A comprehensive MyST Markdown template for Elsevier journal articles using the CAS (Content Acquisition System) document classes.

Overview¶

Features¶

• Dual layouts: Single column (cas-sc) and double column (cas-dc)

• Citation styles: Author-year or numeric references

• Rich metadata: ORCID, email, CRediT contributor roles, affiliations

• Elsevier features: Research highlights, graphical abstracts, keywords

• Extended author metadata: Equal contributors, author notes, deceased markers, social links (Twitter)

• Title features: Main title, subtitle, title footnotes, general notes

• Full MyST support: Math, proofs, theorems, admonitions, cross-references, tables, figures

• Multiple exports: Generate PDFs in different formats from a single source

Requirements¶

• MyST Markdown: Latest version (install via pip install mystmd or npm install -g mystmd)

• LaTeX Distribution: TeX Live 2022+ or MiKTeX 22.1+ (required for PDF export)

• XeLaTeX: Recommended for Unicode support (included in standard TeX distributions)

• Python: 3.8+ (if using pip installation)

• Node.js: 16+ (if using npm installation)

⚠️ LaTeX3 Required: This template uses modern LaTeX3 commands (vbox_unpack_drop:N) introduced in 2022. Earlier LaTeX distributions will fail with cryptic errors. If you encounter vbox_unpack_drop:N errors, upgrade your TeX distribution to TeX Live 2022+ or MiKTeX 22.1+.

Quick Start¶

1. Install MyST¶

pip install mystmd
# or
npm install -g mystmd

2. Create Your Article¶

Create a markdown file with frontmatter:

---
title: Your Article Title
authors:
  - name: Your Name
    email: you@university.edu
    corresponding: true
    orcid: 0000-0000-0000-0000
    affiliations:
      - id: univ
        name: Your University
    roles:
      - Conceptualization
      - Methodology
keywords:
  - keyword1
  - keyword2
abstract: |
  Your abstract text here.
exports:
  - format: pdf
    template: path/to/elsarticle-myst
    output: article.pdf
    columns: single
---

# Introduction

Your content here...

3. Build PDF¶

myst build your-article.md --pdf

Template Options¶

Document Structure¶

Frontmatter Fields¶

title: Article Title
subtitle: Optional Subtitle  # Displayed below main title
short_title: Short Title  # For running headers
authors:
  - name: Author Name
    email: author@example.com
    orcid: 0000-0000-0000-0000
    corresponding: true
    equal_contributor: true  # Mark as equal contribution
    deceased: false  # Mark if deceased
    note: Additional author info  # Author-specific footnote
    twitter: username  # Twitter/X handle
    affiliations:
      - institution-id
    roles:
      - Conceptualization
      - Writing – original draft
affiliations:
  - id: institution-id
    name: Institution Name
    department: Department
    city: City
    country: Country
keywords:
  - keyword1
  - keyword2
abstract: |
  Abstract text...
keypoints:  # Research highlights
  - First key finding
  - Second key finding
parts:
  title_note: Acknowledgment or note attached to title
  note: General note without numbering (e.g., disclaimers)
  appendix: appendix.md  # External appendix file
  biography: |  # Author biographies (raw LaTeX)
    \bio{}
    Author biography text...
    \endbio
bibliography:
  - references.bib

CRediT Contributor Roles¶

Supported roles (per CRediT taxonomy):

• Conceptualization

• Data curation

• Formal analysis

• Funding acquisition

• Investigation

• Methodology

• Project administration

• Resources

• Software

• Supervision

• Validation

• Visualization

• Writing - original draft

• Writing - review & editing

Document Parts¶

Use MyST parts for special content:

parts:
  appendix: appendix.md      # External appendix file
  title_note: Funding note   # Footnote on title
  note: General disclaimer   # Non-numbered note
  biography: |               # Author bios (raw LaTeX)
    \bio{}
    Biography text...
    \endbio

Or inline with block syntax:

+++ {"part": "abstract"}
Your abstract here.
+++

Files Included¶

Supported LaTeX Packages and Environments¶

The template includes comprehensive package support for scientific writing:

Mathematics (amsmath, mathtools)¶

• align, align*, alignat, flalign - Aligned equations

• gather, gather* - Centered equation groups

• multline, multline* - Multi-line equations

• subequations - Equation sub-numbering

• pmatrix, bmatrix, vmatrix, Vmatrix - Matrix brackets

• pmatrix*, bmatrix*, vmatrix*, Vmatrix* - Matrix brackets with alignment (mathtools)

Figures (graphicx, caption, subcaption, wrapfig, rotating)¶

• figure, figure* - Standard figures

• subfigure - Sub-figures with individual captions

• wrapfigure - Text-wrapped figures

• sidewaysfigure - Rotated full-page figures

Tables (array, booktabs, tabularx, longtable, threeparttable)¶

• table, table* - Standard tables

• tabular - Basic table environment

• tabularx - Tables with auto-width columns

• longtable - Multi-page tables

• threeparttable + tablenotes - Tables with footnotes

• sidewaystable - Rotated full-page tables

Lists (enumitem)¶

• enumerate - Numbered lists

• itemize - Bulleted lists

• description - Description lists

Quotations (csquotes)¶

• quote, quotation - Standard quote blocks

• displayquote - Enhanced quotations with attribution

Algorithms (algorithm, algorithmicx)¶

• algorithm - Algorithm float environment

• algorithmic - Algorithm pseudocode (via algpseudocode)

Page Layout (changepage, pdflscape)¶

• adjustwidth - Adjust margins

• landscape - Landscape page orientation

• minipage, center, centering - Layout control

Boxes (adjustbox)¶

• adjustbox - Scale, trim, and adjust content

Additional Packages¶

• hyperref - Hyperlinks and PDF metadata

• xcolor, colortbl - Colors in text and tables

• multirow, makecell - Complex table cells

• natbib - Citation management

• csquotes - Context-sensitive quotation marks

Example¶

See the example/ directory for a comprehensive demonstration including:

• Typography (formatting, footnotes, definition lists)

• Mathematics (inline, display, custom macros)

• Formal environments (definitions, theorems, proofs)

• Admonitions (notes, warnings, tips, etc.)

• Tables (markdown, list-table, csv-table, raw LaTeX)

• Code blocks with syntax highlighting

• Figures and cross-references

• Citations and bibliography

Build the example:

cd example
myst build sample-article.md --pdf

Credits¶

Based on the official Elsevier CAS LaTeX templates. The original LaTeX classes are copyright Elsevier Ltd and distributed under the LaTeX Project Public License (LPPL-1.3c).

License¶

• Content (documentation, examples): CC-BY-4.0

• Code (template configuration): MIT

• LaTeX classes (.cls, .sty, .bst): LPPL-1.3c