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Thesis with LaTeX and GitLab

Draft and version a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD thesis with LaTeX in GitLab, enabling version control and CI/CD. Automates LaTeX builds and provides the final PDF as a build artifact, with optional milestone email notifications to the supervisor.

Idea
Plan
Prototype
Pilot
Live

Overview

Value: Draft and version a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD thesis with LaTeX in GitLab, enabling version control and CI/CD. Automates LaTeX builds and provides the final PDF as a build artifact, with optional milestone email notifications to the supervisor.

Problem: Helpful GitLab features: CI/CD for automatic PDF generation; artifacts to store the PDF after each build; milestones to plan deadlines and milestones; issues to track changes; Wiki/README.md for project and build documentation; email integration via GitLab Runner or external webhooks to send PDFs to the supervisor automatically; merge requests if supervisor feedback is desired; optional: Overleaf integration via Git sync for visual editing by supervisors.

Solution: Automated LaTeX builds and artifact generation for a thesis with version control and optional automatic supervisor notifications at milestones.

Who Benefits

Primary

  • Students
    • Automated PDF generation
    • Version control for thesis content
    • Consistent build environment
    • Progress tracking through milestones
  • Thesis Supervisors
    • Visibility into student progress
    • Access to latest PDF versions
    • Milestone notifications
    • Collaborative review process

Secondary

  • External Supervisors
    • Remote access to thesis progress
    • Consistent document formatting
    • Version history access

When to Use

  • LaTeX-based thesis writing
  • Need for version control and backup
  • Multiple revisions and collaborative review
  • Automated build requirements
  • Progress tracking and milestone management

When Not to Use

  • Simple word processor-based documents
  • Minimal revision requirements
  • Single-author documents with no collaboration
  • When LaTeX expertise is not available

Process

  1. Set up GitLab repository with LaTeX thesis template
  2. Configure CI/CD pipeline for LaTeX compilation
  3. Write and commit thesis chapters in LaTeX
  4. Automated build generates PDF artifacts
  5. Track progress through GitLab milestones
  6. Optional supervisor notifications at milestones

Requirements

People

  • Students
  • Thesis Supervisors
  • GitLab Administrator

Data Inputs

  • LaTeX source files
  • Bibliography files
  • Images and figures
  • Thesis templates

Tools & Systems

  • GitLab with CI/CD
  • LaTeX distribution (TeXLive)
  • GitLab Runner
  • PDF generation tools
  • Email notification system

Policies & Compliance

  • University thesis formatting requirements
  • Academic integrity policies
  • Data retention policies

Risks & Mitigations

  • LaTeX compilation errors preventing PDF generation

    • Automated syntax checking
    • Template validation
    • Error reporting and logging
    • Rollback to previous working version

  • Loss of thesis work

    • Git version control
    • Regular automated backups
    • Multiple repository mirrors

  • Supervisor notification failures

    • Multiple notification channels
    • Backup notification methods
    • Manual notification fallbacks

Getting Started

To implement this use case, you need GitLab with CI/CD, a LaTeX distribution, and thesis templates configured for automated building.

  1. Create GitLab repository with LaTeX thesis template
  2. Configure .gitlab-ci.yml for LaTeX compilation pipeline
  3. Set up LaTeX environment in Docker container or runner
  4. Configure artifact storage for generated PDFs
  5. Set up milestone tracking and optional notifications

Resources

FAQ

What happens if LaTeX compilation fails?

The CI/CD pipeline will report the error, and the previous successful PDF version remains available while issues are resolved.

Can supervisors edit the thesis directly?

Supervisors can be given appropriate repository access or provide feedback through merge requests and comments.

How are large images and figures handled?

Git LFS can be used for large binary files like high-resolution images while maintaining version control benefits.

Glossary

LaTeX
Document preparation system for high-quality typesetting, commonly used for academic documents
CI/CD Artifacts
Files generated during the build process that are stored and made available for download
Milestone
Significant points in project timeline used for tracking progress and triggering notifications
TeXLive
Cross-platform LaTeX distribution providing comprehensive LaTeX environment
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