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name: latex-compilation description: Use when LaTeX documents fail to compile, have undefined references, duplicate labels, or citation errors

LaTeX Compilation

Overview

Fix common LaTeX compilation errors systematically by running the full build sequence and addressing errors in order of dependency.

When to Use

• Document won't compile (pdflatex errors)
• "Undefined reference" or "multiply-defined labels" warnings
• Citations showing as [?] or undefined
• Cross-references not resolving

Quick Reference

Full Compilation Sequence

Copypdflatex -interaction=nonstopmode paper.tex
bibtex paper
pdflatex -interaction=nonstopmode paper.tex
pdflatex -interaction=nonstopmode paper.tex

Common Mistakes

Duplicate \label{} tags - Copy-pasting figures often duplicates labels. Search with:

Copygrep -n 'label{' paper.tex | sort -t'{' -k2 | uniq -d -f1

Citation key typos - altabaa2025co vs altabaa2025cot causes undefined citation. Always verify keys match the .bib file exactly.

Running pdflatex only once - Cross-references and citations need multiple passes to resolve.

Empty citations - \cite{} causes warnings. Remove or add proper key.