shenron0101/cheatsheet

Cheatsheet Skill

You generate information-dense, exam-ready LaTeX cheatsheets from raw vault notes. The output is a compilable .tex file plus an attempted PDF compilation.

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Step 0 - Gather parameters

If the user did not provide all of the following, ask for them in a single message before proceeding:

| Parameter | Default | Notes | |-----------|---------|-------| | topic | (required) | e.g. "QF604 Econometrics", "LeetCode Patterns" | | subtopics | all | Comma-separated focus areas, or "all" to use everything | | columns | 3 | 2 or 3 | | font_size | 8 | 7, 8, 9, or 10 (pt) | | raw_dir | raw/ | Path to the folder containing source files | | output_dir | cheatsheets/ | Where to save .tex and .pdf | | paper | a4paper,landscape | or letterpaper,landscape |

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Step 1 - Read the vault

Run the reader script to pull all .md and .pdf files from raw_dir:

python3 "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/read_vault.py" "<raw_dir>"

The script outputs JSON: {"files": [{"name":..., "type":..., "content":...}], "count": N}.

• If count is 0: stop and tell the user no source files were found in raw_dir.
• If subtopics is not "all": mentally filter content to sections that match the requested subtopics. You may include tangential content if it aids understanding.
• Summarize to the user: "Found N files - reading [file1.md, file2.pdf, ...]"

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Step 2 - Plan the cheatsheet

Before writing LaTeX, briefly outline (in your thinking) the sections you will include, ordered by density of useful information. Prioritise:

1. Definitions and key formulas
2. Algorithms / step-by-step procedures
3. Decision rules and heuristics
4. Edge cases and gotchas
5. Quick-reference tables

Do NOT include: prose explanations longer than 2 lines, redundant examples, anything that doesn't add information density.

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Step 3 - Generate LaTeX

Write the complete, compilable .tex file. Use the template below as a skeleton - fill in everything between \begin{multicols} and \end{multicols}.

Base Template

\documentclass[FONT_SIZEpt]{extarticle}
\usepackage[margin=0.4cm,PAPER]{geometry}
\usepackage{multicol}
\usepackage{amsmath,amssymb,mathtools}
\usepackage[dvipsnames,table]{xcolor}
\usepackage{titlesec}
\usepackage{enumitem}
\usepackage{microtype}
\usepackage{booktabs}
\usepackage{array}
\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage{lmodern}
\usepackage{mdframed}
\usepackage{tikz}           % only if graphs needed
\usepackage{pgfplots}       % only if plots needed
\pgfplotsset{compat=1.18}

%%% Typography & spacing %%%
\titleformat{\section}{\small\bfseries\color{NavyBlue}}{}{0em}{}[\vspace{-2pt}\rule{\columnwidth}{0.4pt}]
\titlespacing{\section}{0pt}{3pt}{1pt}
\titleformat{\subsection}{\footnotesize\bfseries\color{BrickRed}}{}{0em}{}
\titlespacing{\subsection}{0pt}{2pt}{0pt}
\setlist[itemize]{noitemsep,topsep=0pt,leftmargin=8pt,label=\textbullet}
\setlist[enumerate]{noitemsep,topsep=0pt,leftmargin=10pt}
\setlength{\parindent}{0pt}
\setlength{\parskip}{1pt}
\setlength{\columnsep}{4pt}
\setlength{\columnseprule}{0.3pt}
\setlength{\abovedisplayskip}{1pt}
\setlength{\belowdisplayskip}{1pt}

%%% Convenience macros %%%
\newcommand{\kw}[1]{\textbf{#1}}           % keyword
\newcommand{\code}[1]{\texttt{\small #1}}  % inline code
\newcommand{\warn}[1]{\colorbox{yellow!40}{\footnotesize #1}}  % warning box
\newmdenv[linecolor=NavyBlue,linewidth=0.5pt,innerleftmargin=3pt,
  innerrightmargin=3pt,innertopmargin=2pt,innerbottommargin=2pt,
  skipabove=2pt,skipbelow=2pt]{notebox}

\begin{document}
\begin{center}
  {\small\bfseries TOPIC - SUBTOPICS} \hfill {\tiny \today}
\end{center}
\vspace{-4pt}
\begin{multicols}{COLUMNS}

%%% ---- YOUR CONTENT HERE ---- %%%

\end{multicols}
\end{document}

Replace FONT_SIZE, PAPER, COLUMNS, TOPIC, SUBTOPICS with actual values.

Content Rules

Every line earns its place. Follow these strictly:

• Section headers: \section{Title} - one per major concept cluster
• Subsection headers: \subsection{Title} - use sparingly
• Key formula: display math with \[ ... \] or inline $ ... $
• Numbered steps: \begin{enumerate} \item ... \end{enumerate}
• Quick list: \begin{itemize} \item ... \end{itemize}
• Important callout: \begin{notebox} ... \end{notebox}
• Two-column table:

  \begin{tabular}{@{}ll@{}}
  \toprule A & B \\ \midrule ... \\ \bottomrule
  \end{tabular}
  

• Warning highlight: \warn{text}
• Code snippet: \code{snippet} or \begin{verbatim}...\end{verbatim}

TikZ graphs: include ONLY if the concept is fundamentally visual (e.g. a decision tree, a state machine, a distribution shape). Keep them under 4cm tall and 1 column wide.

Math: write all formulas in LaTeX math mode. Never use Unicode math symbols in body text - use $\beta$ not beta or Unicode variants.

Density targets:

• Aim for >= 80% of column space filled
• Formulas and tables preferred over prose
• Bullet points <= 6 words each
• No blank lines between items in a list

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Step 4 - Save the .tex file

Determine the output filename:

<output_dir>/<topic-slug>_cheatsheet_<YYYY-MM-DD>.tex

where topic-slug = topic in lowercase-kebab-case, e.g. qf604-econometrics.

Create <output_dir> if it doesn't exist, then write the file.

Tell the user: "LaTeX saved to <path>."

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Step 5 - Compile to PDF

Run the compiler script:

bash "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/compile_latex.sh" "<tex_path>" "<output_dir>"

On SUCCESS (exit 0): tell the user the PDF path and offer to open it.

On ERROR (exit 2 - pdflatex missing):

pdflatex not found. Install it and rerun, or compile manually:

• macOS: brew install --cask mactex-no-gui
• Ubuntu: sudo apt install texlive-full
• Then: pdflatex <tex_path> Your .tex file is ready at <path>.

On ERROR (exit 3 - compile failure): show the last 20 lines of the .log file and offer to fix the LaTeX.

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Step 6 - Report

Print a compact summary:

Cheatsheet generated
  Topic:    <topic>
  Sources:  <N> files read (<list of names>)
  Sections: <list of section names>
  Output:   <tex_path>
  PDF:      <pdf_path | "compile manually - see above">

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Quality Checklist

• [ ] Document compiles without \usepackage errors (all packages are standard TeX Live)
• [ ] No ?? references (no \ref{} without \label{})
• [ ] No placeholder text (no TODO, ..., INSERT HERE)
• [ ] Columns roughly balanced in density
• [ ] All formulas in math mode
• [ ] \begin{...} matched by \end{...}