Use LaTeX on your own computer

Use LaTeX on your own computer

• This playground is perfect for learning — your LaTeX is compiled for you.
• For your own work, you have two good choices. Pick whichever suits you.

Choice A — Overleaf (nothing to install)

• Go to overleaf.com and make a free account.
• Click New Project → Blank Project. You get an editor and a live PDF, just like here.
• This is the easiest start, and it works on any computer or tablet.

Choice B — Install LaTeX locally (Step 1: the TeX system)

• A local setup is faster and works offline. First install a TeX distribution:
• Windows — install MiKTeX from miktex.org.
• macOS — install MacTeX from tug.org/mactex.
• Linux — install TeX Live: sudo apt install texlive-full (or your distro's package).

pdflatex --version

• After installing, run the line above in a terminal. A version number means it worked.

Choice B — Step 2: an editor

• VS Code (code.visualstudio.com) is a free, popular editor.
• Open its Extensions panel and install LaTeX Workshop by James Yu.
• It adds a Build button and shows the PDF beside your code.

Step 3: compile your first file

• Make a file called hello.tex with a small document in it.
• Press Build in VS Code (or run pdflatex hello.tex in the terminal).
• A hello.pdf appears — you just built LaTeX on your own machine.