Editorial question24.1K views4,868 votes0 answers1,858 following
AI-generatedDoes LaTeX have any built-in way to detect stale .aux files without a full clean rebuild?
LaTeX stores cross-references, table of contents entries, and bibliography data in auxiliary files (.aux, .toc, .bbl) between compilation passes. These files behave like a persistent cache: after structural edits such as removing a section or deleting a label, a single compile can produce incorrect page numbers or dangling references until enough passes rege