Camera Ready Checker

An AI-powered web application for checking academic papers against camera-ready submission guidelines.

Features

Python-Based Checks (Fast & Efficient)

• Font Embedding - Verifies all fonts are embedded in the PDF
• PDF/A Compliance - Checks PDF/A archival format requirements
• Page Numbers - Detects page numbers that may need removal
• Page Limit - Validates document is within page limits
• Number Format - Ensures large numbers use comma separators (1,000,000)
• Decimal Precision - Checks for consistent decimal places
• Reference Format - Detects "et al.", missing years, etc.
• URL Accessibility - Verifies URLs are accessible
• Acknowledgement Section - Checks for funding acknowledgements
• Appendix Detection - Flags appendices (usually not allowed)
• Author Anonymity - Detects remaining anonymous placeholders
• Orphan/Widow Detection - Finds typography issues
• Content Boundaries - Checks for text outside margins
• Conference Name Consistency - Validates naming (NIPS vs NeurIPS)

AI-Based Checks (ChatGPT/Qwen)

• Grammar & Typo Check - Comprehensive grammar analysis
• Plagiarism Indicator - Flags potential plagiarism patterns
• Figure Caption Quality - Reviews caption completeness
• AI Suggestions - Generates improvement recommendations

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Python 3.11+
• Node.js 18+
• OpenAI API key (optional, for AI checks)

Installation

1. Clone the repository

git clone <repository-url>
cd CameraReadyChecker

2. Set up the backend

# Create virtual environment
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Copy environment file and add your API keys
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your API keys

3. Set up the frontend

cd frontend
npm install
cd ..

4. Run the application

# Terminal 1: Start backend
cd backend
uvicorn main:app --reload --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000

# Terminal 2: Start frontend
cd frontend
npm run dev

5. Open your browser Navigate to http://localhost:5173

Usage

1. Upload your camera-ready PDF
2. Wait for the automated checks to complete
3. Review the results and suggestions
4. Download the report as Markdown

Configuration

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
OPENAI_API_KEY	OpenAI API key for AI checks	None
OPENAI_MODEL	OpenAI model to use	gpt-4-turbo-preview
QWEN_API_KEY	Qwen API key (alternative)	None
DEFAULT_AI_PROVIDER	Default AI provider	openai
MAX_FILE_SIZE_MB	Maximum upload size	50
DATABASE_URL	Database connection string	sqlite:///./camera_ready_checker.db

Page Limit Configuration

Set page limits via the API:

curl -X POST "http://localhost:8000/api/check/JOB_ID" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"config": {"page_limit": 10}}'

API Endpoints

Endpoint	Method	Description
/api/upload	POST	Upload a PDF file
/api/check/{job_id}	POST	Run checks on uploaded PDF
/api/results/{job_id}	GET	Get check results
/api/checkers	GET	List available checkers
/api/report/{job_id}	GET	Download report (md/json)

Project Structure

CameraReadyChecker/
├── backend/
│   ├── main.py              # FastAPI application
│   ├── config.py            # Configuration settings
│   ├── models.py            # Data models
│   ├── database.py          # Database setup
│   └── checkers/
│       ├── base.py          # Base checker class
│       ├── engine.py        # Checker orchestration
│       ├── python_checkers/ # Python-based checkers
│       └── ai_checkers/     # AI-based checkers
├── frontend/
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── App.jsx          # Main application
│   │   └── components/      # React components
│   └── package.json
├── test/                    # Test PDF files
├── output/                  # Generated reports
├── requirements.txt
└── README.md

Guidelines Reference

This tool is based on the camera-ready guidelines by Xtra Computing Group, covering:

1. General Preparation

   • Revise according to reviews
   • Add funding acknowledgements
   • Pass plagiarism check (<20% similarity)

2. Formatting Requirements

   • Remove orphans and widows
   • Check page limits
   • Verify font embedding
   • Check number formatting

3. References

   • Use full author lists (not "et al.")
   • Consistent conference naming
   • Include publication years
   • Verify URL accessibility

4. Special Considerations

   • Appendices usually not allowed
   • Remove anonymous placeholders
   • Add proper acknowledgements

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues and pull requests.

License

MIT License

Acknowledgements

• Guidelines prepared by Shengliang Lu, Qinbin Li and Bingsheng He
• Xtra Computing Group, National University of Singapore