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Getting Started

Source: vignettes/getting-started.Rmd
getting-started.Rmd

typstR is built around one fast path: scaffold a working paper, edit one Quarto project, and render a PDF when Quarto is available.

Create a project

Start by creating a working paper directory:

This creates a small project with:

  • template.qmd for the manuscript
  • _quarto.yml for project settings
  • references.bib for bibliography entries
  • the bundled typstR extension used by the template

Know the three files you will edit most

The working-paper starter is intentionally small, and each file has a distinct job:

  • template.qmd is the manuscript you edit day to day
  • _quarto.yml stores project-level Quarto settings
  • references.bib is where you add bibliography entries

If you only remember one thing from this vignette, remember that the normal flow is template.qmd for content, _quarto.yml for project settings, and references.bib for citations.

Edit template.qmd

The working-paper template already contains the main fields most users need: title, authors, affiliations, an abstract, bibliography wiring, and a typstR: block for publication metadata.

typstR:
  keywords:
    - supply chains
    - trade policy
  jel:
    - F14
    - F13
  report-number: "WP 001"
  funding: |
    This research was supported by the Applied Trade Policy Programme.

You can also build structured metadata in R before pasting it into the Quarto file:

lead_author <- author(
  "Elena Fischer",
  email = "elena.fischer@example.org",
  corresponding = TRUE,
  affiliation = "1"
)

home_institute <- affiliation("1", "Centre for European Industrial Analysis")

manuscript_meta(
  authors = list(lead_author),
  affiliations = list(home_institute)
)
#> <typstR_meta> 1 author(s), 1 affiliation(s)

Check _quarto.yml and references.bib

The generated _quarto.yml keeps the project wiring minimal:

project:
  type: default

You usually do not need to change it on day one, but it is the place to look when you later want project-wide Quarto behavior.

The starter references.bib includes one example entry so you can see the expected BibTeX shape immediately. Add your own entries there and keep bibliography: references.bib in the manuscript YAML.

Add manuscript content

Keep the manuscript in template.qmd. The shipped starter uses a compact working-paper structure:

  • Introduction
  • Data and Methods
  • Results
  • Conclusion
  • References

Add citations through references.bib and cite them in the manuscript with standard Quarto syntax such as @smith2020.

Render the PDF

Rendering depends on Quarto, so the call below is shown but not run during vignette checks.

render_working_paper("my-paper/template.qmd")

If you prefer to guard the call in your own scripts, use the same condition that package tests use:

quarto_ready <- quarto::quarto_available()
quarto_ready
#> [1] TRUE
if (quarto::quarto_available()) {
  render_working_paper("my-paper/template.qmd")
}

Next steps

Once the basic workflow is working, the other vignettes cover the two main follow-up tasks instead of repeating the scaffold/render introduction: