FatalCommands & Packages
Unknown Package Option
! LaTeX Error: Unknown option 'XXX' for package 'YYY'.
What this error means
You passed an option to \usepackage that the package doesn't recognise. Options are package-specific — not all packages accept the same set.
Common causes
- Typo in the option name
- Option belongs to a different package
- Option was removed in a newer version of the package
- Passing a document-class option to \usepackage instead of \documentclass
How to fix it
Check the package documentation (run texdoc packagename in a terminal) to see the list of valid options. Some options like a4paper belong to \documentclass, not \usepackage.
Code examples
Causes the error
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage[a4paper]{amsmath} % a4paper is not an amsmath option
\begin{document}
Hello
\end{document}Fixed
\documentclass[a4paper]{article} % a4paper goes on documentclass
\usepackage{amsmath}
\begin{document}
Hello
\end{document}Related errors
Test the fix live
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