typst-writer

Typst Writer

This skill provides guidance for writing correct Typst code, with emphasis on avoiding common syntax errors from conflating Typst with other languages.

Core Principles

1. Never assume syntax from other languages applies - Typst has its own semantics, especially for data structures
2. Verify uncertain syntax - When unsure, check official documentation
3. Use idiomatic patterns - Follow Typst conventions for clean, maintainable code

Quick Syntax Reference

Critical distinctions:

• Arrays: (item1, item2) - parentheses
• Dictionaries: (key: value, key2: value2) - parentheses with colons
• Content blocks: [markup content] - square brackets
• NO tuples - Typst only has arrays

For detailed syntax rules and common patterns, see references/syntax.md.

Documentation Resources

Official Documentation

• Core language reference: https://typst.app/docs/reference/
• Typst Universe - Central package & template registry:
  • main page (JS SPA): https://typst.app/universe
  • whole registry is just a regular GitHub repo: https://github.com/typst/packages

Searching for Typst Packages

Typst Universe (the official package registry) doesn't have a programmatic API, but you can search for packages via GitHub:

• Most packages are hosted on GitHub
• Use gh search, or SearXNG's repos search (see the searxng-search Skill)
• Example: Search for "typst diagram" or "typst table" in repositories

With GitHub CLI

Direct GitHub search examples:

# Search for typst repos about some topic
gh search repos --language "typst" --json "url,language,description" diagram arrows ... 

# List all files in a given repo
gh search code --repo "Jollywatt/typst-fletcher"

# In a repo, search through all files of some type
gh search code --repo "Jollywatt/typst-fletcher" --extension "md" arrow node ...

When to Consult Documentation

• Uncertain about function signatures or parameters
• Need to verify syntax for less common features
• Looking for built-in functions or methods
• Exploring available packages (e.g., fletcher for diagrams, drafting for margin notes, tablex for advanced tables)

Use WebFetch when needed to retrieve current documentation for verification.

Workflow

1. Before writing: If syntax is unclear, consult references/syntax.md or documentation
2. While writing:
   • Use proper data structure syntax (arrays with (), content with [])
   • Define functions with #let name(params) = { ... }
   • Use context blocks when accessing state
3. After writing: Review for Python/other language syntax leaking in

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• ❌ Calling things "tuples" (Typst only has arrays)
• ❌ Using [] for arrays (use () instead)
• ❌ Accessing array elements with arr[0] (use arr.at(0))
• ❌ Forgetting # prefix for code in markup context
• ❌ Mixing up content blocks [] with code blocks {}

Example Workflow

// Define custom functions for document elements
#let important(body) = {
  box(
    fill: red.lighten(80%),
    stroke: red + 1pt,
    inset: 8pt,
    body
  )
}

// Use state for counters
#let example-counter = state("examples", 1)

#let example(body) = context {
  let num = example-counter.get()
  important[Example #num: #body]
  example-counter.update(x => x + 1)
}

// Arrays for data
#let factions = (
  (name: "Merchants", color: blue),
  (name: "Artisans", color: green)
)

// Iterate and render
#for faction in factions [
  - #text(fill: faction.color, faction.name)
]

Coding Guidelines

Avoid mixing content and layout

#set, #show and custom functions should be used to avoid mixing content with layout directives, and more importantly to ensure a visual consistency throughout the document.

Prefer conciseness and rely on defaults

Typst functions often have sane default values for layout parameters. When unsure which value a parameter should have, just leave it unspecified.

Likewise, a lot of function parameters admit different types depending on how much control the user wants to have over the layout. For instance:

#table(
  columns: 3,
  ...
)

and

#table(
  columns: (auto, auto, auto),
  ...
)

do the exact same thing. Prefer the first one if you don't want to have finer control over the size of one of the columns.

Use markup shortcuts when available

Use to-emphasize instead of #emph[to-emphasize].

Prefer unicode litterals over expressions

For instance just write π instead of $pi$ or #sym.pi, and just write 🧮 instead of #emoji.abacus.

Reading contents from a Typst file

Besides compiling, the typst CLI command can also run queries against a Typst file with typst query, using Typst selectors, and get the result as JSON.

For instance, typst query the_document.typ "heading.where(level: 1)" | jq ".[].body.text" will list all the level-1 section titles present in the document. Sadly, it will not tell you their exact positions in the file, but Typst file are easy to grep.

See [https://typst.app/docs/reference/introspection/query/#command-line-queries](the online docs about query) for more info.

Package Usage

When needing specialized functionality:

1. Search for packages at https://typst.app/universe/
2. Import with #import "@preview/package:version"
3. Consult package documentation for API

Popular packages:

• drafting: annotations/comments for work-in-progress docs
• gentle-clues: callouts, tips, notes, admonitions
• showybox: general-purpose, customizable text boxes, with headers and footers. E.g. for definitions, theorems or highlighting important paragraphs
• itemize: nice layouts for item lists, enums, checklists, tree lists, etc.
• cetz: general diagrams/drawings, with explicit placing (coordinates) - basis of most Typst drawing libraries
• fletcher: graphs, flowcharts, automata, trees, etc. - automatic placing
• chronos: sequence diagrams
• timeliney: Gantt charts
• herodot: linear timelines
• lilaq: data visualization and plots
• tablem: write tables in markdown-like table format - easy control over strokes, merged cells...
• cmarker: render Markdown (inlined or from separate file) as part as a Typst doc
• polylux: presentations, slides
• suiji: random number generation in Typst code
• zebraw: code listings with line numbers, highlighted lines, inlined Typst comments/explanations etc.
• lovelace: algorithms/pseudo-code
• conchord: lyrics with overlayed chord changes, guitar shapes and tabs
• eqalc: math equations to actual, callable Typst functions
• jlyfish: Typst as a Julia notebook: embed Julia code inside Typst to generate content, visualizations etc.
• pyrunner: embed and call non-I/O Python code inside Typst

Working with Templates

Typst Universe hosts many pre-built templates for reports, papers, CVs, presentations, and more. Templates provide complete document styling and structure.

Finding Templates

• Browse templates: https://typst.app/universe/search/?kind=templates
• Filter by category: report, paper, thesis, cv, etc.
• Check the template's documentation for parameters and examples

Using a Template

1. Import the template: #import "@preview/template-name:version": *
2. Apply it with #show: template-name.with(param: value, ...)
3. Consult template documentation for required and optional parameters

Example:

#import "@preview/bubble:0.2.2": bubble

// Some templates (like bubble) don't use the standard metadata set by `#set document(...)` (for now?),
// so we factor it out:
#let doc-md = (
  title: [My report],
  author: "Claude",
  date: datetime(year: 2025, month: 12, day: 8) // ALWAYS include explicit date in code (so we don't default to date of PDF build)
)

#set document(..doc-md)

#show: bubble.with(
  ..doc-md,
  date: doc-md.date.display("[day]-[month]-[year]"), // some templates want a string here, not a `datetime` object, so we override date here
  subtitle: "A detailed analysis",
  affiliation: "Your Organization",
  main-color: rgb("#FF6B35"),
  color-words: ("important", "key", "critical"),
)

// Your content follows
= Introduction
...

Key differences from packages:

• Templates typically use #show: to apply styling to the entire document, via one single "main" function
• Packages provide functions/components you call explicitly
• Templates often have a title page and document structure built-in

Popular templates: charged-ieee (IEEE papers), bubble (colorful reports), modern-cv (CVs)

Bibliographies and Citations

Typst supports citations and bibliographies using BibTeX (.bib) or Hayagriva (.yml) format files.

See references/bibliography.md

ALWAYS include proper URLs in the bibliography file AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.

ALWAYS include @ref-name citations in text WHEREVER A REF IS RELEVANT. A good bibliography is useless if not cited.

Complete Document Structure Patterns

This shows an example for academic papers. Most reports you will have to write won't need to be that formal, but it's sort of the canonical example.

"Manual" layout (If needed, e.g. if the user gave specific layout requirements)

#set document(
  title: "Document Title",
  author: "Your Name",
  date: auto,
)

#set page(
  paper: "a4",
  margin: (x: 2.5cm, y: 2.5cm),
  numbering: "1",
)

#set text(size: 11pt)
#set par(justify: true)
#set heading(numbering: "1.")

// Title page
#align(center)[
  #text(size: 24pt, weight: "bold")[Document Title]

  #v(1cm)
  #text(size: 14pt)[Your Name]

  #v(0.5cm)
  #datetime.today().display()
]

#pagebreak()

// Table of contents
#outline(title: "Table of Contents", indent: auto)

#pagebreak()

// Main content
= Introduction
Your introduction text...

= Methods
...

= Results
...

= Conclusion
...

#pagebreak()

// Bibliography
#bibliography("refs.bib", title: "References", style: "ieee")

Using Templates (Simpler)

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

#show: ieee.with(
  title: "Your Paper Title",
  authors: (
    (name: "Author One", email: "[email protected]"),
    (name: "Author Two", email: "[email protected]"),
  ),
  abstract: [
    Your abstract text here...
  ],
  index-terms: ("keyword1", "keyword2", "keyword3"),
  bibliography: bibliography("refs.bib"), // the ieee template takes care of bibliography itself. That's not always the case
)

// Content starts immediately
= Introduction
Your introduction text...

= Methods
...

= Results
...

= Conclusion
...

Troubleshooting

Missing Font Warnings

If you see "unknown font family" warnings, remove the font specification to use system defaults

Note: Font warnings don't prevent compilation; the document will use fallback fonts

Template/Package Not Found

If import fails with "package not found":

• Verify exact package name and version on Typst Universe
• Check for typos in @preview/package:version syntax
• Ensure network connectivity (packages download on first use)
• Remember: Typst uses fully qualified imports with specific versions - there's no package cache to update

Compilation Errors

Common fixes:

• "expected content, found ...": You're using code where markup is expected - wrap in #{ } or use proper syntax
• "expected expression, found ...": Missing # prefix in markup context
• "unknown variable": Check spelling, ensure imports are correct
• Array/dictionary errors: Review syntax - use () for both, dictionaries need key: value, singleton arrays are (elem,)

Performance Issues

For large documents:

• Use #include "file.typ" to split into multiple files
• Compile specific pages: typst compile doc.typ output.pdf --pages 1-5
• Profile compilation (experimental): typst compile --timings doc.typ