Agent Skills: Typst

Typst

Compilation

typst compile document.typ              # compile once → PDF
typst compile document.typ output.pdf   # explicit output path
typst compile document.typ -f png       # export as PNG image
typst compile src/main.typ --root .     # set project root for /path imports
typst watch document.typ                # recompile on change
typst query document.typ "<label>"      # extract metadata as JSON (see query.md)

Agent verification — choose by what you need to check (see debug.md for details):

| Method | Command | Best for | | ----------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- | | HTML export | typst compile doc.typ /dev/stdout -f html --features html 2>/dev/null | Text content, structure, headings, tables | | PNG export | typst compile doc.typ page-{p}.png -f png | Visual layout, alignment, spacing, fonts | | pdftotext | typst compile doc.typ && pdftotext doc.pdf - | Fallback for page-specific content |

Minimal Document

#set page(paper: "a4", margin: 2cm)
#set text(size: 11pt)

= Title

Content goes here.

Writing Documents

Starting a new document? Copy the closest recipe from Examples below — it's faster than starting blank and each row names the docs to read next.

| When you need to... | Read | | -------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ | | Learn syntax, imports, functions, control flow | basics.md | | Learn data types, operators, string/array methods | types.md | | Style pages, headings, figures, layout | styling.md | | Tables, grids, cell spans, borders, data tables | tables.md | | Academic papers, bibliography, theorems, equations | academic.md | | Convert from Markdown or LaTeX | conversion.md | | Extract data from documents, multi-pass builds | query.md |

Developing Packages and Templates

| When you need to... | Read | | ------------------------------------------- | -------------------------- | | State, counters, in-document query(), XML | advanced.md | | CLI query, metadata export, multi-pass | query.md | | Create a reusable template function | template.md | | Create or publish a package | package.md | | Verify output (HTML/PNG/pdftotext, repr) | debug.md | | Profile performance (--timings, hotspots) | perf.md |

basics.md and types.md are also the foundation for developers.

Finding Packages

Search the embedded index of Typst Universe packages (updated weekly):

python3 scripts/search-packages.py "what you need"
python3 scripts/search-packages.py "chart" --category visualization
python3 scripts/search-packages.py --category cv --top 5
python3 scripts/search-packages.py --list-categories

Common Errors

| Error | Cause | Fix | | ------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- | | "unknown variable" | Undefined identifier | Check spelling, ensure #let before use | | "expected X, found Y" | Type mismatch | Check function signature in docs | | "file not found" | Bad import path | Paths resolve relative to current file | | "unknown font" | Font not installed | Use system fonts or web-safe alternatives | | "maximum function call depth exceeded" | Deep recursion | Use iteration instead | | "can only be used when context is known" | Missing context wrapper | Wrap in context { ... } | | "unexpected argument" | = instead of : for args | Named args use : syntax: func(name: value) | | "variables from outside are read-only" | Mutating captured variable | Use loop accumulation or state() — see advanced.md | | "expected content, found string" (or vice versa) | Content/string type mismatch | Use [#str-var] to embed string in content | | set/show rule has no effect | Rule placed after content | Place set/show rules before the content they target |

Examples

Copy the closest starter, adjust, compile. For CVs, letters, or slides, search packages: python3 scripts/search-packages.py --category cv (or letter, presentation).

| Example | Start here when you want... | Next read | | --------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | | basic-document.typ | A short note or memo | basics.md, styling.md | | styled-document.typ | A multi-section report with page styling | styling.md, tables.md | | template-report.typ | A reusable template for a series | template.md | | tables-showcase.typ | A data-heavy doc (tables, CSV/JSON) | tables.md, types.md | | academic-paper.typ | A paper with citations, theorems, math | academic.md | | query-export.typ | Metadata export or multi-pass builds | query.md | | package-example/ | A publishable package | package.md |

Dependencies

• typst CLI: Install from https://typst.app or via package manager
  • macOS: brew install typst
  • Linux: cargo install typst-cli
  • Windows: winget install typst
• pdftotext (optional): For text-level output verification
• Python 3.10+ (optional): For package search and validation scripts
• jq (optional): For parsing JSON output from typst query in shell scripts

API Reference Search

Search the embedded index of Typst API functions, methods, and constructors:

python3 scripts/search-api.py "image width fit"
python3 scripts/search-api.py "color lighten" --kind method
python3 scripts/search-api.py --name str.position -v
python3 scripts/search-api.py "rightarrow" --kind symbol   # LaTeX names work
python3 scripts/search-api.py --list-categories

Ecosystem Tools

Ecosystem tools: tinymist (LSP/editor), typstyle (formatter), typst-package-check (package validator), tytanic (visual test runner). For package tooling details, see package.md.