Compile a Beamer LaTeX slide deck with XeLaTeX (3 passes + bibtex). Use when compiling lecture slides.
Scanned 9/3/2026
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---
name: compile-latex
description: Compile a Beamer LaTeX slide deck with XeLaTeX (3 passes + bibtex). Use when compiling lecture slides.
argument-hint: "[filename without .tex extension]"
allowed-tools: ["Read", "Bash", "Glob"]
---
# Compile Beamer LaTeX Slides
Compile a Beamer slide deck using XeLaTeX with full citation resolution.
## Steps
1. **Navigate to Slides/ directory** and compile with 3-pass sequence:
```bash
cd Slides
TEXINPUTS=../Preambles:$TEXINPUTS xelatex -interaction=nonstopmode $ARGUMENTS.tex
BIBINPUTS=..:$BIBINPUTS bibtex $ARGUMENTS
TEXINPUTS=../Preambles:$TEXINPUTS xelatex -interaction=nonstopmode $ARGUMENTS.tex
TEXINPUTS=../Preambles:$TEXINPUTS xelatex -interaction=nonstopmode $ARGUMENTS.tex
```
**Alternative (latexmk):**
```bash
cd Slides
TEXINPUTS=../Preambles:$TEXINPUTS BIBINPUTS=..:$BIBINPUTS latexmk -xelatex -interaction=nonstopmode $ARGUMENTS.tex
```
2. **Check for warnings:**
- Grep output for `Overfull \\hbox` warnings
- Grep for `undefined citations` or `Label(s) may have changed`
- Report any issues found
3. **Open the PDF** for visual verification:
```bash
open Slides/$ARGUMENTS.pdf # macOS
# xdg-open Slides/$ARGUMENTS.pdf # Linux
```
4. **Report results:**
- Compilation success/failure
- Number of overfull hbox warnings
- Any undefined citations
- PDF page count
## Why 3 passes?
1. First xelatex: Creates `.aux` file with citation keys
2. bibtex: Reads `.aux`, generates `.bbl` with formatted references
3. Second xelatex: Incorporates bibliography
4. Third xelatex: Resolves all cross-references with final page numbers
## Important
- **Always use XeLaTeX**, never pdflatex
- **TEXINPUTS** is required: your Beamer theme lives in `Preambles/`
- **BIBINPUTS** is required: your `.bib` file lives in the repo root
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