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Installation

Note

If you are using Overleaf, you do not need to have a local installation of LaTeX.

There are two main ways to install LaTeX on your system:

  1. TeX Live: A comprehensive distribution of LaTeX for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
  2. MiKTeX: A distribution of LaTeX for Windows.

Tectonic is also and option but not recommended for beginners.

Note

TeX Live is recommended for most users.

Both distributions provide a package manager to install and update packages. They also provide a GUI for managing the installation. They additionally both provide TeXworks, a simple LaTeX editor which is discussed in more detail in the Editors section.

TeX Live

TeX Live is a comprehensive distribution of LaTeX for Windows, macOS, and Linux maintained by the TeX Users Group (TUG). It is available for free from the TeX Live website.

They provide a detailed installation guide for all operating systems. And offer a quick installation guide.

TeX Live is provided as a single installer for most operating systems and as an ISO image.

Due to the size and volume of packages in modern LaTeX distributions, using the installer can be time-consuming as it downloads all the packages from the internet. The ISO image is recommended for users with slow or unreliable internet.

Note

The ISO image is a large file (approximately 5.6 GB) but the installation will be quicker as most packages will be installed from the image.

Note

The installer takes between 30 minutes and 2 hour+ to complete depending on your internet connection and the mirror quality.

Once installed TeX Live has a package manager called tlmgr (with a gui available) which can be used to install and update packages.

TeX Live is frozen and updated annually and a new version must be installed each year if you want the latest packages.

TeX Live often provides the most stable experience for users and is recommended for most users.

MiKTeX

MiKTeX is a distribution of LaTeX for Windows maintained by Christian Schenk. It is available for free from the MiKTeX website. They provide a detailed installation guide for all operating systems.

MiKTeX is provided as a single installer for Windows and as a portable version for USB sticks. The installer is recommended for most users. The portable version is recommended for users who do not have administrator rights on their computer. The portable version can be installed on a USB stick and run from there.

A package manager called mpm which can be used to install and update packages. MiKTeX is updated regularly and packages are updated as needed.

MikTeX differs from TeX Live in that it installs packages on the fly as they are needed. This can be useful for users who do not want to download the entire distribution at once. However, it can be slower than TeX Live for users with slow or unreliable internet connections. It can also be less stable than TeX Live as packages are updated more frequently, which can lead to compatibility issues.