LatteX is a LaTeX editor with a live preview and no TeX distribution to install. Write LaTeX on the left, pause, and the typeset pages refresh on the right a moment later. Typesetting is built into the app, so there is no separate toolchain to download or configure.
Version 2.0 adds what longer documents need: citations from a .bib file, pictures, documents split across several files, a problems list, an outline, and a jump in both directions between source and preview. Every document is still a real .tex file on disk from the moment you create it, and LatteX runs on both macOS and Windows.
Highlights
- Live preview - the pages re-render about a quarter of a second after you stop typing, and the last good render stays on screen while you fix a mistake.
- No TeX install - typesetting is built in. No multi-gigabyte TeX distribution, no configuration.
- New: citations from your .bib file - use \cite in its natbib and biblatex forms, with \bibliography or \addbibresource pointing at a .bib file next to the document. The preview formats each citation and lists the sources at the end, mapping your bibliography style onto one of 10 built-in styles (IEEE when the style is unknown). Keys autocomplete as you type, and a key the file does not have is marked on its line.
- New: pictures - \includegraphics shows PDF, PNG, JPG, GIF, WebP and SVG images in the preview. Drag an image onto the text and it is copied into a figures folder beside your document, with a figure and caption ready to edit where you let go. One Undo takes it back.
- New: documents in several files - split a book or thesis into chapters with \input and \include, and the preview shows the whole document while you edit any chapter, unsaved changes included.
- New: jump between source and preview - click in the preview to land on the line that produced it, or go from a line in the source to its place on the page.
- New: problems list - errors, warnings and unsupported commands are marked on their LaTeX line and gathered in one list. Click a problem to go to it, or step to the next one from the editor.
- New: outline and chapters - an outline panel lists the document's headings, and chapters and parts are numbered in the preview and start on a new page.
- New: word and page count - running counts for the document, with a word target to write towards.
- New: table builder - paste cells from a spreadsheet to get a tabular, or pick a size from a grid.
- New: symbol picker - search a grid of math symbols by name or meaning and click one to insert its command, wrapped as math when it needs to be. Every symbol in the picker is one the preview can draw.
- New: formulas as images - right-click a formula in the preview to copy it, or save it as PNG or SVG.
- A Home screen to start from - 17 starters grouped into Documents, Academic, Business and Other, an Open button and a Recent list. New in 2.0, Save as Starter keeps any document as your own starter on Home.
- Saved before the first keystroke - a new document asks where it lives and writes the file straight away, so there is no untitled buffer to lose.
- A real LaTeX editor - syntax highlighting, line numbers, bracket matching, find and replace, and autocomplete for hundreds of commands and math symbols, each with a short description. A new environment closes itself.
- Tabs for many documents - each .tex file gets its own tab, undo history and unsaved indicator. Drop one file or a dozen on the window and each opens in its own tab. Unsaved work left open when the app closes is recovered on the next launch.
- Pages at their true size - 100% is a real A4 sheet at its physical size, and one Fit level scales a whole page into the pane.
- Export to PDF - one click turns the current document into a PDF named after its file.
- Light and dark - a light and a dark appearance, chosen in the Settings sheet, and .tex files that open straight from your file browser.
How it works
LatteX opens on Home: a gallery of starters, an Open button, and the documents you worked on last. Pick a starter, choose where to save it, and the .tex file exists on disk before you type a character. Write on the left and the pages appear on the right as you pause, with page navigation, a zoom readout and a Fit level that keeps a whole page in view. Anything the preview cannot handle shows up in the problems list, pointing at its line.
LatteX is made for common documents: papers, reports, homework, letters, CVs and invoices. It does not load LaTeX packages or custom .sty and .cls files, and it does not support \newcommand or TikZ. Cross-references with \ref and \label are not resolved yet, pages are A4 only, and there is no spell check or collaboration. Citations are formatted by LatteX itself, not by BibTeX or biber.
Perfect for
- Papers and reports - structured documents with headings, equations, tables, figures and citations.
- Math and homework - clean equations without installing a full TeX distribution.
- Letters, CVs and invoices - everyday documents from a ready-made starter.
- Learning LaTeX - see the result a moment after you type, with autocomplete and the symbol picker to guide you.
