LaTeX Compile and Check

Step 1: Check LaTeX Engine Availability

Before compiling, verify that a LaTeX engine is available:

which pdflatex || which latexmk || which xelatex

If pdflatex is available, use it (most venues recommend pdflatex). If only latexmk is available, use: latexmk -pdf -interaction=nonstopmode ${MAIN_BASE}.tex (substitute MAIN_BASE from project/paper-paths.md — see Step 3) If only xelatex is available, use it but note xelatex output may differ slightly.

If no LaTeX engine is found, report:

"No LaTeX engine found. Please install TeX Live: sudo apt-get install texlive-full or on macOS: install MacTeX from https://www.tug.org/mactex/"

Also check for required helper tools:

which bibtex && which pdfinfo || which pdftotext

Note missing tools but proceed with what is available.

Step 2: Locate the Paper Files

Read project/paper-paths.md to find the LaTeX file paths:

Read("project/paper-paths.md")

Use main_tex, bibliography, sections_dir, and figures_dir from the config. If project/paper-paths.md does not exist, search:

Glob: paper/latex/*.tex

and ask the user which is the main file.

Verify the main file and related files exist:

Glob: {{main_tex}}
Glob: {{bibliography}}
Glob: {{sections_dir}}/*.tex
Glob: paper/tables/*.tex
Glob: {{figures_dir}}/*.pdf
Glob: {{figures_dir}}/*.png

Note all .tex input files — these will be scanned for anonymization and cross-reference checks.

Check which bibliography files are referenced:

Grep: pattern=\\bibliography{, path={{main_tex}}

Step 3: Compile the Paper

Navigate to the LaTeX directory (parent of main_tex) and run the full compile sequence. Derive LATEX_DIR and MAIN_BASE from main_tex in project/paper-paths.md.

LATEX_DIR="$(dirname {{main_tex}})"
MAIN_BASE="$(basename {{main_tex}} .tex)"

cd "${LATEX_DIR}" && \
  pdflatex -interaction=nonstopmode "${MAIN_BASE}.tex" 2>&1 | tail -20

Then run BibTeX to resolve citations:

cd "${LATEX_DIR}" && bibtex "${MAIN_BASE}" 2>&1

Then run pdflatex twice more to resolve cross-references:

cd "${LATEX_DIR}" && \
  pdflatex -interaction=nonstopmode "${MAIN_BASE}.tex" 2>&1 | tail -5 && \
  pdflatex -interaction=nonstopmode "${MAIN_BASE}.tex" 2>&1 | tail -5

Why four passes?

1. First pdflatex: generates .aux with citation keys and labels
2. bibtex: processes .aux → .bbl (resolved bibliography)
3. Second pdflatex: incorporates .bbl, generates forward references
4. Third pdflatex: resolves any remaining forward references and page numbers

If bibtex fails entirely (exit code non-zero), note it but continue — the PDF can still compile with unresolved citations shown as [?].

Step 4: Parse the Build Log for Errors and Warnings

Read ${LATEX_DIR}/${MAIN_BASE}.log (paths derived from Step 3). Search for the following patterns:

Errors (FAIL)

Grep: pattern=^! , path=${LATEX_DIR}/${MAIN_BASE}.log

Common errors and their meanings (see references/latex-error-guide.md for fixes):

Undefined References (WARN)

Grep: pattern=LaTeX Warning: Reference .* undefined, path=${LATEX_DIR}/${MAIN_BASE}.log
Grep: pattern=LaTeX Warning: Citation .* undefined, path=${LATEX_DIR}/${MAIN_BASE}.log

Extract the undefined reference/citation keys from these warnings. List each one.

Overfull Hboxes (WARN — flag if > 10pt)

Grep: pattern=Overfull \\\\hbox \(([0-9]+), path=${LATEX_DIR}/${MAIN_BASE}.log

Filter for cases where the overfull amount exceeds 10pt. An overfull hbox of 0.1pt is normal due to hyphenation; anything above 10pt is visible on the page and should be fixed.

Missing figure files

Grep: pattern=File .* not found, path=${LATEX_DIR}/${MAIN_BASE}.log

List any figure or input files that could not be found.

Multiply defined labels

Grep: pattern=multiply defined, path=${LATEX_DIR}/${MAIN_BASE}.log

These cause non-deterministic page numbers on different compiler runs and must be fixed.

Font warnings

Grep: pattern=Font Warning, path=${LATEX_DIR}/${MAIN_BASE}.log

Font substitutions can cause text to render incorrectly in the final PDF.

Step 5: Count Pages in the Output PDF

If pdfinfo is available:

pdfinfo "${LATEX_DIR}/${MAIN_BASE}.pdf" | grep Pages

If pdfinfo is not available, use pdftotext:

pdftotext "${LATEX_DIR}/${MAIN_BASE}.pdf" - | grep -c '^\f'

Or check the log for the page count line:

Grep: pattern=Output written on .*\.pdf, path=${LATEX_DIR}/${MAIN_BASE}.log

This line reads: Output written on MAIN_BASE.pdf (N pages, XXXXX bytes).

Page limits: Read project/venue-config.md (if it exists) for the submission page limit. If not available, check references/acl-style-rules.md for ACL-family venues, or ask the user. Common defaults (use only if neither file exists):

• Review mode long paper: 8 content pages + unlimited references
• Final mode long paper: 9 content pages + unlimited references
• Short paper review: 4 pages; short paper final: 5 pages

To distinguish content pages from reference pages: count pages before \bibliography{} appears. As a heuristic, the last content page is typically the one before "References" appears in the PDF text.

Verdict:

• Page count within limit → PASS
• Page count over limit → FAIL with count of pages to cut

Step 6: Check Submission Mode (Review vs. Final)

Use {{main_tex from project/paper-paths.md}}:

Grep: pattern=\\usepackage\[review\], path={{main_tex}}
Grep: pattern=\\usepackage\[final\], path={{main_tex}}
Grep: pattern=\\usepackage\[preprint\], path={{main_tex}}

Report the current mode:

• [review]: Review submission mode — anonymization required
• [final] or no option: Camera-ready / final mode — author info required
• [preprint]: Non-anonymous preprint mode with page numbers

Step 7: Anonymization Check (if in review mode)

If the paper is in [review] mode, scan ALL .tex files for identity-revealing content.

Collect all tex files:

Glob: paper/latex/*.tex
Glob: paper/sections/*.tex
Glob: paper/tables/*.tex

Check for author names in body text:

The [review] ACL option automatically removes the \author{...} block from the PDF, but the user may accidentally include their name in the body. Check for the names that appear in the \author{...} block of acl_latex.tex and search for them in body tex files.

Also check for common patterns:

Grep: pattern=\\section\*\{Acknowledgment, path=paper/, glob=**/*.tex
Grep: pattern=\\section\*\{Acknowledgments, path=paper/, glob=**/*.tex

Acknowledgment sections must be completely absent in review mode.

Check for institutional URLs:

Grep: pattern=\\url\{https?://, path=paper/, glob=**/*.tex
Grep: pattern=href\{https?://, path=paper/, glob=**/*.tex

For any URL found, report it and flag if it points to a personal or lab domain (e.g., github.com/{username}, {labname}.{university}.edu).

Check for self-referential citations that reveal identity: Look for patterns like Anonymous (should not appear — ACL guidance says to write self-references in third person, not as "Anonymous"):

Grep: pattern=Anonymous, path=paper/, glob=**/*.tex

Report:

• PASS: No identity-revealing content found
• ISSUES FOUND: List each finding with file:line

Step 8: Verify All Citation Keys

Extract all citation keys used in the paper:

Grep: pattern=\\cite[tp]?\{([^}]+)\}, path=paper/, glob=**/*.tex, output_mode=content

Also check for \nocite{...} entries.

Parse out each individual key (split on commas within braces).

Then check all keys exist in the bibliography files:

• paper/latex/custom.bib: search for @{type}{key,
• paper/anthology.bib.txt: search for @{type}{key,

Flag any citation key that appears in the .tex files but not in either .bib file. These will compile as [?] in the PDF.

Also run the BibTeX warnings from the log:

Grep: pattern=I didn't find a database entry, path=${LATEX_DIR}/${MAIN_BASE}.blg

Step 9: Verify All Cross-References

Extract all \label{...} definitions across all tex files:

Grep: pattern=\\label\{([^}]+)\}, path=paper/, glob=**/*.tex, output_mode=content

Extract all \ref{...}, \autoref{...}, \pageref{...} usages:

Grep: pattern=\\(?:auto)?ref\{([^}]+)\}, path=paper/, glob=**/*.tex, output_mode=content

Compare the two sets. Flag any \ref{key} where key does not appear in any \label{...}. These will produce "undefined reference" warnings and appear as ?? in the PDF.

Also check the log for the definitive list of undefined references (Step 4 captures these).

Step 10: Generate the Pre-Submission Checklist

Write paper/submission_checklist_YYYYMMDD.md (replace YYYYMMDD with today's date):

# Pre-Submission Checklist — YYYY-MM-DD

## Build Status
- [ BUILD: PASS/FAIL ] LaTeX compilation completed without fatal errors
- [ BIBTEX: PASS/FAIL ] BibTeX resolved all citations

## Errors
<list each error from Step 4, or "None found">

## Warnings
### Undefined References
<list each undefined \ref{} key, or "None">

### Undefined Citations  
<list each undefined \cite{} key, or "None">

### Overfull Hboxes (>10pt)
<list each overfull hbox with line number, or "None">

### Missing Files
<list each missing figure/include, or "None">

## Page Count
- [ PAGES: PASS/FAIL ] Content pages: N (limit: [from project/venue-config.md or user input])
- Submission mode: review / final

## Anonymization
- [ ANON: PASS/ISSUES FOUND ] 
<list any identity-revealing content found, or "No issues found">

## Citations
- [ CITE: PASS/FAIL ] All N citation keys resolved

## Cross-References
- [ REFS: PASS/FAIL ] All N cross-references resolved

## Summary
**X errors, Y warnings, Z content pages, anonymization: OK/ISSUES FOUND**

Step 11: Print Summary

After writing the checklist, print a concise summary to the user:

Build: PASS/FAIL
Errors: N (list briefly)
Warnings: N overfull hboxes, M undefined refs, K undefined citations
Pages: N content pages (limit: [from venue-config.md]) — PASS/FAIL
Mode: review / final
Anonymization: OK / ISSUES FOUND (list briefly)
Checklist saved to: paper/submission_checklist_YYYYMMDD.md

Step 12: Overleaf Sync Reminder

After any run that makes changes (fixes applied, checklist written):

Overleaf sync required. The paper/ directory is a git submodule pointing to Overleaf. Run the following to push all changes:

cd paper && git add -A && git commit -m "Pre-submission compile check YYYY-MM-DD" && git push

Then from the parent repo:

git add paper && git commit -m "Update paper submodule pointer" && git push

Reference Files

• references/acl-style-rules.md — Full ACL formatting requirements (margins, fonts, page limits, anonymization rules, table/figure conventions)
• references/latex-error-guide.md — Common LaTeX errors with quick-fix instructions