latex-forge 0.3.0

CLI for creating standalone LaTeX projects from this toolbox.

LaTeX Forge

Create professional documents. Save. Your PDF appears instantly.

Lire en français

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One command creates a ready-to-write document project. Open it in VS Code, start writing, save — your PDF rebuilds and appears in a side panel automatically. No manual compilation, no window switching.

Works for humans and AI agents alike. Every generated project includes an AGENTS.md that briefs any AI assistant on the document structure, so it can contribute immediately.

How it feels

Write on one side. See your document on the other. Every save refreshes the result.

Quick start

# 1 — install
pipx install latex-forge

# 2 — set up your environment (LaTeX + VS Code extensions)
latex-forge setup

# 3 — create a project
latex-forge create --name my-report --template project-report-en

# 4 — open and start writing
code my-report

Requires Python 3.10+. If pipx is not installed: brew install pipx on macOS, or see pipx.pypa.io.

Installation

pipx install latex-forge

First setup

On a fresh machine, run the setup command to verify your environment and install what's missing:

latex-forge setup

This checks for latexmk and lualatex, and offers to install them automatically (brew on macOS, apt on Debian/Ubuntu, winget on Windows). VS Code extensions are installed too if the code CLI is available.

Shell completion

Tab completion for commands, flags, and template names:

bash (~/.bashrc) or zsh (~/.zshrc):

eval "$(latex-forge completion)"

Configuration

# ~/.latex-forge.toml
default_template = "project-report-en"
default_output_dir = "~/Documents/projects"

Key	Description
default_template	Template used when --template is omitted
default_output_dir	Output directory used when --output is omitted

Usage

Interactive mode

$ latex-forge create

Project name: my-report
Available templates:
  1. cv-en
  2. cv-fr
  3. project-report-en
  4. project-report-fr
  5. research
Choose a template [1-5]: 3
Create project in [/Users/alice/Desktop]:

Project created: /Users/alice/Desktop/my-report
Open project in VS Code? [y/N]

With flags

latex-forge create --name my-report --template project-report-en
latex-forge create --name my-paper --template research --output ~/Desktop

Rename a project

latex-forge rename old-name new-name   # from parent directory
latex-forge rename new-name            # from inside the project

Built-in templates

Template	Language	Description
project-report-en	English	ISO/IEEE project report — requirements, architecture, testing, bibliography
project-report-fr	French	AFNOR/ISO project report — cahier des charges, architecture, tests, bibliographie
research	English	Two-column research article — related work, methodology, experiments, bibliography
cv-en	English	CV / résumé — education, experience, projects, skills
cv-fr	French	CV — formation, expérience, projets, compétences

latex-forge list-templates

Template gallery

More document types are available in the latex-forge-gallery: CVs, theses, articles, presentations, posters, and more.

# install any template directly by URL
latex-forge template install https://github.com/thmsgo18/latex-forge-gallery/tree/main/templates/thesis/clean-thesis

# create a project from it
latex-forge create --template clean-thesis --name my-thesis

# manage installed templates
latex-forge template list
latex-forge template remove clean-thesis

Filling in your project

Open frontmatter/metadata.tex to set the title, authors, and course:

\newcommand{\reporttitle}{Audio Fingerprinting Study}
\newcommand{\coursename}{Machine Learning}

\resetauthors
\addauthor{Alice Martin}{}
\addauthor{Bob Durand}{}

\resetteachers
\addteacher{Dr Example}{}

Save the main .tex file — the PDF rebuilds instantly in VS Code.

Generated project structure

my-project/
├── my-project.tex            ← main file (renamed from the project name)
├── frontmatter/
│   ├── metadata.tex          ← title, authors, course — start here
│   └── toc.tex
├── sections/                 ← one .tex file per section
├── backmatter/               ← acknowledgements, appendices
├── bibliography/
│   └── references.bib
├── figures/
├── images/
├── assets/logos/
├── styles/packages/          ← embedded styles, no external dependency
├── .vscode/                  ← pre-configured for live PDF preview
├── AGENTS.md                 ← AI briefing for this document
└── .gitignore

The project is fully self-contained: styles and assets are copied in at creation time. It compiles, shares, and versions independently — no dependency on this repository.

AI-friendly by design

Every generated project includes AGENTS.md — a self-contained briefing that tells any AI assistant exactly what the project contains, how to compile it, how to add content, and what not to touch. An AI can open a project cold and contribute correctly without any extra context.

Command reference

Command	Description
latex-forge create	Create a project (interactive)
latex-forge create --name NAME --template TEMPLATE	Create with explicit arguments
latex-forge create --output DIR	Set output directory
latex-forge rename OLD NEW	Rename from parent directory
latex-forge rename NEW	Rename from inside project
latex-forge list-templates	List available templates
latex-forge setup	Check and set up the environment
latex-forge setup --check-only	Check without installing
latex-forge setup --install-tex	Install LaTeX
latex-forge template install URL	Install a template
latex-forge template list	List all templates
latex-forge template remove NAME	Remove an installed template
latex-forge completion	Print shell completion code
latex-forge --version	Show version

Versioning

Each project is self-contained — version it independently:

cd my-project
git init
git add .
git commit -m "Initial report"

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md.

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Made by thmsgo18