Best Practice Award: Pipeline for automated LaTeX plot generation using GitLab CI/CD

LATEX is increasingly being used as the tool of choice for journal articles or academic theses, posters, conference presentations, and many other applications [1]. The popularity of LATEX in academia is based on its elegant ability to use predefined templates, its robustness in implementing complex notation and mathematics, and its capacity to neatly format any type of content, including sections, text, and figures [2]. One of the most powerful packages for creating high-quality vector graphics within LATEX is TikZ. However, despite its powerful capabilities, creating plots using TikZ often remains a time-consuming task due to its extensive syntax and numerous configuration possibilities. This white paper introduces a GitLab pipeline that uses continuous integration (CI) and continuous deployment (CD) to streamline the generation of vector graphics and LATEX code from CSV data and JSON configuration files. By automating this process, this approach reduces the overhead associated with manual TikZ plot creation, while improving reproducibility and enhancing collaborative scientific workflows.