want to:

Update
```
sections/title.tex
```
with their actual title
Fill in authors and affiliations in
```
main.tex
```
Any other immediate adjustments

4. Print the script's output to the user

The script prints a file tree and venue-specific setup notes. Make sure the user sees these.

Venue Details

All sources are verified in

sources.yaml

init.sh

downloads style files automatically. Edit

venue_preamble.tex

to switch submission mode.

ICML — Jan deadline

Layout: Two-column
Doc class:
```
article
```
+
```
\usepackage{icml{YEAR}}
```
(year-specific)
Bibliography:
```
icml{YEAR}.bst
```
MANDATORY:
```
sections/impact.tex
```
(Broader Impact, no page limit)
Note: Uses ICML-specific author macros (
```
\icmltitle
```
,
```
\icmlauthor
```
, etc.)

ACL / EMNLP / NAACL — *ACL family

Layout: Single-column

Doc class:

\documentclass[11pt]{article}

\usepackage[review]{acl}

(stable name)

Bibliography:
```
acl_natbib.bst
```
Citations:
```
\citet{}
```
in-text;
```
\cite{}
```
/
```
\citep{}
```
parenthetical
MANDATORY:
```
sections/limitations.tex
```
(no page limit)
Required if applicable:
```
sections/ethics.tex
```

ICCV — Mar deadline (biennial, odd years: 2025, 2027, …)

Layout: Two-column (same CVF format as CVPR)

Doc class:

\documentclass[times,10pt,twocolumn,letterpaper]{article}

\usepackage[review]{iccv}

Bibliography:
```
ieeenat_fullname.bst
```
Note: Use
```
figure*
```
/
```
table*
```
for full-width floats

ECCV — Mar deadline (biennial, even years: 2024, 2026, …)

Layout: Single-column (Springer LNCS)
Doc class:
```
\documentclass[runningheads]{llncs}
```
— NOT article
Style:
```
eccv.sty
```
+
```
eccvabbrv.sty
```
Bibliography:
```
splncs04.bst
```
Page limit: 14 pages including figures; references uncapped
Author format: LNCS
```
\author{}\inst{}\institute{}
```
macros

NeurIPS — May deadline

Layout: Single-column
Doc class:
```
article
```
+
```
\usepackage{neurips_{YEAR}}
```
(year-specific)
Bibliography:
```
unsrtnat
```
(numeric, sorted by appearance)
Acknowledgments: Use
```
{ack}
```
environment (auto-hides in anonymous mode)
MANDATORY:
```
sections/impact.tex
```
(Broader Impact, no page limit)
MANDATORY:
```
sections/checklist.tex
```
(Author Checklist, no page limit)

ICLR — Sep deadline

Layout: Single-column

Doc class:

article

\usepackage[submitted]{iclr{YEAR}_conference}

(year-specific)

Bibliography:
```
iclr{YEAR}_conference.bst
```
Extra:
```
sections/impact.tex
```
(optional Ethics Statement)

CVPR — Nov deadline

Layout: Two-column

Doc class:

\documentclass[times,10pt,twocolumn,letterpaper]{article}

\usepackage[review]{cvpr}

(stable name)

Bibliography:
```
ieeenat_fullname.bst
```
Note: Use
```
figure*
```
/
```
table*
```
for full-width floats

ACM — varies

Layout: Single-column (sigconf)

Doc class:

\documentclass[sigconf,review,anonymous]{acmart}

(pre-installed via CTAN)

Bibliography:
```
ACM-Reference-Format.bst
```
Camera-ready extras:
```
\acmConference
```
,
```
\acmDOI
```
,
```
\setcopyright
```
, CCS concepts

What Is Always Included (Every Venue)

macros.tex
— complete math macro library:

Calligraphic
```
\calA
```
…
```
\calZ
```
, bold
```
\bA
```
…
```
\bZ
```
/
```
\ba
```
…
```
\bz
```
Blackboard bold
```
\R
```
```
\E
```
```
\P
```
```
\B
```
Greek shortcuts
```
\sG
```
```
\lG
```
```
\tG
```
```
\pa
```
```
\half
```
Operators
```
\argmin
```
```
\argmax
```
```
\Softmax
```
```
\Sigmoid
```
```
\Var
```
Sum shortcuts
```
\sumN
```
```
\sumK
```
```
\sumM
```
```
\sumT
```
Theorem environments (grey tcolorbox):
```
theorem
```
```
lemma
```
```
definition
```
```
remark
```
```
assumption
```
Author comment macros
```
\jerry{}
```
```
\wwm{}
```
```
\jieke{}
```
etc.

Standard section files (all placeholder):

title.tex

abstract.tex

intro.tex

related.tex

method.tex

exp.tex

conclusion.tex

appendix.tex

acknowledgement.tex

bib/refs.bib
— empty with usage example

Example Invocations

/init-latex-project my-new-paper                                  # generic arXiv
/init-latex-project my-icml-paper   ~/Papers --venue icml   --git
/init-latex-project my-acl-paper    ~/Papers --venue acl    --git
/init-latex-project my-iccv-paper   .        --venue iccv
/init-latex-project my-eccv-paper   .        --venue eccv
/init-latex-project my-neurips-paper .       --venue neurips --git
/init-latex-project my-emnlp-paper  .        --venue emnlp
/init-latex-project my-iclr-paper   ~/Papers --venue iclr   --git
/init-latex-project my-cvpr-paper   .        --venue cvpr
/init-latex-project my-naacl-paper  .        --venue naacl
/init-latex-project my-acm-paper    .        --venue acm
/init-latex-project my-paper-offline . --venue neurips --offline  # skip download

If the Auto-Download Fails

init.sh

cannot reach the venue server,

venue_preamble.tex

is created as a placeholder. Fix it:

Visit the venue's author instructions page (URL is in
```
sources.yaml
```
).
Download the style zip manually and unpack
```
.sty
```
/
```
.bst
```
files into the project root.
Edit
```
venue_preamble.tex
```
to add the correct
```
\usepackage{...}
```
line.

As a last resort, use WebSearch to find the current year's download URL and fetch it:

bash

# Example for NeurIPS <year>:
curl -fsSL https://media.nips.cc/Conferences/<year>/Styles/neurips_<year>.zip -o /tmp/n.zip
unzip -j /tmp/n.zip "*.sty" -d /path/to/project/

Package Conflict Notes

The

macros.tex

library is loaded last in all venue templates (after venue packages), so our definitions take precedence. Known conflicts:

Venue	Potential Conflict	Resolution
ACM	`acmart` redefines `\P`	Our `\P = \mathbb{P}` overrides it — intentional
ACM	`acmart` has its own `\cite`	`\let\cite\citep` in macros.tex may interfere — comment it out if needed
CVPR	Two-column layout	`tcolorbox` theorem envs may span columns — switch to plain `amsthm` if needed
ICML	Uses its own `hyperref` setup	Load macros.tex after `icml<year>` to avoid double-load errors
NeurIPS	`algorithmic` vs `algpseudocode`	Always use `algpseudocode` (lowercase `\State` , `\Require` , etc.). The older `algorithmic` package uses ALL-CAPS commands and is incompatible with modern algorithm code.
NeurIPS	`cleveref` Option Clash	`cleveref` must be loaded ONCE, in `main.tex` , AFTER `hyperref` . The macros.tex template also contains `\usepackage[capitalize,noabbrev]{cleveref}` — this causes an Option Clash ( `capitalise` vs `capitalize` ) when both files are compiled together. Fix: remove or comment out the `cleveref` line from `macros.tex` in NeurIPS projects. The NeurIPS venue template already does this correctly.
ALL	`\def$` , `\def$` , `\def\[` , `\def\]` in macros.tex	PERMANENTLY DISABLED. These four lines redefined LaTeX's built-in math-mode delimiters ( `` = inline math; `\[ \]` = display math), which broke ALL math environments ( $...$ , `\begin{equation}` , `algorithmic` states, etc.) with cascading "Missing $" and "Extra )" errors. Never re-enable. Use `\left( ... \right)` explicitly instead.
ALL	`\usepackage{algorithm}` + `\usepackage{algorithmic}` in macros.tex	PERMANENTLY DISABLED. Loading both `algorithm` / `algorithmic` alongside `algpseudocode` (required by NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR) causes "Command \algorithmicindent already defined" and similar errors. The `algorithm` float wrapper should be loaded once in `main.tex` together with exactly one of `algpseudocode` (modern, recommended) or `algorithmic` (legacy).

init-latex-project

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Initialize LaTeX Academic Project

Skill Directory Layout

How venue_preamble.tex works

Steps to Follow

1. Parse
`$ARGUMENTS`

2. Run the init script

3. Offer to immediately customize

4. Print the script's output to the user

Venue Details

ICML — Jan deadline

ACL / EMNLP / NAACL — *ACL family

ICCV — Mar deadline (biennial, odd years: 2025, 2027, …)

ECCV — Mar deadline (biennial, even years: 2024, 2026, …)

NeurIPS — May deadline

ICLR — Sep deadline

CVPR — Nov deadline

ACM — varies

What Is Always Included (Every Venue)

Example Invocations

If the Auto-Download Fails

Package Conflict Notes