Docs Latex

Markdown to LaTeX Conversion

Convert Markdown documents to professional LaTeX with advanced typesetting, TikZ/PGFPlots visualizations, and PDF compilation.

When to Use This Skill

Context

• LaTeX installed: !which pdflatex
• Current directory: !pwd
• Available .md files: !find . -maxdepth 2 -name '*.md' -not -name 'CHANGELOG.md' -not -name 'README.md'

Parameters

• <file>: Path to the Markdown source file (required)
• --no-compile: Generate .tex file only, skip PDF compilation
• --visualizations: Include TikZ/PGFPlots diagrams (timelines, charts, risk matrices)
• --report-type: Document structure preset
• roadmap: Phase-based roadmap with timeline visualization
• lifecycle: Project lifecycle with release charts and velocity graphs
• general: Standard professional document (default)

Execution

Execute this Markdown-to-LaTeX conversion workflow:

Step 1: Analyze the Markdown source

Read the source Markdown file and extract:

• Document title and metadata
• Section hierarchy (map # levels to LaTeX chapters/sections)
• Tables, lists, code blocks, callout blocks, and blockquotes
• Priorities or status indicators for color-coded markers
• Numerical data suitable for visualization

Step 2: Generate the LaTeX document

Create a .tex file adjacent to the source. Use the document preamble, color definitions, custom environments, and conversion rules from REFERENCE.md.

Apply the Markdown-to-LaTeX conversion rules:

Step 3: Add visualizations (when --visualizations or data suggests it)

Choose appropriate TikZ/PGFPlots visualizations based on document content. Use the visualization templates from REFERENCE.md:

• Timeline for roadmaps with phases
• Bar/pie charts for release or metric data
• Risk matrix for documents with risk/impact data
• Test pyramid for QA/testing documents

Step 4: Compile to PDF

1. Install LaTeX toolchain if not available:

   apt-get update && apt-get install -y texlive-latex-extra texlive-fonts-recommended \
     texlive-fonts-extra texlive-science latexmk

2. Compile with two passes for cross-references:

   pdflatex -interaction=nonstopmode DOCUMENT.tex
   pdflatex -interaction=nonstopmode DOCUMENT.tex

3. If compilation fails, check REFERENCE.md for common compilation fixes.

Step 5: Clean up repository artifacts

Add LaTeX build artifacts to .gitignore if not already present: *.aux, *.log, *.out, *.toc, *.lof, *.lot, *.fls, *.fdb_latexmk, *.synctex.gz, *.bbl, *.blg, *.nav, *.snm, *.vrb.

Post-actions

1. Report the output PDF path, page count, and file size 2. Summarize what visualizations were generated 3. List any compilation warnings that may need attention 4. Suggest the .gitignore additions if not already present

Agentic Optimizations

For detailed LaTeX patterns, TikZ templates, and package reference, see REFERENCE.md.

LaTeX Reference Patterns

Detailed LaTeX templates and patterns for the /docs:latex skill.

Complete Document Preamble

\documentclass[a4paper,11pt]{report}

% Encoding and fonts
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
\usepackage{lmodern}

% Page layout
\usepackage[margin=2.5cm]{geometry}
\setlength{\headheight}{14pt}

% Typography
\usepackage{microtype}
\usepackage{parskip}

% Colors
\usepackage{xcolor}
\definecolor{critical}{HTML}{DC2626}
\definecolor{high}{HTML}{EA580C}
\definecolor{medium}{HTML}{CA8A04}
\definecolor{low}{HTML}{16A34A}
\definecolor{info}{HTML}{2563EB}
\definecolor{warning}{HTML}{D97706}
\definecolor{success}{HTML}{059669}
\definecolor{linkcolor}{HTML}{1D4ED8}
\definecolor{codebackground}{HTML}{F3F4F6}

% Tables
\usepackage{booktabs}
\usepackage{longtable}
\usepackage{tabularx}
\usepackage{multirow}

% Lists
\usepackage{enumitem}

% Headers and footers
\usepackage{fancyhdr}
\pagestyle{fancy}
\fancyhf{}
\fancyhead[L]{\leftmark}
\fancyhead[R]{\thepage}

% Section styling
\usepackage{titlesec}
\titleformat{\chapter}[display]
  {\normalfont\huge\bfseries}{\chaptertitlename\ \thechapter}{20pt}{\Huge}
\titlespacing*{\chapter}{0pt}{-20pt}{40pt}

% Hyperlinks
\usepackage{hyperref}
\hypersetup{
  colorlinks=true,
  linkcolor=linkcolor,
  urlcolor=linkcolor,
  citecolor=linkcolor,
  pdfborder={0 0 0}
}

% Icons
\usepackage{fontawesome5}

% Math symbols (for checkboxes)
\usepackage{amssymb}

% Graphics
\usepackage{graphicx}

% Code listings
\usepackage{listings}
\lstset{
  backgroundcolor=\color{codebackground},
  basicstyle=\ttfamily\small,
  breaklines=true,
  frame=single,
  rulecolor=\color{gray!30},
  numbers=left,
  numberstyle=\tiny\color{gray},
  tabsize=2
}

% Callout boxes
\usepackage[most]{tcolorbox}
\newtcolorbox{infobox}[1][]{
  colback=info!5,colframe=info,
  title=\faInfoCircle\ Info,
  fonttitle=\bfseries,#1
}
\newtcolorbox{warningbox}[1][]{
  colback=warning!5,colframe=warning,
  title=\faExclamationTriangle\ Warning,
  fonttitle=\bfseries,#1
}
\newtcolorbox{successbox}[1][]{
  colback=success!5,colframe=success,
  title=\faCheckCircle\ Success,
  fonttitle=\bfseries,#1
}
\newtcolorbox{criticalbox}[1][]{
  colback=critical!5,colframe=critical,
  title=\faBolt\ Critical,
  fonttitle=\bfseries,#1
}

% Diagrams
\usepackage{tikz}
\usepackage{pgfplots}
\pgfplotsset{compat=1.18}
\usetikzlibrary{shapes,arrows,positioning,calc,patterns,decorations.markings}

TikZ Visualization Templates

Phase Timeline (Roadmap)

\begin{figure}[htbp]
\centering
\begin{tikzpicture}[
  phase/.style={
    rectangle, rounded corners=5pt, minimum width=2.2cm, minimum height=1cm,
    text centered, font=\small\bfseries, text=white
  }
]
  % Timeline arrow
  \draw[->,very thick,gray!50] (-0.5,0) -- (14,0);

  % Phase boxes
  \node[phase,fill=info] (p1) at (1.5,1.5) {Phase 1};
  \node[phase,fill=success] (p2) at (5,1.5) {Phase 2};
  \node[phase,fill=warning] (p3) at (8.5,1.5) {Phase 3};
  \node[phase,fill=critical] (p4) at (12,1.5) {Phase 4};

  % Connectors to timeline
  \foreach \x in {1.5,5,8.5,12} {
    \draw[thick,gray] (\x,0.1) -- (\x,0.8);
  }

  % Date labels
  \node[below,font=\small] at (1.5,-0.2) {Q1 2026};
  \node[below,font=\small] at (5,-0.2) {Q2 2026};
  \node[below,font=\small] at (8.5,-0.2) {Q3 2026};
  \node[below,font=\small] at (12,-0.2) {Q4 2026};

  % Descriptions
  \node[below=0.1cm,font=\scriptsize,text width=2.2cm,text centered] at (p1.south) {Foundation};
  \node[below=0.1cm,font=\scriptsize,text width=2.2cm,text centered] at (p2.south) {Core Build};
  \node[below=0.1cm,font=\scriptsize,text width=2.2cm,text centered] at (p3.south) {Optimization};
  \node[below=0.1cm,font=\scriptsize,text width=2.2cm,text centered] at (p4.south) {Production};
\end{tikzpicture}
\caption{Project Roadmap Timeline}
\end{figure}

Risk Matrix

\begin{figure}[htbp]
\centering
\begin{tikzpicture}[scale=0.9]
  % Grid cells with colors
  % Row 1 (Low likelihood)
  \fill[green!20] (0,0) rectangle (2,2);
  \fill[green!20] (2,0) rectangle (4,2);
  \fill[yellow!20] (4,0) rectangle (6,2);
  % Row 2 (Medium likelihood)
  \fill[green!20] (0,2) rectangle (2,4);
  \fill[yellow!20] (2,2) rectangle (4,4);
  \fill[orange!20] (4,2) rectangle (6,4);
  % Row 3 (High likelihood)
  \fill[yellow!20] (0,4) rectangle (2,6);
  \fill[orange!20] (2,4) rectangle (4,6);
  \fill[red!20] (4,4) rectangle (6,6);

  % Grid lines
  \draw[gray!50] (0,0) grid[step=2] (6,6);
  \draw[thick] (0,0) rectangle (6,6);

  % Axis labels
  \node[below,font=\small] at (1,0) {Low};
  \node[below,font=\small] at (3,0) {Medium};
  \node[below,font=\small] at (5,0) {High};
  \node[below=0.5cm,font=\bfseries] at (3,0) {Impact};

  \node[left,font=\small,rotate=90] at (0,1) {Low};
  \node[left,font=\small,rotate=90] at (0,3) {Medium};
  \node[left,font=\small,rotate=90] at (0,5) {High};
  \node[left=0.5cm,font=\bfseries,rotate=90] at (0,3) {Likelihood};

  % Risk items (customize per document)
  \node[font=\scriptsize,text width=1.8cm,text centered] at (5,5) {Vendor lock-in};
  \node[font=\scriptsize,text width=1.8cm,text centered] at (3,3) {Scope creep};
  \node[font=\scriptsize,text width=1.8cm,text centered] at (1,1) {Minor delays};
\end{tikzpicture}
\caption{Risk Assessment Matrix}
\end{figure}

Test Pyramid

\begin{figure}[htbp]
\centering
\begin{tikzpicture}[scale=0.8]
  % Unit tests (base)
  \fill[green!30] (-4,0) -- (4,0) -- (2.67,2) -- (-2.67,2) -- cycle;
  \node[font=\bfseries] at (0,1) {Unit Tests};
  \node[font=\small] at (0,0.3) {Fast, Isolated};

  % Integration tests (middle)
  \fill[yellow!30] (-2.67,2) -- (2.67,2) -- (1.33,4) -- (-1.33,4) -- cycle;
  \node[font=\bfseries] at (0,3) {Integration};
  \node[font=\small] at (0,2.3) {Service Boundaries};

  % E2E tests (top)
  \fill[red!30] (-1.33,4) -- (1.33,4) -- (0,6) -- cycle;
  \node[font=\bfseries] at (0,4.8) {E2E};

  % Count labels
  \node[right,font=\small] at (4.2,1) {e.g. 500+ tests};
  \node[right,font=\small] at (2.9,3) {e.g. 100 tests};
  \node[right,font=\small] at (1.5,5) {e.g. 20 tests};
\end{tikzpicture}
\caption{Testing Pyramid}
\end{figure}

Bar Chart (PGFPlots)

\begin{figure}[htbp]
\centering
\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}[
  ybar,
  bar width=20pt,
  xlabel={Category},
  ylabel={Count},
  symbolic x coords={Features,Bug Fixes,Performance,Refactoring,Documentation},
  xtick=data,
  x tick label style={rotate=45,anchor=east,font=\small},
  nodes near coords,
  nodes near coords align={vertical},
  ymin=0,
  width=12cm,
  height=7cm,
  enlarge x limits=0.15
]
\addplot[fill=info!60] coordinates {
  (Features,22)
  (Bug Fixes,37)
  (Performance,8)
  (Refactoring,12)
  (Documentation,15)
};
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}
\caption{Release Distribution by Type}
\end{figure}

Pie Chart (PGFPlots)

\begin{figure}[htbp]
\centering
\begin{tikzpicture}
\pie[
  radius=3,
  text=legend,
  color={info!60, critical!60, success!60, warning!60, gray!40}
]{
  22/Features,
  37/Bug Fixes,
  8/Performance,
  12/Refactoring,
  15/Documentation
}
\end{tikzpicture}
\caption{Release Type Distribution}
\end{figure}

Note: Pie charts require \usepackage{pgf-pie}. If unavailable, use a bar chart instead.

Area/Line Chart (Release Velocity)

\begin{figure}[htbp]
\centering
\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}[
  area style,
  xlabel={Month},
  ylabel={Releases},
  symbolic x coords={Jan,Feb,Mar,Apr,May,Jun,Jul,Aug,Sep,Oct,Nov,Dec},
  xtick=data,
  x tick label style={rotate=45,anchor=east,font=\small},
  ymin=0,
  width=12cm,
  height=6cm,
  fill opacity=0.3,
  draw opacity=1
]
\addplot+[mark=*,fill=info!30,draw=info] coordinates {
  (Jan,3) (Feb,5) (Mar,8) (Apr,6) (May,2) (Jun,1)
  (Jul,4) (Aug,7) (Sep,9) (Oct,12) (Nov,16) (Dec,4)
} \closedcycle;
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}
\caption{Release Velocity Over Time}
\end{figure}

Gantt-Style Phase Diagram

\begin{figure}[htbp]
\centering
\begin{tikzpicture}[
  bar/.style={rounded corners=2pt, minimum height=0.6cm, text=white, font=\small\bfseries}
]
  % Y-axis labels
  \foreach \y/\label in {0/Phase 4,1/Phase 3,2/Phase 2,3/Phase 1} {
    \node[left,font=\small] at (0,\y*0.9) {\label};
  }

  % Phase bars (x = months, width = duration)
  \node[bar,fill=info,minimum width=3cm,anchor=west] at (0.5,3*0.9) {Foundation};
  \node[bar,fill=success,minimum width=4cm,anchor=west] at (3,2*0.9) {Build};
  \node[bar,fill=warning,minimum width=3cm,anchor=west] at (6,1*0.9) {Optimize};
  \node[bar,fill=critical,minimum width=2.5cm,anchor=west] at (8.5,0*0.9) {Ship};

  % Month markers
  \foreach \x/\m in {0.5/Jan,2/Mar,4/May,6/Jul,8/Sep,10/Nov} {
    \node[below,font=\scriptsize] at (\x,-0.5) {\m};
  }
  \draw[gray!30] (0.5,-0.3) -- (11,-0.3);
\end{tikzpicture}
\caption{Development Phase Timeline}
\end{figure}

Table Patterns

Priority Table with Color Indicators

\begin{table}[htbp]
\centering
\caption{Task Priorities}
\begin{tabular}{@{}llll@{}}
\toprule
\textbf{Task} & \textbf{Priority} & \textbf{Owner} & \textbf{Status} \\
\midrule
Database migration & \textcolor{critical}{\faBolt\ Critical} & Team A & In Progress \\
API versioning & \textcolor{high}{\faExclamationCircle\ High} & Team B & Planned \\
Documentation update & \textcolor{medium}{\faMinusCircle\ Medium} & Team C & Backlog \\
UI polish & \textcolor{low}{\faCheckCircle\ Low} & Team D & Backlog \\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\end{table}

Resource Allocation Table

\begin{table}[htbp]
\centering
\caption{Resource Allocation by Phase}
\begin{tabularx}{\textwidth}{@{}lXccc@{}}
\toprule
\textbf{Phase} & \textbf{Focus} & \textbf{Engineers} & \textbf{Duration} & \textbf{Budget} \\
\midrule
Phase 1 & Foundation and setup & 3 & 3 months & \$150K \\
Phase 2 & Core implementation & 5 & 4 months & \$300K \\
Phase 3 & Testing and optimization & 4 & 3 months & \$200K \\
Phase 4 & Launch and stabilization & 3 & 2 months & \$100K \\
\midrule
\textbf{Total} & & \textbf{5 peak} & \textbf{12 months} & \textbf{\$750K} \\
\bottomrule
\end{tabularx}
\end{table>

Checklist Table

\begin{table}[htbp]
\centering
\begin{tabular}{@{}cl@{}}
\toprule
\textbf{Status} & \textbf{Requirement} \\
\midrule
$\boxtimes$ & User authentication implemented \\
$\boxtimes$ & API endpoints documented \\
$\square$ & Load testing completed \\
$\square$ & Security audit scheduled \\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\end{table}

Callout Box Patterns

Information Callout

\begin{infobox}
This section describes the recommended approach for database migration.
Ensure backups are taken before proceeding.
\end{infobox}

Warning Callout

\begin{warningbox}
Breaking changes in API v3 require all clients to update their authentication headers.
See the migration guide in Appendix A.
\end{warningbox}

Success Callout

\begin{successbox}
Performance benchmarks show a 75\% reduction in API response times
after implementing the caching layer.
\end{successbox}

Custom Titled Box

\begin{tcolorbox}[
  colback=blue!5,colframe=blue!50,
  title=\faLightbulb\ Key Decision,
  fonttitle=\bfseries
]
We chose PostgreSQL over MongoDB due to the relational nature of our data model
and the need for ACID transactions.
\end{tcolorbox}

Special Character Handling

Package Dependencies

Minimal Installation

apt-get install -y texlive-latex-base texlive-latex-recommended

Full Installation (recommended)

apt-get install -y texlive-latex-extra texlive-fonts-recommended \
  texlive-fonts-extra texlive-science latexmk

Package-to-Feature Mapping

Compilation Troubleshooting