How to Install TeX Live

Step-by-step installation guide for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

What is TeX Live?

TeX Live is the most widely used LaTeX distribution. It includes the LaTeX compiler (pdflatex, xelatex, lualatex), thousands of packages, fonts, and documentation — everything you need to compile LaTeX documents locally.

On macOS, TeX Live is distributed as MacTeX. On Windows, it is available as the standard TeX Live installer. On Linux, it is available through most package managers.

macOS: install via MacTeX

MacTeX is the standard TeX Live distribution for macOS. It includes the full TeX Live plus macOS-specific tools.

1. 1Go to tug.org/mactex and download the MacTeX package (~5 GB).
2. 2Open the downloaded .pkg file and follow the installer.
3. 3Installation takes 10–20 minutes depending on your machine.
4. 4After installation, open Terminal and run: pdflatex --version

Alternatively, use Homebrew:

brew install --cask mactex

For a smaller install (no GUI tools), use:

brew install --cask mactex-no-gui

Windows: install TeX Live

1. 1Go to tug.org/texlive/windows.html and download install-tl-windows.exe.
2. 2Run the installer as administrator.
3. 3Choose "Simple install (big)" for the full distribution, or customize to reduce size.
4. 4The full installation takes 30–60 minutes and uses around 7 GB of disk space.
5. 5After installation, open Command Prompt and run: pdflatex --version

Linux: install via package manager

Ubuntu / Debian:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install texlive-full

Fedora / RHEL:

sudo dnf install texlive-scheme-full

Arch Linux:

sudo pacman -S texlive-most

Package manager versions may lag behind the official TeX Live release. For the latest version on any platform, use the official TeX Live installer from tug.org.

Verify the installation

Run the following command in your terminal to confirm LaTeX is installed and working:

pdflatex --version

You should see output like pdfTeX 3.141592653-2.6-1.40.25 (TeX Live 2023).

Minimal install

The full TeX Live installation is large (5–7 GB). If disk space is a concern, install a minimal scheme and add packages as needed using tlmgr:

# Install a minimal TeX Live
sudo apt install texlive

# Add a specific package later
sudo tlmgr install pgfplots

Skip the local install entirely

If you want to write LaTeX without managing a local TeX Live installation, MonsterWriter's LaTeX Workspace compiles your documents in the cloud — no installation required, no compile timeouts, and real-time PDF preview. It works on any device with a browser.

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