Doc-to-PDF Skill (Typst)

Prepare documents into professional PDFs using Typst - a modern typesetting system with native math, bibliography, cross-references, and fast compilation.

Prerequisites

bash

# Check installation
typst --version
typstyle --version

Installation

macOS:

bash

brew install typst
cargo install typstyle

Linux:

bash

# Via cargo
cargo install typst-cli typstyle

# Or download from GitHub releases
# https://github.com/typst/typst/releases

Editor Setup:

•VS Code: Install tinymist extension (LSP + preview)
•Neovim: Use typst-lsp or tinymist

Quick Start

bash

# Create from template
typst init @preview/charged-ieee

# Compile
typst compile main.typ

# Watch mode (live rebuild)
typst watch main.typ

# Output to specific path
typst compile main.typ build/output.pdf

Project Structure

code

project/
├── main.typ          # Main document
├── refs.bib          # Bibliography (BibTeX or YAML)
├── template.typ      # Custom template (optional)
├── fig/              # Figures
└── build/            # Output

Basic Document

typst

#set document(title: "My Document", author: "Author Name")
#set page(paper: "us-letter", margin: 1in)
#set text(font: "New Computer Modern", size: 11pt)
#set heading(numbering: "1.1")
#set math.equation(numbering: "(1)")

= Introduction

This is a paragraph with inline math $E = m c^2$.

Display math:
$ integral_0^infinity e^(-x^2) dif x = sqrt(pi) / 2 $

== Subsection

See @fig:example and @eq:quadratic.

$ x = frac(-b plus.minus sqrt(b^2 - 4 a c), 2 a) $ <eq:quadratic>

#figure(
  image("fig/diagram.png", width: 80%),
  caption: [A diagram showing the process.]
) <fig:example>

#bibliography("refs.bib", style: "ieee")

Math Syntax

Typst math is cleaner than LaTeX - no backslashes needed for common symbols:

Typst	LaTeX	Result
`alpha, beta, gamma`	`\alpha, \beta, \gamma`	Greek letters
`x^2, x_n`	`x^2, x_n`	Super/subscript
`frac(a, b)`	`\frac{a}{b}`	Fractions
`sqrt(x)`	`\sqrt{x}`	Square root
`sum_(i=0)^n`	`\sum_{i=0}^{n}`	Summation
`integral_a^b`	`\int_a^b`	Integral
`arrow.r, arrow.l`	`\rightarrow, \leftarrow`	Arrows
`plus.minus`	`\pm`	Plus-minus
`dots.h, dots.v`	`\cdots, \vdots`	Dots

Math Environments

typst

// Aligned equations
$ a &= b + c \
  &= d + e $

// Cases
$ f(x) = cases(
  0 &"if" x < 0,
  1 &"if" x >= 0
) $

// Matrices
$ mat(1, 2; 3, 4) $

// Delimiters
$ lr(angle.l x, y angle.r) $

Theorems

typst

#import "@preview/ctheorems:1.1.3": *
#show: thmrules

#let theorem = thmbox("theorem", "Theorem", fill: rgb("#e8f4e8"))
#let lemma = thmbox("lemma", "Lemma", fill: rgb("#e8f0f8"))
#let proof = thmproof("proof", "Proof")

#theorem("Pythagorean")[
  For a right triangle: $a^2 + b^2 = c^2$
]

#proof[
  By construction...
]

Bibliography

BibTeX Format (refs.bib)

bibtex

@article{einstein1905,
  author  = {Einstein, Albert},
  title   = {On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies},
  journal = {Annalen der Physik},
  year    = {1905},
  volume  = {17},
  pages   = {891--921},
  doi     = {10.1002/andp.19053221004}
}

Hayagriva YAML Format (refs.yaml)

yaml

einstein1905:
  type: Article
  title: On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies
  author: Einstein, Albert
  date: 1905
  parent:
    type: Periodical
    title: Annalen der Physik
    volume: 17
  page-range: 891-921
  serial-number:
    doi: "10.1002/andp.19053221004"

Citation Styles

typst

// IEEE numeric
#bibliography("refs.bib", style: "ieee")

// APA
#bibliography("refs.bib", style: "apa")

// Chicago
#bibliography("refs.bib", style: "chicago-author-date")

// Custom CSL
#bibliography("refs.bib", style: "custom.csl")

Citations in Text

typst

As shown by @einstein1905...
Multiple sources @ref1 @ref2 @ref3.

Cross-References

typst

// Define labels
= Introduction <sec:intro>

$ E = m c^2 $ <eq:energy>

#figure(...) <fig:diagram>

#figure(table(...)) <tab:results>

// Reference them
See @sec:intro for details.
From @eq:energy we derive...
As shown in @fig:diagram and @tab:results.

Figures & Tables

Figures

typst

#figure(
  image("fig/plot.svg", width: 100%),
  caption: [Experimental results.],
) <fig:results>

// Side-by-side figures
#grid(
  columns: 2,
  gutter: 1em,
  figure(image("a.png"), caption: [First]),
  figure(image("b.png"), caption: [Second]),
)

Tables

typst

#figure(
  table(
    columns: 3,
    align: (left, center, right),
    stroke: none,
    table.hline(),
    table.header[*Method*][*Accuracy*][*Time*],
    table.hline(),
    [Baseline], [85.2%], [1.2s],
    [Ours], [*92.1%*], [0.8s],
    table.hline(),
  ),
  caption: [Comparison of methods.],
) <tab:comparison>

Academic Templates

IEEE (charged-ieee)

bash

typst init @preview/charged-ieee

typst

#import "@preview/charged-ieee:0.1.4": ieee

#show: ieee.with(
  title: [Your Paper Title],
  authors: (
    (
      name: "Author Name",
      department: [Department],
      organization: [University],
      location: [City, Country],
      email: "author@example.com"
    ),
  ),
  abstract: [Your abstract here...],
  index-terms: ([Term 1], [Term 2]),
  bibliography: bibliography("refs.bib"),
)

= Introduction
...

LNCS / Springer (fine-lncs)

bash

typst init @preview/fine-lncs

typst

#import "@preview/fine-lncs:0.2.0": lncs, institute, author

#let inst = institute("University Name", addr: "City, Country")

#show: lncs.with(
  title: "Paper Title",
  authors: (
    author("Author Name", insts: (inst,), orcid: "0000-0000-0000-0000"),
  ),
  abstract: [Abstract text...],
  keywords: ("keyword1", "keyword2"),
  bibliography: bibliography("refs.bib"),
)

ACM (clean-acmart)

bash

typst init @preview/clean-acmart

typst

#import "@preview/clean-acmart:0.0.1": acmart

#show: acmart.with(
  title: [Paper Title],
  authors: (
    (name: "Author", email: "a@b.com", affiliation: "University"),
  ),
  conference: (
    name: [ACM Conference],
    short: [CONF '25],
    year: [2025],
    date: [Month Day],
    venue: [City, Country],
  ),
)

NeurIPS (bloated-neurips)

bash

typst init @preview/bloated-neurips

typst

#import "@preview/bloated-neurips:0.7.0": neurips2025

#show: neurips2025.with(
  title: [Paper Title],
  authors: (authors, affiliations),
  abstract: [Abstract...],
  bibliography: bibliography("refs.bib"),
  accepted: false,  // true for camera-ready, none for preprint
)

arXiv (arkheion)

bash

typst init @preview/arkheion

typst

#import "@preview/arkheion:0.1.1": arkheion

#show: arkheion.with(
  title: "Paper Title",
  authors: (
    (name: "Author", email: "a@b.com", affiliation: "Org", orcid: "..."),
  ),
  abstract: [Abstract...],
  keywords: ("kw1", "kw2"),
  date: "December 2025",
)

Linting & Formatting

typstyle (Formatter)

bash

# Install
cargo install typstyle

# Format in place
typstyle -i main.typ

# Check formatting (CI)
typstyle --check main.typ

# Format all files
typstyle -i **/*.typ

Configuration (.typstyle.toml)

toml

# Column width for line wrapping
column_width = 80

Useful Packages

typst

// Diagrams
#import "@preview/fletcher:0.5.0": diagram, node, edge

// Code highlighting
#import "@preview/codly:1.0.0": *

// Units
#import "@preview/unify:0.6.0": num, qty
$qty("9.81", "m/s^2")$

// Glossary
#import "@preview/glossarium:0.5.0": *

// Algorithms
#import "@preview/algorithmic:1.0.0": algorithm

Makefile

makefile

MAIN = main.typ
OUT = build
PDF = $(OUT)/main.pdf

.PHONY: all watch clean lint fmt

all: $(PDF)

$(PDF): $(MAIN) refs.bib
	@mkdir -p $(OUT)
	typst compile $(MAIN) $(PDF)

watch:
	typst watch $(MAIN) $(PDF)

lint:
	typstyle --check $(MAIN)

fmt:
	typstyle -i $(MAIN)

clean:
	rm -rf $(OUT)

CI/CD (GitHub Actions)

yaml

name: Build PDF

on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Setup Typst
        uses: typst-community/setup-typst@v4

      - name: Check formatting
        run: |
          cargo install typstyle
          typstyle --check main.typ

      - name: Build PDF
        run: typst compile main.typ output.pdf

      - name: Upload PDF
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: paper
          path: output.pdf

Quick Reference

bash

# New project from template
typst init @preview/charged-ieee

# Compile
typst compile main.typ

# Watch mode
typst watch main.typ

# Format
typstyle -i main.typ

# Check formatting
typstyle --check main.typ

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Package not found	Run `typst update` or check package name
Font missing	Install font or use `#set text(font: "...")`
Bibliography empty	Check `.bib` syntax, ensure `@key` matches
Figure not found	Use path relative to main.typ
Slow compilation	Split into modules with `#include`