Transform messy conference LaTeX template .zip files into clean, Overleaf-ready submission templates. Official templates often contain excessive examples and disorganized files — this skill converts them into templates ready for writing.
Pre-load (before execution)
- Codebase docs: If
.workflow/codebase/ARCHITECTURE.mdexists, read for project context - Specs:
maestro load --type spec --category coding— load coding conventions - Wiki knowledge:
maestro search "academic writing research paper" --json— top 5 entries as prior context - All optional — proceed without if unavailable
Architecture Overview
User: "Organize this LaTeX template"
|
v
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SKILL.md (Orchestrator) │
│ Collect preferences → Dispatch phases → Track progress │
└──────────┬───────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
|
┌───────┼───────────┬──────────────┐
v v v v
┌──────┐┌──────────┐┌──────────────┐
│ P1 ││ P2 ││ P3 │
│Extract││ Cleanup ││ README & │
│ & ││ & ││ Finalize │
│Analyze││ Organize ││ │
└──┬───┘└────┬─────┘└──────┬───────┘
│ │ │
v v v
analysis clean output/
+ plan structure (Overleaf-ready)
Key Design Principles
- Analyze-then-confirm: First present findings, then execute after user approval.
- Preserve template integrity: Keep all .sty/.cls files unchanged — only clean up .tex content.
- Section separation: Split monolithic main.tex into modular text/ files.
- Conference-aware: Detect document class and apply conference-specific configurations.
Interactive Preference Collection
Before dispatching to any phase, collect these preferences:
Questions to ask the user:
1. Template Source
"Where is the template .zip file? (path)"
→ templatePath
2. Conference Info
"Conference name or submission page URL (for extracting requirements)"
→ conferenceInfo
3. Output Directory
"Where should the organized template go? (default: ./output/)"
→ outputDir
4. Section Structure
Options: Standard (intro/related/method/experiments/conclusion) | Custom
→ sectionStructure
Store responses as organizerPreferences context for all phases.
Auto Mode Defaults
When workflowPreferences.autoYes === true:
- Use .zip file from cwd or recent downloads
- Standard section structure
- Output to ./output/
- Auto-detect conference from template
- Skip confirmation prompts
Execution Flow
COMPACT DIRECTIVE: Context compression MUST check TodoWrite phase status. The phase currently marked
in_progressis the active execution phase — preserve its FULL content. Only compress phases markedcompletedorpending.
TodoWrite Setup
LaTeX Template Organization:
- [ ] Phase 1: Extract & Analyze — extract zip, identify files, diagnose issues
- [ ] Phase 2: Cleanup & Organize — create structure, clean main.tex, copy assets
- [ ] Phase 3: README & Finalize — generate README, verify compilation
Phase Sequence
Phase 1: Extract & Analyze
└─ Ref: phases/01-extract-analyze.md
├─ Input: templatePath, conferenceInfo
└─ Output: analysisResult (file inventory, main file, issues, conference type)
Phase 2: Cleanup & Organize
└─ Ref: phases/02-cleanup-organize.md
├─ Input: analysisResult, sectionStructure, outputDir
└─ Output: organized template in outputDir/
Phase 3: README & Finalize
└─ Ref: phases/03-readme-finalize.md
├─ Input: analysisResult, conferenceInfo, outputDir
└─ Output: README.md + final verification
Phase Reference Documents (read on-demand when phase executes):
| Phase | Document | Purpose | Compact |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | phases/01-extract-analyze.md | Extract and analyze template | TodoWrite driven |
| 2 | phases/02-cleanup-organize.md | Clean up and restructure | TodoWrite driven + sentinel |
| 3 | phases/03-readme-finalize.md | Generate README, finalize | TodoWrite driven |
Compact Rules:
- TodoWrite
in_progress→ preserve full content, do not compress - TodoWrite
completed→ may compress to summary - sentinel fallback → phases marked with sentinel contain compact sentinel; if only sentinel remains, must immediately
Read()to recover
Core Rules
- Never modify .sty/.cls files: Style files are sacred — copy as-is.
- Present plan before executing: Show cleanup plan and wait for user confirmation.
- Keep Overleaf-compatible: Empty directories need placeholder files (Overleaf auto-deletes empty dirs).
- Preserve compilation: The output must compile without errors using the detected compiler.
- Conference-specific configs: Apply correct anonymous/review mode settings per conference.
Common Conference Templates
| Conference | Document Class | Key Config |
|---|---|---|
| KDD (ACM) | acmart |
nonacm option for anonymous submission |
| ACM Conferences | acmart |
anonymous,review options |
| CVPR/ICCV | cvpr |
Two-column, strict page limits |
| NeurIPS | neurips_20XX |
Anonymous review |
| ICLR | iclr20XX_conference |
Two-column |
| AAAI | aaaiXX |
Two-column, 8 pages + refs |
Data Flow
Phase 1 ──analysisResult──→ Phase 2
Phase 1 ──analysisResult──→ Phase 3
Output structure:
outputDir/
├── main.tex (cleaned main file)
├── text/ (section files)
│ ├── 01-introduction.tex
│ ├── 02-related-work.tex
│ ├── 03-method.tex
│ ├── 04-experiments.tex
│ └── 05-conclusion.tex
├── figures/ (image files)
├── tables/ (table files + example)
├── styles/ (.sty/.cls files)
├── references.bib (bibliography)
└── README.md (usage guide)
Error Handling
| Error | Action |
|---|---|
| Zip extraction fails | Check file integrity, ask user to re-download |
| Main file not identifiable | List all .tex files, ask user to choose |
| Missing dependency (.sty/.cls) | Warn user, suggest CTAN download |
| Conference info unavailable | Fall back to template comments + documentclass detection |
| Compilation fails after cleanup | Revert to minimal cleanup, report what needs manual fix |
Related Skills
- scholar-writing: Phase 6 (Conference Formatting) uses organized templates
- scholar-publish: Uses templates for camera-ready preparation