---
title: "Linting & Formatting — TeXForge docs | UniverLab"
source: "https://univerlab.org/texforge/docs/linting-and-formatting/"
---

[← TeXForge](/texforge/)Documentation

# Linting & Formatting

Last updated 2026 · Sol 271 · 00:44 UTC (2026-09-28T00:44Z)

## Linter — `texforge check`

Runs static analysis without compiling, including spell-check:

| Check | What it verifies |
| --- | --- |
| \input{file} | referenced file exists |
| \includegraphics{img} | image exists |
| \cite{key} | key exists in the .bib file |
| \ref{label} / \label{label} | cross-reference consistency |
| \begin{env} / \end{env} | no unclosed environments |
| Spelling | prose against language-specific dictionaries |

Errors come with file, line and a suggestion:

    ERROR [main.tex:47]
      \includegraphics{missing.png} — file not found
    
    ERROR [main.tex:12]
      \cite{smith2020} — key not found in .bib
    
    ERROR [main.tex:23]
      \begin{figure} never closed
      suggestion: Add \end{figure}
    
    ERROR [main.tex:18]
      mispeled — not in dictionary

### Spell-Check

Language is detected from the document:

*   `\usepackage[spanish]{babel}` — uses Spanish Hunspell dictionary
*   `\usepackage[polyglossia]{...}` — language extracted from polyglossia declaration
*   No declaration — falls back to `texforge config language` (default: `english`)

Dictionaries download automatically into `~/.texforge/dicts/` on first use.

Manage custom words with `texforge spell`:

    # Add to global dictionary (all projects)
    texforge spell add "LaTeX" "UUID"
    
    # Add to current project only
    texforge spell add "ProjectCodename" --local
    
    # List and remove
    texforge spell list [--local]
    texforge spell remove "LaTeX" [--local]

Both scopes are unioned at check time — project-local and global words are both respected.

## Formatter — `texforge fmt`

Applies opinionated formatting inspired by `rustfmt`:

*   Consistent indentation (2 spaces) inside environments
*   Collapsed multiple blank lines
*   Aligned `\begin{}` / `\end{}` blocks

One canonical output regardless of input style — git diffs stay clean.

    texforge fmt           # format in place
    texforge fmt --check   # check without modifying (CI-friendly)

`fmt --check` exits non-zero when files would change, which makes it easy to enforce formatting in CI.