--metadata-file yaml on xelatex and debian - how to debug?

[brunocek]

Please guidance and help.

How can I debug a pdf generation from a latex template (using xelatex)? I am having trouble bringing metadata from yaml files, is there a way to see log, aux, out files when the pdf is generated? Or intermediate files?

I fear the new environment I am running this is not good enough be it for the python install or for packages, and I don't know how to check these.

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I migrated from a debian test to a debian-11 (yes, the newer machine has an older version of debian). On the old machine I was able to generate a pdf from a tex template using xelatex, and now it is not working anymore.

I do "import" three yaml files with --metadata-file, and I use the data from the yamls. But now, these fields are not rendering anymore.

I use the imported data in loops using $ for( field ) $, where field is present in the yaml. And I also use: \newcommand{\field}{ $ field $ }; and \def\field#1{\def\@field{#1}} when I use fields outside of loops.

I am sorry I am not good at latex.

This was also asked here: https://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/712537/pandoc-metadata-file-yaml-on-xelatex-and-debian-how-to-debug

I suspect the problem is that I might not have installed some package. Here follows what I have on the new debian-11 machine.

  - texlive-base
  - texlive-fonts-extra 
  - texlive
  - fonts-texgyre
  - fonts-mathjax
  - texlive-xetex
  - texlive-publishers
  - texlive-plain-generic
  - texlive-pictures
  - texlive-latex-recommended
  - texlive-latex-extra
  - texlive-latex-base
  - texlive-fonts-recommended
  - texlive-binaries
  - python3-pygments
  - python3-jinja2
  - python3-docutils
  - preview-latex-style
  - pandoc-data
  - pandoc
  - libgtksourceview-4-common
  - ispell
  - dvisvgm
  - docutils-common
  - cm-super
  - cm-super-minimal
  - wget

[jgm]

I am having trouble bringing metadata from yaml files, is there a way to see log, aux, out files when the pdf is generated? Or intermediate files?

Using --verbose will give you the intermediate file and other info to stdout.

To see aux, etc., you can use pandoc -s -t latex to produce a standalone latex file and run xelatex on it yourself. Or use --pdf-engine=latexmk --pdf-engine-opt=-outdir=build to use latexmk for the build and use build as a persistent subdirectory which will contain the intermediate files.