What ChatGPT o1 Can Do That 4o-mini Cannot
I recently encountered an issue with the fontawesome5
package in the GitHub flow. The solution provided by 4o-mini (using TeX Live 2021 and tlmgr install fontawesome5
) didn’t work, but 4o suggested a better approach (using TeX Live 2023 and still using tlmgr
to install fontawesome5
), which I’m currently trying. It didn’t completely fix the problem, but switching to TeX Live 2023 instead of 2021 has made a significant improvement.
4o-mini answer
The error you’re seeing is related to tlmgr
(TeX Live Manager) not being properly initialized in the user mode. Specifically, the message tlmgr: user mode not initialized, please read the documentation!
indicates that tlmgr
is not being set up correctly in the user environment.
Here’s a breakdown of how you can fix it:
Fixing the tlmgr
User Mode Error
-
Set
tlmgr
to User Mode Correctly: You need to explicitly telltlmgr
to run in user mode and ensure it’s initialized properly. To do this in your script, use the following steps:- Make sure you are using
tlmgr
in user mode by setting the correct environment variable. - You can also initialize the user-specific TeX Live directory before using
tlmgr
.
- Make sure you are using
- Initialize
tlmgr
in User Mode: Before running thetlmgr
commands, ensure thattlmgr
is initialized with the following command:tlmgr init-usertree
This will create the user-specific TeX Live tree in
~/texmf
. Once initialized, you can then run thetlmgr update
andinstall
commands. -
Modify Your GitHub Actions Workflow: Update your GitHub Actions workflow file to include the initialization step. Here’s an example of how you can modify the workflow:
- name: Set tlmgr to user mode run: | # Initialize the user mode TeX Live directory tlmgr init-usertree tlmgr update --self tlmgr install fontawesome5
Full Example:
If you’re running this as part of a larger GitHub Actions workflow, you can incorporate these changes into the relevant job section:
jobs:
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- name: Install TeX Live (xelatex)
run: |
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y texlive-xetex
tlmgr init-usertree # Initialize the TeX Live user tree
tlmgr update --self # Update tlmgr itself
tlmgr install fontawesome5 # Install the desired package
Explanation of Commands:
tlmgr init-usertree
: This initializes the user-specific TeX Live tree (usually located in~/texmf
).tlmgr update --self
: Updates thetlmgr
package itself to the latest version.tlmgr install fontawesome5
: Installs thefontawesome5
package.
Additional Notes:
- Permissions: Ensure that the user running the GitHub Actions workflow has permission to install and modify files in the TeX Live user directory.
- Environment Variables: If you’re working with custom paths, you may need to adjust
TEXMFSYSVAR
orTEXMFHOME
to point to your specific directories.
By ensuring that tlmgr
is initialized in user mode and setting it up correctly in your GitHub Actions workflow, the error should be resolved. Let me know if this works or if you encounter any other issues!
o1 Answer
I understand you’re encountering issues with tlmgr
(TeX Live Manager) in your GitHub Actions workflow, specifically when trying to install the fontawesome5
package. The error message:
TLPDB: not a directory, not loading: /home/runner/texmf
tlmgr: user mode not initialized, please read the documentation!
Error: Process completed with exit code 2.
indicates that tlmgr
is unable to operate in “user mode” because the necessary directories and configurations are not set up correctly. This issue often arises when using TeX Live installations provided by package managers like apt-get
, which can have limited functionality compared to a full TeX Live installation from TUG (TeX Users Group).
To resolve this, I recommend installing TeX Live 2023 manually within your GitHub Actions workflow. This approach ensures that tlmgr
has full functionality and can install additional packages like fontawesome5
without issues.
Step-by-Step Solution:
- Remove System TeX Live Installation:
- Avoid using
apt-get install texlive-xetex
as it provides a partial TeX Live installation with restrictedtlmgr
functionality.
- Avoid using
- Manually Install TeX Live 2023:
- Download and install TeX Live directly from TUG.
- Configure PATH Environment Variable:
- Ensure that the TeX Live binaries are accessible by updating the PATH.
- Use
tlmgr
to Install Required Packages:- Update
tlmgr
and installfontawesome5
.
- Update
- Optimize Workflow with Caching (Optional):
- Cache the TeX Live installation to speed up future workflow runs.
Updated GitHub Actions Workflow:
Below is an updated version of your GitHub Actions workflow that incorporates the manual installation of TeX Live 2023 and correctly sets up tlmgr
to install the fontawesome5
package.
name: Deploy Jekyll with GitHub Pages dependencies preinstalled
on:
push:
branches: ["master"]
workflow_dispatch:
permissions:
contents: read
pages: write
id-token: write
concurrency:
group: "pages"
cancel-in-progress: false
jobs:
awesome-cv-copy:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- name: Checkout repository
uses: actions/checkout@v4
- name: Set up Make
run: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y make
- name: Cache TeX Live
uses: actions/cache@v3
with:
path: /usr/local/texlive/2023
key: $-texlive-2023
restore-keys: |
$-texlive-
- name: Install TeX Live 2023
if: steps.cache-texlive.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
run: |
# Install dependencies for TeX Live installer
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y perl wget xz-utils
# Download TeX Live installer
wget http://mirror.ctan.org/systems/texlive/tlnet/install-tl-unx.tar.gz
tar -xzf install-tl-unx.tar.gz
cd install-tl-*/
# Create a texlive.profile for automated installation
cat <<EOF > texlive.profile
selected_scheme scheme-full
TEXDIR /usr/local/texlive/2023
TEXMFCONFIG ~/.texlive2023/texmf-config
TEXMFHOME ~/texmf
TEXMFLOCAL /usr/local/texlive/2023/texmf-local
TEXMFSYSCONFIG /usr/local/texlive/2023/texmf-config
TEXMFSYSVAR /usr/local/texlive/2023/texmf-var
binary_x86_64-linux 1
collection-basic 1
collection-latex 1
collection-fontsrecommended 1
EOF
# Run the installer with the profile
sudo ./install-tl --profile=texlive.profile
- name: Add TeX Live to PATH
run: echo "/usr/local/texlive/2023/bin/x86_64-linux" >> $GITHUB_PATH
- name: Update tlmgr and Install fontawesome5
run: |
tlmgr update --self
tlmgr install fontawesome5
- name: Run make awesome-cv-copy
run: make awesome-cv-copy
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
needs: awesome-cv-copy
steps:
- name: Checkout repository
uses: actions/checkout@v4
- name: Setup Python 3
uses: actions/setup-python@v4
with:
python-version: "3.x"
- name: Install dependencies
run: |
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
pip install python-frontmatter
- name: Generate notes links
run: |
python scripts/generate_notes_link.py
- name: Setup Pages
uses: actions/configure-pages@v5
- name: Build with Jekyll
uses: actions/jekyll-build-pages@v1
with:
source: ./
destination: ./_site
- name: Upload artifact
uses: actions/upload-pages-artifact@v3
deploy:
environment:
name: github-pages
url: $
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
needs: build
steps:
- name: Deploy to GitHub Pages
id: deployment
uses: actions/deploy-pages@v4
Detailed Explanation:
- Checkout Repository:
- Uses the
actions/checkout@v4
action to clone your repository.
- Uses the
- Set up Make:
- Installs
make
usingapt-get
, ensuring that it’s available for building your CV.
- Installs
- Cache TeX Live:
- Utilizes
actions/cache@v3
to cache the TeX Live installation located at/usr/local/texlive/2023
. This significantly reduces installation time for subsequent workflow runs.
- Utilizes
- Install TeX Live 2023:
- Conditional Execution: The
if: steps.cache-texlive.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
condition ensures that TeX Live is only installed if it’s not already cached. - Install Dependencies: Installs necessary dependencies like Perl,
wget
, andxz-utils
. - Download and Extract Installer: Downloads the latest TeX Live installer from CTAN and extracts it.
- Create Installation Profile: A
texlive.profile
is created to automate the installation process. This profile specifies:selected_scheme scheme-full
: Installs the full TeX Live distribution. You can adjust this to a minimal scheme if desired.- Directories: Specifies where TeX Live and its configurations are installed.
- Collections: Selects essential collections like
basic
,latex
, andfontsrecommended
.
- Run Installer: Executes the installer with the specified profile, installing TeX Live 2023 to
/usr/local/texlive/2023
.
- Conditional Execution: The
- Add TeX Live to PATH:
- Updates the
PATH
environment variable by appending the TeX Live binary directory. This ensures thattlmgr
and other TeX Live commands are accessible in subsequent steps.
- Updates the
- Update tlmgr and Install
fontawesome5
:- Update
tlmgr
: Ensures thattlmgr
itself is up to date. - Install
fontawesome5
: Usestlmgr
to install thefontawesome5
package, resolving your initial issue.
- Update
- Run Make Command:
- Executes
make awesome-cv-copy
to build your CV using the installed TeX Live setup.
- Executes
- Build and Deploy Jobs:
- These remain largely unchanged but ensure that the TeX Live installation is available throughout the workflow due to the updated PATH.
Additional Recommendations:
- TeX Live Installation Time:
- Caching: The inclusion of the
actions/cache@v3
step helps mitigate the lengthy installation time by caching TeX Live after the first run. Ensure that the cache key ($-texlive-2023
) accurately reflects the TeX Live version to avoid cache mismatches.
- Caching: The inclusion of the
- Customizing TeX Live Installation:
- If you don’t need the full TeX Live distribution, you can modify the
texlive.profile
to install only specific collections, reducing installation time and disk usage. For example, replacescheme-full
withscheme-basic
and specify only the necessary collections.
- If you don’t need the full TeX Live distribution, you can modify the
- Verifying Installation:
- To ensure that TeX Live is installed correctly, you can add a verification step:
```yaml
- name: Verify TeX Live Installation
run: |
tex –version
tlmgr –version
kpsewhich fontawesome5.sty
```
This step can help diagnose any issues by confirming that TeX Live commands are accessible and that
fontawesome5.sty
is installed.
- name: Verify TeX Live Installation
run: |
tex –version
tlmgr –version
kpsewhich fontawesome5.sty
```
This step can help diagnose any issues by confirming that TeX Live commands are accessible and that
- To ensure that TeX Live is installed correctly, you can add a verification step:
```yaml
- Handling PATH Correctly:
- Using
echo "/usr/local/texlive/2023/bin/x86_64-linux" >> $GITHUB_PATH
ensures that the TeX Live binaries are added to the PATH for all subsequent steps in the job. This is crucial fortlmgr
and LaTeX commands to work correctly.
- Using
Troubleshooting Tips:
- Cache Miss Issues:
- Ensure that the cache key accurately reflects the TeX Live version. If you update TeX Live or change the installation path, update the cache key accordingly.
- Installation Failures:
- Check the GitHub Actions logs for any errors during the TeX Live installation. Common issues include network problems when downloading the installer or insufficient permissions.
- Package Installation Errors:
- If
tlmgr
fails to installfontawesome5
, verify that the package name is correct and that it’s available in the TeX Live repository.
- If
- PATH Issues:
- Ensure that the PATH is updated correctly. You can add a step to print the PATH for debugging:
```yaml
- name: Print PATH run: echo $PATH ```
- Ensure that the PATH is updated correctly. You can add a step to print the PATH for debugging:
```yaml
- Disk Space Limitations:
- GitHub Actions runners have limited disk space. A full TeX Live installation can consume significant space. If you encounter disk space issues, consider installing a minimal TeX Live setup.
Final Workflow Example with Verification:
Here’s a more comprehensive workflow that includes verification steps to ensure everything is set up correctly:
name: Deploy Jekyll with GitHub Pages dependencies preinstalled
on:
push:
branches: ["master"]
workflow_dispatch:
permissions:
contents: read
pages: write
id-token: write
concurrency:
group: "pages"
cancel-in-progress: false
jobs:
awesome-cv-copy:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- name: Checkout repository
uses: actions/checkout@v4
- name: Set up Make
run: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y make
- name: Cache TeX Live
uses: actions/cache@v3
with:
path: /usr/local/texlive/2023
key: $-texlive-2023
restore-keys: |
$-texlive-
- name: Install TeX Live 2023
if: steps.cache-texlive.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
run: |
# Install dependencies for TeX Live installer
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y perl wget xz-utils
# Download TeX Live installer
wget http://mirror.ctan.org/systems/texlive/tlnet/install-tl-unx.tar.gz
tar -xzf install-tl-unx.tar.gz
cd install-tl-*/
# Create a texlive.profile for automated installation
cat <<EOF > texlive.profile
selected_scheme scheme-full
TEXDIR /usr/local/texlive/2023
TEXMFCONFIG ~/.texlive2023/texmf-config
TEXMFHOME ~/texmf
TEXMFLOCAL /usr/local/texlive/2023/texmf-local
TEXMFSYSCONFIG /usr/local/texlive/2023/texmf-config
TEXMFSYSVAR /usr/local/texlive/2023/texmf-var
binary_x86_64-linux 1
collection-basic 1
collection-latex 1
collection-fontsrecommended 1
EOF
# Run the installer with the profile
sudo ./install-tl --profile=texlive.profile
- name: Add TeX Live to PATH
run: echo "/usr/local/texlive/2023/bin/x86_64-linux" >> $GITHUB_PATH
- name: Verify TeX Live Installation
run: |
tex --version
tlmgr --version
kpsewhich fontawesome5.sty || echo "fontawesome5.sty not found"
- name: Update tlmgr and Install fontawesome5
run: |
tlmgr update --self
tlmgr install fontawesome5
- name: Verify fontawesome5 Installation
run: kpsewhich fontawesome5.sty
- name: Run make awesome-cv-copy
run: make awesome-cv-copy
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
needs: awesome-cv-copy
steps:
- name: Checkout repository
uses: actions/checkout@v4
- name: Setup Python 3
uses: actions/setup-python@v4
with:
python-version: "3.x"
- name: Install dependencies
run: |
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
pip install python-frontmatter
- name: Generate notes links
run: |
python scripts/generate_notes_link.py
- name: Setup Pages
uses: actions/configure-pages@v5
- name: Build with Jekyll
uses: actions/jekyll-build-pages@v1
with:
source: ./
destination: ./_site
- name: Upload artifact
uses: actions/upload-pages-artifact@v3
deploy:
environment:
name: github-pages
url: $
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
needs: build
steps:
- name: Deploy to GitHub Pages
id: deployment
uses: actions/deploy-pages@v4
Key Enhancements:
- Verification Steps:
- Verify TeX Live Installation: Ensures that
tex
,tlmgr
, andfontawesome5.sty
are accessible. - Verify
fontawesome5
Installation: Confirms that thefontawesome5.sty
file is installed correctly.
- Verify TeX Live Installation: Ensures that
- Improved Caching:
- Cache Key Accuracy: The cache key is based on the OS and TeX Live version, ensuring that changes to TeX Live necessitate a new cache.
- Error Handling:
- Fallback Message: The
kpsewhich fontawesome5.sty || echo "fontawesome5.sty not found"
command provides a fallback message if the package isn’t found, aiding in debugging.
- Fallback Message: The
Additional Tips:
- Minimal TeX Live Installation:
- If the full TeX Live installation is too time-consuming or consumes too much space, consider installing a minimal scheme and adding only the necessary packages.
- Update the
texlive.profile
accordingly:selected_scheme scheme-basic collection-latexrecommended 1 collection-fontsrecommended 1 collection-fontsextra 1 collection-luatex 1
- Parallelizing Jobs:
- Depending on your workflow’s complexity, you might consider parallelizing jobs or reusing steps across jobs to optimize runtime.
- Handling TeX Live Updates:
- Regularly updating
tlmgr
and TeX Live ensures compatibility and access to the latest packages.
- Regularly updating
Conclusion:
By manually installing TeX Live 2023 within your GitHub Actions workflow and properly configuring the environment, you can overcome the limitations and errors associated with the system-installed TeX Live packages. This setup provides full tlmgr
functionality, allowing you to install additional LaTeX packages like fontawesome5
seamlessly.
If you continue to experience issues, please provide more detailed logs or specific error messages, and I’ll be happy to assist further!
Update
name: Test LaTeX
on:
push:
branches: ["main"]
workflow_dispatch:
jobs:
test_latex:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- name: Checkout repository
uses: actions/checkout@v4
- name: Install Microsoft core fonts
run: |
sudo apt-get install -y ttf-mscorefonts-installer
fc-cache -fv
- name: List installed fonts
run: fc-list
- name: Setup TeX Live
uses: teatimeguest/setup-texlive-action@v3
with:
packages: |
xeCJK
etoolbox
adjustbox
roboto
sourcesanspro
fontawesome5
tcolorbox
setspace
unicode-math
fancyvrb
olyglossia
polyglossia
- name: Install pandoc
run: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y pandoc
- name: Set up Python
uses: actions/setup-python@v4
with:
python-version: "3.x"
- name: Install dependencies
run: |
pip install -r requirements.txt
- name: Generate PDF
run: |
pandoc '_posts/en/2025-01-13-gitmessageai-en.md' -o test.pdf -f markdown --pdf-engine xelatex -V CJKmainfont='DejaVu Sans' -V geometry:margin=1in -V classoption=16pt -V CJKoptions=Scale=1.1 -V linestretch=1.5
Finally, after trying the above, DeepSeek fixed the issue.