git:20261014.ea892f9 to git:20261014.8e82a27

---

name: overleaf-remote

description: Install and use the bundled olcli to create, inspect, edit, precisely patch, organize, upload to, download from, and compile Overleaf projects without maintaining a local pull/push checkout. Use for Overleaf CLI setup, session-cookie authentication, direct remote file operations, or diagnosing olcli access and synchronization problems.

---

# Overleaf Remote

Use the bundled olcli build for direct Overleaf operations. Prefer precise

remote commands (`replace`, `insert`, `append`, `prepend`, `write`, `mkdir`,

and `upload --to`) over maintaining a continuously synchronized local copy when

the user wants changes made directly on Overleaf. `edit` is not a general editor:

it only fills an empty document, and `write` only creates a document or fills an

empty one. Whole-document replacement is refused everywhere else, so plan every

change as a targeted operation against the document's live content.

For multiple edits in one working session, prefer `olcli live`: it keeps one

Overleaf collaboration WebSocket open, joins text documents lazily, and sends

small versioned OT insert/delete operations instead of downloading and

re-uploading whole files. It tracks collaborator updates and safely rejoins a

document after a race. `auto` mode falls back to verified HTTP replacement only

when the failure happened before an OT write was sent; uncertain writes are

never retried blindly. Use `--transport ot` to require OT or `--transport http`

to diagnose compatibility with older self-hosted instances.

On a machine with `tmux`, keep that session alive in tmux instead of starting a

## Route the task

- For first-time installation, authentication, or instructions for obtaining

the Overleaf cookie on macOS or Windows, read

[references/setup-and-cookie.md](references/setup-and-cookie.md) completely.

- For project, file, editing, upload, compile, and verification commands, read

[references/commands.md](references/commands.md) completely.

- When authentication, PATH, folder resolution, upload, compilation, or content

verification fails, read

[references/troubleshooting.md](references/troubleshooting.md) completely.

## Operating rules

1. Treat `overleaf_session2` as a password. Never echo it, quote it in a report,

commit it, place it in the Skill, or expose it in process listings when a

hidden prompt is available.

2. Authentication permits access; it does not by itself authorize creating,

editing, deleting, renaming, or compiling a project. Confirm that the user's

request covers the intended remote mutation.

3. Never edit from a stale copy. Compute every change against the document's

current remote content. Do not download a file, edit it locally, and upload

it back; do not reuse content read earlier in this conversation, in a

previous session, or from a local checkout. Re-read first. `olcli live`

follows collaborator updates as they arrive, and the one-shot commands

re-read immediately before writing. A base that was not freshly read may

already be superseded by someone else's text.

4. Never replace a whole document unless it is empty. `edit`, `write`, and

`upload --to` refuse to overwrite a non-empty text document, because a

wholesale write silently discards everything a collaborator added since that

content was read. Express the change as targeted operations (`replace`,

`insert`, `append`, `prepend`) instead. Delete and recreate a file only when

the user has explicitly asked for a full rewrite.

5. Resolve the exact project and remote path before mutation. Prefer a project

ID when names are ambiguous.

6. Use `replace` for an exact, unique change. It refuses multiple matches unless

`--all` is explicit. Use `insert` with a stable anchor and

`--occurrence <n>` when the anchor repeats.

7. Use `write` to create a text document or fill an empty one, `mkdir` for

folders, and `upload --to` for images, PDFs, bibliographies, archives, or

other new files.

8. Preserve the built-in versioned OT acknowledgement or HTTP read-after-write verification. For binary uploads,

download to a temporary file and compare hashes or bytes when correctness

matters.

9. Do not start a pull/push daemon unless the user explicitly asks for ongoing

synchronization. The direct commands are designed to avoid that workflow.

10. After repeated authentication failures, ask the user to refresh the cookie;

do not keep retrying a possibly expired credential.

11. For a sequence of edits to one project, reuse a persistent `olcli live`

session instead of paying a fresh connection per change. Where `tmux`

## Bundled implementation

The modified olcli source and compiled JavaScript live in `assets/olcli/`.

Install it with the platform script in `scripts/`; do not silently substitute

the public npm release because it may not contain this Skill's direct-edit

commands.

- macOS/Linux: `bash scripts/install_olcli.sh`

- Windows PowerShell: `powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts/install_olcli.ps1`

- Verify macOS/Linux: `bash scripts/check_olcli.sh`

- Verify Windows: `powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts/check_olcli.ps1`

When changing the bundled implementation, update both `assets/olcli/src/` and

`assets/olcli/dist/`, run the TypeScript build, and validate this Skill before

delivery.