On this page
Start your file with \documentclass[sigconf]{acmart} for conference proceedings, or a journal option such as acmsmall. Then add \title, \author, \affiliation, an abstract and \maketitle. ACM's template page says fonts cannot be substituted and margins cannot be adjusted, so keep to the class defaults.
What acmart is
ACM's "Primary Article Template" page describes acmart.cls as the official LaTeX template that consolidates eight earlier ACM journal and proceedings templates. The page showed a last-update date of June 28, 2026 when we read it on November 3, 2026, so check it again before you start a new paper.
Choosing a format
The class option picks the layout. For conference proceedings, ACM says to use sigconf or the SIGPLAN template. For journals, ACM lists acmsmall as the default, acmlarge for a named group of journals and acmtog for TOG. Your venue's call for papers decides which one applies to you.
The front matter commands
After \begin{document}, give the paper \title, then each \author with its \affiliation and \email, an abstract environment and \maketitle. ACM also asks for index terms from its Computing Classification System, which this minimal file leaves out.
What you may not change
ACM's page says the template fonts cannot be substituted and margins cannot be adjusted. That rules out the usual geometry and font tweaks. It also keeps to a list of approved LaTeX packages, so check that list before adding unusual packages.
A minimal file you can compile
\documentclass[sigconf]{acmart}
\settopmatter{printacmref=false}
\setcopyright{none}
\renewcommand\footnotetextcopyrightpermission[1]{}
\pagestyle{plain}
\begin{document}
\title{A Minimal acmart Example}
\author{Jane Smith}
\affiliation{\institution{Example University}\country{Country}}
\email{[email protected]}
\begin{abstract}
This is a short abstract.
\end{abstract}
\maketitle
\section{Introduction}
This is body text in the \verb|sigconf| format.
\end{document}We compiled this file as-is with Tectonic 0.17.0 on November 3, 2026, and inspected the rendered page. The sigconf option gave a two-column page with the title, author block, the abstract in the left column and the first section in the right. The copyright and reference-format blocks are switched off here only to keep the demo short, so this is not a submission-ready file. We did not compile other acmart options or check page limits.
FAQ
Which acmart format should I use?
ACM's template page says conference proceedings must use either the sigconf or the SIGPLAN template, and most proceedings authors use sigconf. Its journal templates use acmsmall, except acmlarge for a listed set of journals and acmtog for TOG. If you are unsure, ask your event or publication contact.
Is acmart one class or several?
One class. ACM describes acmart.cls as the primary article template that consolidates eight earlier journal and proceedings templates, selected through class options such as sigconf.
Can I change the fonts or margins?
ACM's page states that fonts used in the template cannot be substituted and that margin adjustments are not allowed. Check your venue's instructions for anything beyond that.
Do I need to install anything?
ACM's page says the template uses free TeX packages and fonts included in TeX Live and MiKTeX, and that the Libertine font set must be installed. In our Tectonic 0.17.0 test the fonts were fetched automatically, and the first compile was slow while they downloaded.
Why does the minimal example hide the copyright block?
Our example sets \setcopyright{none} and turns off the reference-format block so the demo stays short. A real submission should follow the instructions from your venue or ACM for rights and reference information, which this article does not cover.
Further reading
Companion guides in this series cover the natbib author-year error, Page X of Y, and bold and italic text. More how-tos are on the Bibby AI blog. Source: ACM Primary Article Template on acm.org.
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Last updated: November 3, 2026. By the Bibby AI editorial team.