BlaBlaTex

Is a Tool to write Boilerplate code to help you use your personal collection of $\LaTeX$ Templates.

It clones the specified repo into a hidden folder on your computer and copies subfolders from it to whereever you need it. This way you dont even need an internet connection after the first setup.

Since the tool copies subfolders of a repo, it is recommended to structure your templates in a way that no files outside their folder are required.

How To Use

Installation

You can install the app through python's package manager pip using

pip install blablatex

If you want to install a specific version, you can do that

pip install blablatex==1.x.x

Setup

0. Install Git, Python, this Package, and probably LaTeX
1. Find or Create a Git Repository with your LaTeX Templates (public or private)
2. For private repositories only: Run blablatex set-token <your-github-pat> to add authentication
   • Create a Personal Access Token (PAT) on GitHub with repo scope: https://github.com/settings/tokens
   • This token is stored locally in ~/.template_tool/credentials.txt with restricted permissions
3. Run blablatex set-repo <url> to connect it to your Repository

Usage

1. Run blablatex init <templateName> [newFolderName]

This will copy the folder called templateName from your repository into the current directory under the new name newFolderName

Commands

This list can be displayed by running blablatex --help

• init Copy a template to the current folder (optionally renaming the folder).
• list List available templates.
• path Get the full path of the local Repository
• refresh Force refresh the local copy of the repo.
• set-repo Set the template repository URL.
• set-token Set GitHub Personal Access Token for private repository access.
• clear-token Remove stored GitHub Personal Access Token.
• version Display the version Number and Exit

Changelog

1.2.0

Features

• Add support for private repositories with GitHub Personal Access Token (PAT) authentication
• Add command set-token to configure GitHub PAT for private repository access
• Add command clear-token to remove stored authentication token
• Credentials are stored securely with restricted file permissions
• Update set-repo command to show when authentication is configured

Security

• Credentials are stored locally with restrictive permissions (owner read/write only)
• Tokens are never displayed or logged by the application

1.1.1

Bugfix

Prevent a crash when cloning the Remote-Repo from Scratch.

1.1.0

Features

• Add Command version to display current Version number
• Now Works offline with most recent status

Bugfixes

Fix a crash that is caused by failed pulls from Git Remote Repository.

1.0.0

Initial Release, add the following commands:

• set-repo Set the template repository URL.
• path Get the full path of the local Repository
• list List available templates.
• init Copy a template to the current folder (optionally renaming the folder).
• refresh Force refresh the local copy of the repo.