LaTeX Compilation

LMMs-Lab Writer compiles your LaTeX documents locally for fast feedback. Click the Compile button in the toolbar to build your PDF.

Engines

The app supports four compilation engines:

pdfLaTeX

The standard LaTeX engine. Fastest compilation, best compatibility with older packages.

• Best for: English-language documents, standard templates
• Limitation: Limited Unicode support, cannot use system fonts directly

XeLaTeX

Full Unicode support with access to system fonts. Recommended for CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) documents.

• Best for: Multilingual documents, custom fonts, CJK text
• Uses: fontspec package for system font access

LuaLaTeX

Modern engine with embedded Lua scripting. The most flexible option, but slightly slower.

• Best for: Advanced typographic control, Lua-based packages
• Uses: luaotfload for OpenType font support

Latexmk

An automated build tool that runs LaTeX, BibTeX, and other tools the correct number of times to resolve all cross-references, citations, and indices.

• Best for: Documents with bibliography, cross-references, or indexes
• Handles: Multiple compilation passes automatically

Settings

Open the LaTeX Settings dialog from the toolbar to configure:

Main File

The app auto-detects your main .tex file using these heuristics:

1. If only one .tex file exists, it's used automatically
2. If multiple files exist, the app scores them based on:
   • Presence of \documentclass (+10)
   • Presence of \begin{document} (+5)
   • Filename main.tex (+8) or paper.tex (+5)
   • Files named chapter* or section* are deprioritized
   • Files named preamble.tex or packages.tex are deprioritized

You can always override the auto-detected file by selecting it manually in settings.

Compiler Arguments

Add custom arguments to the compilation command. The app always includes:

• -interaction=nonstopmode — Prevents the compiler from stopping on errors
• -file-line-error — Shows file and line number in error messages

Your custom arguments are added before the main file.

Clean Auxiliary Files

After compilation, you can clean up auxiliary files (.aux, .log, .out, .toc, .fls, .fdb_latexmk, .synctex, .bbl, .blg, etc.) to keep your project directory tidy.

Error Handling

Compilation output is parsed for:

• Errors (lines starting with !) — Compilation failures that prevent PDF generation
• Warnings — Issues that don't prevent compilation but may affect output
• Overfull/Underfull boxes — Layout warnings about text overflow or underflow

Errors appear in the output panel with file paths and line numbers. Click on an error to navigate directly to the problematic line in the editor.

PDF Preview

After successful compilation, the generated PDF is displayed in the built-in preview panel. The preview updates each time you recompile.

Tips

• Fast iteration: Use pdfLaTeX for speed during drafting, switch to XeLaTeX/LuaLaTeX for final output
• CJK documents: Use XeLaTeX with the ctex or xeCJK package
• Bibliography: Use Latexmk to handle BibTeX compilation automatically
• Missing packages: If compilation fails due to missing packages, TinyTeX and MiKTeX can auto-install them; for MacTeX/TeX Live, use tlmgr install <package>