Overleaf Skill

Manage Overleaf LaTeX projects via the olcli CLI.

Installation

# Homebrew (recommended)
brew tap aloth/tap && brew install olcli

# npm
npm install -g @aloth/olcli

Authentication

Get your session cookie from Overleaf:

1. Log into overleaf.com
2. Open DevTools (F12) → Application → Cookies
3. Copy the value of overleaf_session2

olcli auth --cookie "YOUR_SESSION_COOKIE"

Verify with:

olcli whoami

Debug authentication issues:

olcli check

Clear stored credentials:

olcli logout

Common Workflows

Pull a project to work locally

olcli pull "My Paper"
cd My_Paper/

Edit and sync changes

# After editing files locally
olcli push              # Upload changes only
olcli sync              # Bidirectional sync (pull + push)

Compile and download PDF

olcli pdf                      # Compile and download
olcli pdf -o paper.pdf         # Custom output name
olcli compile                  # Just compile (no download)

Download .bbl for arXiv submission

olcli output bbl               # Download compiled .bbl
olcli output bbl -o main.bbl   # Custom filename
olcli output --list            # List all available outputs

Upload figures or assets

olcli upload figure1.png "My Paper"          # Upload to project root
olcli upload diagram.pdf                      # Auto-detect project from .olcli.json

Download specific files

olcli download main.tex "My Paper"           # Download single file
olcli zip "My Paper"                          # Download entire project as zip

arXiv Submission Workflow

Complete workflow for preparing an arXiv submission:

# 1. Pull your project
olcli pull "Research Paper"
cd Research_Paper

# 2. Compile to ensure everything builds
olcli compile

# 3. Download the .bbl file (arXiv requires .bbl, not .bib)
olcli output bbl -o main.bbl

# 4. Download any other needed outputs
olcli output aux -o main.aux    # If needed

# 5. Package for submission
zip arxiv.zip *.tex main.bbl figures/*.pdf

# 6. Verify the package compiles locally (optional)
# Then upload arxiv.zip to arxiv.org

Commands Reference

Command	Description
olcli auth --cookie <value>	Authenticate with session cookie
olcli whoami	Check authentication status
olcli logout	Clear stored credentials
olcli check	Show config paths and credential sources
olcli list	List all projects
olcli info [project]	Show project details
olcli pull [project] [dir]	Download project files
olcli push [dir]	Upload local changes
olcli sync [dir]	Bidirectional sync
olcli upload <file> [project]	Upload a single file
olcli download <file> [project]	Download a single file
olcli zip [project]	Download as zip archive
olcli compile [project]	Trigger compilation
olcli pdf [project]	Compile and download PDF
olcli output [type]	Download compile outputs

Tips

• Auto-detect project: Run commands from a synced directory (contains .olcli.json) to skip the project argument
• Dry run: Use olcli push --dry-run to preview changes before uploading
• Force overwrite: Use olcli pull --force to overwrite local changes
• Project ID: You can use project ID instead of name (24-char hex from URL)
• Debug auth: Run olcli check to see where credentials are loaded from