--- name: tacas-submission description: Use when auditing a TACAS (ETAPS) submission for EasyChair readiness, covering the choice among the four paper categories (research, case-study, regular tool, tool-demonstration), the correct LNCS page limit and llncs.cls format, the per-category blind mode (double-blind research vs single-blind tool/case-study), the mandatory tool-paper artifact deadline, and desk-reject triage before the firm ETAPS deadline. --- # TACAS Submission Run this audit before uploading to the TACAS **EasyChair** site. TACAS is a main conference of **ETAPS**, publishing in **Springer LNCS** (gold open access), and — unlike a single-track venue — it has **four paper categories** whose rules differ in page limit, anonymity, and artifact obligation. Every number below was read from the TACAS 2026 / ETAPS 2026 joint call on 2026-07-09 via search renderings of the `etaps.org` pages (see `resources/official-source-map.md`); treat them as a one-cycle snapshot and reopen the live call first. ETAPS deadlines are advertised as **firm and not extended**. ## Step 0 — pick the category (it sets every other rule) | Category | Page limit (llncs.cls) | Blind mode | Artifact | |---|---|---|---| | Regular research paper | ≤16 pages | **Double-blind** | Voluntary, post-acceptance | | Case-study paper | ≤16 pages | Single-blind | Voluntary, post-acceptance | | Regular tool paper | ≤16 pages | Single-blind | **Mandatory**, submitted after the paper, gates acceptance | | Tool-demonstration paper | ≤6 pages | Single-blind | **Mandatory**, submitted after the paper, gates acceptance | Page limits **exclude the bibliography and a clearly marked appendix**. Choosing the wrong category is a substantive error, not a label: a research paper submitted as a tool paper will be held to a tool paper's artifact bar, and vice versa. If unsure, run `tacas-topic-selection` first. ## Format and page budget - **Springer LNCS `llncs.cls`**, unmodified. This is the LNCS path, not ACM `acmart` or IEEE `IEEEtran` — do not carry a template habit from a sibling venue. - **Page limit for your category** (16 or 6), counting all text and figures but **not** references or an end appendix. Material that does not fit may go in the appendix and/or a supplementary website, with access enabled and license clear. - Margins, font, and spacing are fixed by `llncs.cls`; recover space by editing, never by shrinking the template. ## The blind sweep — but only where it applies Anonymity at TACAS is **per category**. A **regular research paper is double-blind**; a case-study, regular tool, or tool-demonstration paper is **single-blind** and names its authors and tool. For a **regular research** paper, run the mechanical anonymity pass: ```bash # Research-paper (double-blind) anonymity check on the final PDF and any review artifact pdfinfo paper.pdf | grep -Ei 'author|creator|producer' pdftotext paper.pdf - | grep -nEi 'github\.com/[a-z0-9-]+|gitlab|zenodo\.org/record|acknowledg|grant|thanks' | head grep -rniE 'our (tool|group|lab)|university of|@[a-z0-9.]+\.edu' artifact/ --include='*.md' | head ``` Omit author names and institutions, cite your own prior work **in the third person**, drop identifying acknowledgements, and route any supplementary link through an anonymizing host. For a **tool or case-study** paper, do the opposite: name the tool clearly and make authorship and provenance unambiguous — anonymizing a single-blind tool paper is itself a mistake. ## The mandatory-artifact reality (tool and tool-demo papers) For a **regular tool** or **tool-demonstration** paper the artifact is **not optional and not post-acceptance**: it is submitted shortly after the paper (TACAS 2026: paper 16 Oct 2025, mandatory artifact 30 Oct 2025), evaluated **in parallel with the PC**, and its outcome **feeds the acceptance decision**. Plan the packaging before the paper deadline, not after. See `tacas-artifact-evaluation`. ## Desk-risk triage | Finding at audit time | Severity | Real fix | |---|---|---| | Wrong category for the contribution | Held to the wrong bar | Re-scope to research / case-study / tool / tool-demo before submitting | | Over the category page limit | Desk-reject-grade | Cut or move to appendix/website; references and appendix do not absorb body text | | `llncs.cls` altered (margins, font) | Format violation | Recompile clean, recover space editorially | | Research paper not anonymized | Double-blind violation | Strip names, third-person self-cites, scrub PDF metadata, re-anonymize artifact | | Tool/tool-demo paper with no artifact ready | Cannot meet the mandatory deadline | Build and stage the artifact now; it gates acceptance | | Same work under review / published elsewhere | Dual-submission | Withdraw one venue; confirm the current concurrent-submission wording | ## Final-week order of operations 1. Confirm the **category** and its page limit; freeze the body early. 2. For a research paper, run the anonymity sweep on the **final** PDF and any review artifact; for a tool/case-study paper, confirm the tool and authorship are clearly named. 3. For a tool / tool-demo paper, stage the **mandatory artifact** and its VM packaging on the post-paper deadline. 4. Fill every EasyChair field — category, topics, co-authors, conflicts — a day early. 5. Re-download the uploaded PDF and read it cold to confirm it is the file you meant. ## Reverify each cycle - Page limits per category and the current `llncs.cls` revision. - The per-category blind wording and which categories carry a mandatory artifact. - Exact ETAPS dates, the abstract/full-paper gap, and dual-submission and AI-disclosure rules — all cycle-volatile. ## Output format ```text [TACAS submission status] ready / blocked / needs work [Category] research / case-study / regular tool / tool-demonstration [Format] pages used (limit 16/6), llncs.cls compliance [Blind mode] double-blind (research): clean / leaks: | single-blind (other): named correctly? yes/no [Artifact] mandatory (tool/tool-demo) staged? / voluntary (research/case-study) planned? [Fix queue] ```