Initialize LaTeX Academic Project

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

Skill Directory Layout

~/.claude/skills/init-latex-project/
├── SKILL.md
├── templates/
│   ├── macros.tex                  # Full math macro library
│   ├── main.tex                    # Generic arXiv/whitepaper template
│   ├── CLAUDE.md                   # Writing rules for AI agents
│   └── venues/
│       ├── iclr/main.tex           # ICLR single-column template
│       ├── cvpr/main.tex           # CVPR two-column template
│       ├── icml/main.tex           # ICML two-column template
│       ├── acm/main.tex            # ACM SIGCONF template
│       └── acl/main.tex            # ACL/*ACL single-column template
└── scripts/
    └── init.sh                     # Shell script that builds the project

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

Supported venues: iclr, cvpr, icml, acm, acl

2. Run the init script

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

Important: Use the absolute path to init.sh. Do NOT use ~ — expand it to the actual home directory (e.g., /Users/username/.claude/skills/...). Find the correct home directory from the environment or from previous messages.

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

ICLR

Layout: Single-column
Document class: \documentclass{article} + \usepackage[submitted]{iclr2026_conference}
Bibliography: iclr2026.bst
Extra sections: sections/impact.tex (optional Ethics Statement)
Style files: https://github.com/ICLR/Master-Template

CVPR

Layout: Two-column (10pt, letterpaper)
Document class: \documentclass[times,10pt,twocolumn,letterpaper]{article} + \usepackage[review]{cvpr}
Bibliography: ieeenat_fullname.bst
Important: Use figure* / table* for full-width floats in two-column layout
Style files: https://github.com/cvpr-org/author-kit

ICML

Layout: Two-column (via icml2026.sty)
Document class: \documentclass{article} + \usepackage{icml2026}
Bibliography: icml2026.bst (APA format)
MANDATORY: sections/impact.tex — Broader Impact Statement, does NOT count toward page limit
Extra: Uses ICML-specific author macros (\icmltitle, \icmlauthor, etc.)
Style files: https://icml.cc/Downloads/2026

ACM (SIGCONF)

Layout: Varies (sigconf is typically single-column for submission)
Document class: \documentclass[sigconf,review,anonymous]{acmart}
Bibliography: ACM-Reference-Format.bst
Author format: Each author has separate \author{}, \affiliation{}, \email{} commands
CCS Concepts: Required for camera-ready (the \ccsdesc commands)
Warning: acmart conflicts with some packages — see comments in main.tex
Style files: Usually pre-installed in TeX Live / MiKTeX

ACL / *ACL Venues (EMNLP, NAACL, EACL, COLING)

Layout: Single-column
Document class: \documentclass[11pt]{article} + \usepackage[review]{acl}
Bibliography: acl_natbib.bst
Citation style: \citet{} for in-text, \cite{} (= \citep{}) for parenthetical
Extra sections: sections/limitations.tex + sections/ethics.tex
Style files: https://github.com/acl-org/acl-style-files

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
/init-latex-project my-iclr-paper ~/Papers --venue iclr --git
/init-latex-project my-cvpr-paper . --venue cvpr
/init-latex-project my-icml-paper . --venue icml --git
/init-latex-project my-acm-paper . --venue acm
/init-latex-project my-acl-paper ~/Papers --venue acl

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 `icml2026` to avoid double-load errors

init-latex-project