Fixing GitHub Workflow LaTeX Build with ChatGPT o1

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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 tell tlmgr 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.
Initialize tlmgr in User Mode: Before running the tlmgr commands, ensure that tlmgr 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 the tlmgr update and install 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 the tlmgr package itself to the latest version.
tlmgr install fontawesome5: Installs the fontawesome5 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 or TEXMFHOME 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 restricted tlmgr functionality.
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 install fontawesome5.
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.
Set up Make:
- Installs make using apt-get, ensuring that it’s available for building your CV.
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.
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, and xz-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, and fontsrecommended.
- Run Installer: Executes the installer with the specified profile, installing TeX Live 2023 to /usr/local/texlive/2023.
Add TeX Live to PATH:
- Updates the PATH environment variable by appending the TeX Live binary directory. This ensures that tlmgr and other TeX Live commands are accessible in subsequent steps.
Update tlmgr and Install fontawesome5:
- Update tlmgr: Ensures that tlmgr itself is up to date.
- Install fontawesome5: Uses tlmgr to install the fontawesome5 package, resolving your initial issue.
Run Make Command:
- Executes make awesome-cv-copy to build your CV using the installed TeX Live setup.
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.
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, replace scheme-full with scheme-basic and specify only the necessary collections.
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.
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 for tlmgr and LaTeX commands to work correctly.

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 install fontawesome5, verify that the package name is correct and that it’s available in the TeX Live repository.
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 ```
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, and fontawesome5.sty are accessible.
- Verify fontawesome5 Installation: Confirms that the fontawesome5.sty file is installed correctly.
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.

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.

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.

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