LaTeX Compile Chain Solution - Zsh Automation

This note summarizes the steps to create a robust LaTeX compile chain command with Zsh autocompletion.

1. The Function

Instead of a complex alias, define a Zsh function in your ~/.zshrc file. This is more reliable for the completion system to detect.

# LaTeX compile chain function
function pdflatexchain() {
  # Check if an argument was provided
  if [[ -z "$1" ]]; then
    echo "Usage: pdflatexchain <filename_without_extension>"
    return 1
  fi
 
  pdflatex "$1.tex" && bibtex "$1" && pdflatex "$1.tex" && pdflatex "$1.tex"
}

2. The Completion Script

This script enables Tab completion for the pdflatexchain function, suggesting any .tex files in the current directory.

Create the file: Save the following code in a file named _pdflatexchain.

#compdef pdflatexchain
 
_pdflatexchain() {
  # Find all *.tex files and suggest their basenames (without extension)
  compadd -- *.tex(N:r)
}
 
# Associate the completion function with the command
compdef _pdflatexchain pdflatexchain

3. Installation and Setup

Create a completions directory if you don’t have one: mkdir -p ~/.zsh/completions
Move the script into that directory: mv _pdflatexchain ~/.zsh/completions/
Update your .zshrc: Add your new completions directory to your Zsh fpath. This line must come before compinit is called (which is often done by frameworks like Oh My Zsh). fpath=(~/.zsh/completions $fpath)
Reload your shell to apply the changes: exec zsh

Now, typing pdflatexchain and pressing Tab will autocomplete with the names of your .tex files.