MakeTeXTemplete

VSCode explorer's folder context menu can generate LaTeX starter files for paper and slide projects.

Commands

• MakePaperTemplete
• MakeSlideTemplete

Right-click a folder in the explorer and run one of the commands above. The extension creates:

• .latexmkrc
• main.tex

If a .tex file already exists, the extension keeps it and does not overwrite it. Other existing files still ask before overwriting.

Custom Template Config

Add this to .vscode/settings.json or your workspace settings.json:

{
    "makeTeXTemplete.templateConfigPath": "./examples/template-config.json"
}

You can also put the template config directly in settings.json:

{
    "makeTeXTemplete.templateConfig": {
        "paper": {
            "templateDirectory": "./templates/paper"
        },
        "slide": {
            "templateDirectory": "C:\\Users\\ryu_m\\workspace\\TeX\\talk\\template"
        }
    }
}

The distinction is important:

• In settings.json, put the config under makeTeXTemplete.templateConfig.
• In the external JSON loaded via makeTeXTemplete.templateConfigPath, the root object itself is the template config.
• Top-level paper, slide, sharedAssets, or latexmkrc entries in settings.json are ignored by this extension.

For most cases, folder copy is easier to manage. This is also supported:

{
    "makeTeXTemplete.templateConfigPath": "./examples/folder-template-config.json"
}

With templateDirectory, every file under the template folder is copied into the folder you right-clicked:

{
    "paper": {
        "templateDirectory": "./templates/paper"
    },
    "slide": {
        "templateDirectory": "./templates/slide"
    }
}

This mode is recommended when you want to keep PDFs, images, .bib, or subfolders together with the template. Absolute paths are supported. When you use templateConfigPath, paths inside that JSON are resolved relative to the config file first, with workspace-relative fallback for compatibility. If you use makeTeXTemplete.templateConfig instead, the same paths are resolved from the workspace folder.

The config file is JSON and can point to template files:

{
    "sharedAssets": [
        {
            "sourcePath": "./assets/references.bib",
            "outputPath": "references.bib"
        }
    ],
    "latexmkrc": {
        "templatePath": "./templates/.latexmkrc"
    },
    "paper": {
        "templatePath": "./templates/paper-main.tex",
        "outputPath": "main.tex",
        "assets": [
            {
                "sourcePath": "./assets/sample-figure.pdf",
                "outputPath": "figures/sample-figure.pdf"
            }
        ]
    },
    "slide": {
        "templatePath": "./templates/slide-main.tex",
        "outputPath": "main.tex",
        "assets": [
            {
                "sourcePath": "./assets/logo.pdf",
                "outputPath": "assets/logo.pdf"
            }
        ]
    }
}

templatePath can be absolute or workspace-relative. If makeTeXTemplete.templateConfigPath is not set, built-in templates are used. sharedAssets copies files for both commands, and assets under paper / slide copies files only for that template. PDF and other binary files are copied as-is. When templateDirectory is set for paper or slide, that directory copy mode takes priority and the same section's templatePath, outputPath, and assets are not used.

Development

1. Run npm install
2. Press F5 in VSCode
3. In the Extension Development Host, right-click a folder in the explorer