Rules / Build

LaTeX Error: Lonely \item--perhaps a missing list environment — \item outside a list

\item is used outside itemize, enumerate or description.

Fix

Wrap the items in a list environment.

Example

Reproduced on TeX Live 2026 by CI · pdflatex · corpus/lonely-item

Fails: main.tex
\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
Our contributions are:
\item a new dataset;
\item a faster solver.
\end{document}
What TeX prints in main.log
! LaTeX Error: Lonely \item--perhaps a missing list environment.

See the LaTeX manual or LaTeX Companion for explanation.
Type  H <return>  for immediate help.
 ...                                              
                                                  
l.4 \item a
            new dataset;
Try typing  <return>  to proceed.
If that doesn't work, type  X <return>  to quit.

! LaTeX Error: Lonely \item--perhaps a missing list environment.
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