LaTeX-Workshop README

Visual Studio Code LaTeX Workshop Extension

LaTeX Workshop is an extension for Visual Studio Code, aiming to provide core features for LaTeX typesetting with Visual Studio Code.

This project won't be successful without contributions from the community, especially from the current and past key contributors:

Jerome Lelong @jlelong
Takashi Tamura @tamuratak
Tecosaur @tecosaur
James Booth @jabooth

Thank you so much!

Note that the latest version of LaTeX-Workshop requires at least VSCode 1.114.0 (April 2026 or later).

Manual

The manual of the extension is maintained as a wiki

Features (Taster)

This is not a complete list but rather a preview of some of the coolest features.

Build LaTeX (including BibTeX) to PDF automatically on save.
$build process gif$
View PDF on-the-fly (in VS Code or browser).
$demo of preview feature$
Direct and reverse SyncTeX. Click to jump between location in .tex source and PDF and vice versa.
$demo of SyncTeX$
Intellisense, including completions for bibliography keys (\cite{}) and labels (\ref{}).
$intellisense demo$
LaTeX log parser, with errors and warnings in LaTeX build automatically reported in VS Code.
- Linting
Snippets
- A lot of LaTeX commands can be typed using snippets starting in \, then type part of the command to narrow the search.
  $auto \item demo$
- Surround some selected text with a LaTeX command using ctrl+l, ctrl+w (⌘+l, ⌘+w on Mac). A new menu pops up to select the command. This works with multi selections. The former approach using \ has been deprecated.
  $wrap demo$
- We also provide a few other suggestion mechanisms
  - Greek letters are obtained as @ + letter. Some letters have variants, which are available as @v + letter. See here.
    $greek letters demo$
  - Common environments can be obtained by BXY where XY are the first two letters of the environment name, eg. BEQ gives the equation environment. If you want the star version of the environment, use BSXX, eg. BSEQ gives the equation* environment. See here.
    $BSAL demo$
  - Common font commands can be obtained by FXY where XY are the last two letters of the font command name, eg. FIT gives \textit{}. See here.
    $FBF demo$
  - Many other maths symbols can be obtained with the @ prefix. See here.
    $\frac shortcut demo$ $\int shortcut demo$
Shortcuts
- In addition to snippets, there are shortcuts provided by the extension that allow you to easily format text (and one or two other things).
  $\emph{} demo$
When the current line starts with \item or \item[], hitting Enter automatically adds a newline starting in the same way. For a better handling of the last item, hitting Enter on a line only containing \item or \item[] actually deletes the content of the line. The alt+Enter is bind to the standard newline command. This automatic insertion of \item can be deactivated by setting latex-workshop.bind.enter.key to false.
$auto \item demo$
Preview on hover. Hovering over the start tag of a math environment causes a mathjax preview to pop up.
$equation hover demo$

GitHub

The code for this extension is available on github at: https://github.com/James-Yu/LaTeX-Workshop

Like this work?

:smile: Star this project on GitHub and Visual Studio Marketplace
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:relaxed: Thank the develops and community for their effort.

License

MIT

12.4K ·GitHub

LaTeX-Workshop

What is this?

LaTeX Workshop is a Visual Studio Code extension that provides core LaTeX typesetting features: build-on-save, PDF preview, SyncTeX navigation, autocomplete, linting, and snippets.

Is this a standalone app or a VS Code extension?

It is a VS Code extension, not a standalone editor or LaTeX distribution; you need VS Code plus a LaTeX engine installed separately.

How do I install and configure it?

Install it from the VS Code Marketplace, then follow the wiki for setting requirements and the PATH environment variable so VS Code can find your LaTeX compiler.

Do I need a separate LaTeX distribution installed?

Yes, you need a LaTeX distribution (like TeX Live) installed and on your PATH, or you can run it inside Docker or WSL as the wiki describes.

Does it work with VS Code Remote Development or just locally?

It supports VS Code Remote Development, and the latest version requires at least VSCode 1.114.0 (April 2026 or later), so older VS Code installs won't be compatible.

Does it work on Windows, Mac and Linux?

Yes, it works cross-platform; the CI tests TeX Live on Linux, Mac, and Windows.

Can I preview the compiled PDF without leaving VS Code?

Yes, it has an internal PDF viewer with on-the-fly preview and direct/reverse SyncTeX, letting you click to jump between the .tex source and the PDF.

Does it help me type LaTeX commands faster?

Yes, it provides intellisense for citations, references, commands and environments, plus snippet shortcuts like typing @ for Greek letters or BEQ for an equation environment.

Will it catch LaTeX errors automatically?

Yes, it includes a LaTeX log parser that reports errors and warnings from the build directly in VS Code, along with linting support like Chktex and duplicate-label detection.

Can I preview equations or graphics while editing?

Yes, hovering over math environments, package names, or references triggers live previews, including a MathJax preview popup for math content.

What are similar projects?

awesome-vscode, rhwp, dsh-Mimir-Academic-research, PDFMathTranslate, Awesome-CV, gpt_academic, PaperSpine, ReLaXed

Which topics is it in?

snippets, autocomplete, latex, vscode-extension, academic, document-processing, editor, pdf, markdown, productivity, typescript, cross-platform

Creator: James-Yu
Size: 47.2 MB
Stars: 12.4K
Updated: CommitOct 17
Age: 9y
Commits · 90 Days