latex2arxiv

arXiv pre-flight validation for LaTeX projects, surfaced as VS Code diagnostics.

Stop discovering submission errors only after arXiv rejects your zip. This extension catches arXiv-specific issues — \usepackage{minted}, \today inside \date{}, .eps images, file-size limits, biblatex/biber flow, encoding traps — while you're still writing, and produces a clean, ready-to-upload zip with one command.

Features

• 🔍 Inline diagnostics for arXiv-specific issues, mapped to the exact .tex file and line
• 📦 One-click clean — Clean for arXiv produces a submission-ready zip
• 🪧 Status-bar summary — errors and warnings at a glance
• 💾 Validate on save (opt-in) — fast feedback loop
• 🎯 Auto-detects the main .tex — override per project via setting

Quick start

1. Install the CLI:

   pip install latex2arxiv
   # or, on macOS:
   brew tap YuZh98/latex2arxiv && brew install latex2arxiv
   

2. Open a LaTeX project in VS Code.
3. Cmd+Shift+P → latex2arxiv: Validate.
4. Inspect the Problems panel and the status-bar item.

What gets validated

Every check the underlying latex2arxiv CLI performs, including:

• arXiv submission rules — file-size limits, .eps vs .pdf, hidden files, __MACOSX/ cruft, BOM markers, suspicious filename characters
• Engine quirks — \usepackage{minted} (not available on arXiv), biblatex + biber flow, \subfile resolution, \graphicspath
• Date traps — \today inside \date{} (renders to upload date, not submission date)
• Bibliography — missing .bib, mismatched \bibliographystyle, biber-only commands
• Project hygiene — unused \inputs, missing referenced files, encoding mismatches

Full check list and JSON output schema: docs/json-schema.md.

Commands

Settings

Status bar

The status-bar item summarises the most recent validation:

Click the item to re-run validation.

How locations are inferred

Diagnostics map to file:line by regex-searching .tex sources for the pattern that triggered each check (e.g. \usepackage{minted}, \today inside \date{}, .eps filename in \includegraphics). Checks without a precise location (project-level size warnings, encoding warnings on directories, etc.) are routed to Output → latex2arxiv instead.

Requirements

• VS Code ≥ 1.85.0
• latex2arxiv CLI (Python ≥ 3.10) on PATH. See the main repo for all install options.

Troubleshooting

"arXiv: not installed" in status bar. The CLI isn't on PATH. Two fixes:

• Install it: pip install latex2arxiv (or brew install latex2arxiv on macOS).
• Or point the extension at the binary: settings → latex2arxiv.executablePath → absolute path (e.g. /usr/local/bin/latex2arxiv, ~/.venv/bin/latex2arxiv).

Validate-on-save isn't firing. Enable latex2arxiv.validateOnSave in settings (off by default to avoid surprising users).

Diagnostic shows in Output panel, not Problems. Expected: the check has no precise file:line (e.g. project-level size warnings, encoding warnings on directories). The full message is in Output → latex2arxiv.

Wrong file is treated as main. Set latex2arxiv.mainFile explicitly (e.g. "main.tex"). Auto-detection picks the file with the most \input references — fine for single-paper projects, ambiguous for multi-paper repos.

Bibliography errors I don't see in the regular LaTeX build. The arXiv flow uses bibtex (legacy) by default. If your project uses biblatex + biber, the CLI validates that flow too — re-run Validate after editing your .bib.

Contributing

This extension is a thin wrapper around the latex2arxiv CLI. Bug reports, feature requests, and PRs welcome at the main repo issues.

Local dev:

git clone https://github.com/YuZh98/latex2arxiv.git
cd latex2arxiv/vscode-extension
npm install
npm run compile
# Press F5 in VS Code to launch the Extension Development Host

Links

• Source code & CLI
• Issue tracker
• Changelog
• License: MIT