LaTeX

Write LaTeX documents with correct syntax, packages, and compilation workflow.

Popular

Join 2,418+ developers using this skill

skill

Documentation & Writing

intermediate

2,418 installs

View Source

Last updated: April 29, 2026

AI Skill Market Insights

Real data. Real impact.

Popularity

Top 50%

Growing

Active Users

2,418+

Developers

Quick Start

Manual Installation

No automatic installation available. Please visit the source repository for installation instructions.

View Installation Instructions

TEAR & SHARE

3-5hrs/WK

RISING

2.4K+ USING

Special Characters

Reserved chars need escape:
```
\# \$ \% \& \_ \{ \} \textbackslash
```
Tilde as character:
```
\textasciitilde
```
not
```
\~
```
(that's an accent)
Caret:
```
\textasciicircum
```
not
```
\^
```
Backslash in text:
```
\textbackslash
```
not
```
\\
```
(that's line break)

Quotes & Dashes

Opening quotes:
```
``
```
not
```
"
```
; closing:
```
''
```
—never use straight
```
"
```
quotes
Hyphen
```
-
```
, en-dash
```
--
```
(ranges: 1--10), em-dash
```
---
```
(punctuation)
Minus in math mode:
```
$-1$
```
not
```
-1
```
in text

Math Mode

Inline:
```
$...$
```
or
```
$...$
```
; display:
```
\[...\]
```
or
```
equation
```
environment

Text inside math:

$E = mc^2 \text{ where } m \text{ is mass}$

Multiline equations:
```
align
```
environment, not multiple
```
equation
```
s
```
\left( ... \right)
```
for auto-sizing delimiters—must be paired

Spacing

Command followed by text needs
```
{}
```
or
```
\ 
```
:
```
\LaTeX{}
```
or
```
\LaTeX\ is
```
Non-breaking space:
```
~
```
between number and unit:
```
5~km
```
Force space in math:
```
\,
```
thin,
```
\:
```
medium,
```
\;
```
thick,
```
\quad
```
```
\qquad
```

Packages

```
\usepackage
```
order matters—
```
hyperref
```
almost always last

inputenc

fontenc

for UTF-8:

\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}

\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}

```
graphicx
```
for images,
```
booktabs
```
for professional tables,
```
amsmath
```
for advanced math
```
microtype
```
for better typography—load early, subtle but significant improvement

Floats (Figures & Tables)

```
[htbp]
```
suggests placement: here, top, bottom, page—not commands
LaTeX may move floats far from source—use
```
[H]
```
from
```
float
```
package to force
Always use
```
\centering
```
inside float, not
```
center
```
environment
Caption before
```
\label
```
—label references the last numbered element

References

Compile twice to resolve
```
\ref
```
and
```
\pageref
```
—first pass collects, second uses
```
\label
```
immediately after
```
\caption
```
or inside environment being labeled
For bibliography: latex → bibtex → latex → latex (4 passes)
```
hyperref
```
makes refs clickable—but can break with some packages

Tables

```
tabular
```
for inline,
```
table
```
float for numbered with caption
Use
```
booktabs
```
:
```
\toprule
```
,
```
\midrule
```
,
```
\bottomrule
```
—no vertical lines
```
@{}
```
removes padding:
```
\begin{tabular}{@{}lll@{}}
```
Multicolumn:
```
\multicolumn{2}{c}{Header}
```
; multirow needs
```
multirow
```
package

Images

Path relative to main file or set with
```
\graphicspath{{./images/}}
```
Prefer PDF/EPS for pdflatex/latex; PNG/JPG for photos

\includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth]{file}

—no extension often better

Common Errors

Overfull hbox: line too long—rephrase, add
```
\-
```
hyphenation hints, or allow
```
\sloppy
```
Missing
```
$
```
: math command used in text mode
Undefined control sequence: typo or missing package
```
\include
```
adds page break,
```
\input
```
doesn't—use
```
\input
```
for fragments

Document Structure

Preamble before
```
\begin{document}
```
—all
```
\usepackage
```
and settings

\maketitle

after

\begin{document}

if using

\title

\author

\date

```
article
```
for short docs,
```
report
```
for chapters without parts,
```
book
```
for full books

LaTeX

AI Skill Market Insights

Quick Start

Manual Installation

TEAR & SHARE

Tags

Sepia (de-AI writing)

Be Part of the 2,418+ Developer Community

Special Characters

Quotes & Dashes

Math Mode

Spacing

Packages

Floats (Figures & Tables)

References

Tables

Images

Common Errors

Document Structure

Technical Writer

Archify (architecture diagrams)

Documentation Engineer

no-ai-slop (writing editor)

Channels

Learn

Compare

Company

Agents