Quick Start Guide

This guide will help you get up and running with TeXRA quickly. In just a few minutes, you'll be able to use AI to enhance your academic research in VS Code.

Overview

TeXRA integrates powerful AI capabilities directly into your writing workflow. Here's what you can do:

• Fix grammar and typos in academic documents
• Improve writing style and clarity
• Create or enhance technical figures
• Transform papers into different formats (lecture notes, slides, posters)

Set Up API Keys

Before you can use TeXRA's AI features, you need to provide API keys for the services you intend to use (like Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, etc.). TeXRA stores these keys securely using VS Code's secret storage.

1. Open the Command Palette: Press Ctrl+Shift+P (or Cmd+Shift+P on macOS).
2. Run the Set API Key command: Type TeXRA: Set API Key and select the command.
3. Follow the prompts: Select the API provider (e.g., Anthropic, OpenAI) and enter your key when prompted.

Repeat this process for each AI provider you plan to use with TeXRA.

You can also place a .env file in your workspace with variables like OPENAI_API_KEY. TeXRA loads this automatically so you don't need to enter keys every time.

Basic Workflow

The typical TeXRA workflow consists of these steps:

1. Select files to process (input, reference, auxiliary, figures)
2. Choose the appropriate agent (correct, polish, draw, etc.)
3. Select the AI model to use
4. Provide specific instructions
5. Execute the agent
6. Review the generated output

Your First TeXRA Task

Let's go through an example to illustrate the basic workflow.

Step 1: Open a Document

1. Open VS Code
2. Navigate to the TeXRA panel in the sidebar (click the brain icon) or press Ctrl+Alt+M (Cmd+Option+M on macOS)
3. Open or create a LaTeX document from the workspace you'd like to improve

Example

Run TeXRA: Create Sample Project from the Command Palette to add a ready-made example to your workspace. This creates a draft.tex file under texra-sample/. Open it, run TeXRA: Set API Key to add your credentials, then select an agent and model in the TeXRA panel. Finally, write your instruction and execute the agent to see results.

Step 2: Select Files

1. In the TeXRA panel, click the "Current" button next to "Input" to set your active document as the input file
2. (Optional) Add reference, auxiliary, or figure files if needed for your task

Onboarding Prompt

The first time you choose an input file, TeXRA shows a tooltip explaining the selector. Select Never remind again to hide it permanently.

Multiple Files

For complex documents with multiple input files, use the "Multiple" dropdown to select additional files.

Step 3: Choose Agent and Model

1. In the dropdown menus at the bottom of the instruction box, select:
   • Agent: polish (for improving writing)
   • Model: sonnet37 (Claude 3.7 Sonnet) or another available model

Onboarding Prompt

When you first open the agent or model dropdown, a tooltip explains its role. You can dismiss these prompts with Never remind again.

Step 4: Write Instructions

In the instruction text area, provide specific guidance for the AI. For example:

Improve the clarity and flow of this document. Focus on making the technical
explanations more accessible. Fix any grammatical issues or awkward phrasing.
Ensure consistent terminology throughout.

Effective Instructions

Be specific about what you want! Vague instructions are like asking a genie for "something cool" – results may vary wildly. Include what should change and what should remain the same.

Step 5: Configure Tools

1. Click on the "Tool Config" dropdown
2. Enable "Reflect" to allow the AI to review and improve its own work
3. (Optional) Enable other tools as needed:
   • "Attach TeX Count" to include document statistics
   • "Print Input Prompt" to save the generated prompt for reference (which you can also feed to ChatGPT or Claude to process with your subscription)

Step 6: Execute the Agent

1. Click the "Execute" button ()
2. The ProgressBoard panel (typically at the bottom) will show the progress. See the ProgressBoard guide for more details on interpreting the logs.
3. Wait for the process to complete - this may take a few moments depending on the document size and model choice

Step 7: Review Results

1. When the agent completes, VS Code will open the generated output file (e.g., yourfile_polish_r0_model.tex).
2. Review the changes made by the AI. Remember, it's smart, but hasn't passed its quals yet!
3. You can compare the original and modified versions using:

   • VS Code's Diff View: Right-click on the original and output files in the Explorer and select "Compare Selected" for a side-by-side source code comparison.

     

     You can accept individual changes by clicking the arrow icons that appear between the two panels. The left arrow () restores the original text, while the right arrow () accepts the AI's changes. This makes it easy to cherry-pick which modifications you want to keep.

   • TeXRA's LaTeXdiff feature: Use the LaTeXdiffs section in the TeXRA panel for a compiled, visual comparison. This creates a PDF with additions highlighted in blue and deletions in red.

Open full example

Red strikethrough: Removed content

Blue underlined: Added/improved content

For details on how LaTeX diff works, see the LaTeX Diff guide.

Common Quick Tasks

Here are some common tasks you can try with TeXRA:

Fixing Grammar and Typos

• Agent: correct
• Model: gemini25p, gpt41, or gpt5
• Instruction: "Fix grammatical errors and typos without changing the content or technical terminology."

Converting a Paper to Slides

• Agent: paper2slide
• Model: sonnet37T or gpt5
• Instruction: "Convert this paper into presentation slides using the beamer template. Create approximately 12-15 slides highlighting the key points, methodology, and results."

Improving Writing Style

• Agent: polish
• Model: opus41 or sonnet37T
• Instruction: "Improve the writing style to make it more engaging and clear. Enhance the flow between paragraphs while preserving all technical content."

Understanding the Output

When TeXRA completes a task, it produces:

1. Output File: The main result with the requested changes
2. Log Files: Detailed information about the process
3. Diff Files: Visual comparison between original and modified versions (if applicable)

Output files are saved in the same directory as your input file with a naming pattern: original_filename_agent_r0_model.extension

For example, if your input file is paper.tex and you used the polish agent with sonnet37 model, the output file would be named: paper_polish_r0_sonnet37.tex

Next Steps

Now that you've completed your first task with TeXRA, you can:

• Explore more built-in agents for specialized tasks
• Learn about LaTeX diff for comparing document versions
• Discover how to use intelligent merge for combining changes
• Optimize your workflow with custom configuration

For any issues or questions, refer to the troubleshooting section or check the GitHub repository.