Two ways to write a document
Unlike LyX, Texpile stores nothing but .tex. Write in source or write visually, in the same file, and it is saved back with only your edits changed.
Visual editing
- Type @ to reference any equation, figure, table, or citation.
- Equations render inline and keep their numbering.
- Tables support multirow and multicolumn, edited visually.
- Drag or paste images in, then resize with handles.
Source editing
- Autocomplete for commands, environments, \ref, and \cite.
- File paths complete inside \input and \includegraphics.
- References update when you rename or move a file.
- Your own \newcommand macros are picked up.
Built for reviews
Write like an author, not a developer.
Visual diff
A changed file opens as a diff against the last version, in whichever editor you are in. The visual editor marks the changes in the formatted text, word by word. The source editor shows them side by side, line by line.
Comments
Select anything and leave a comment. Works in the visual editor and in source, on LaTeX, Typst, and Markdown. Reply, resolve, and filter down to the file you are in.
Live preview
The page updates as you type. Texpile injects its own scripts into your LuaTeX engine, so a text edit re-typesets its paragraph in a few milliseconds instead of recompiling the document.
Write together in real time
Share a folder and edit it together in real time, in the visual editor or in source. Others join with a code, no sign up. End to end encrypted.
| Texpile | Overleaf | VS Code Live Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account | None, guests join with a code | Required for every editor | Microsoft or GitHub sign-in to edit |
| End to end encrypted | Yes | No, documents are compiled on Overleaf's servers | Yes |
| A guest needs | Texpile or a browser | A browser | VS Code |
| Guests see the compiled PDF | Yes, with the compile problems | Yes | No |
| Visual editing together | Yes | Yes | No |
| Comments | Yes | Yes | No |
| Where the files live | On the host's computer | On Overleaf's servers | On the host's computer |
Start-up time
From launch to the main window, warm start, median of five runs, measured on one Windows 11 laptop in September 2026.
* If VS Code is also your editor for everything else and carries many extensions, it starts more slowly than this.
| VS Code* | 373 ms | |
|---|---|---|
| TeXstudio | 1087 ms | |
| Texpile | 236 ms |
Themes
Light or dark mode, and a color theme for the whole window, picked in Preferences.
Also in Texpile
The features every LaTeX editor has. They did not earn a section of their own.
Built-in terminal
A real shell for latexmk or any compile command.
Multi-file projects
Fragments parse with the main file's macros.
Command palette
Ctrl+K opens a file, compiles, or runs any editor action.
Vim and Emacs
Modal keybindings for the source editor, chosen in Preferences.
Multiple cursors
Add cursors down a column, or select the next occurrence.
Spell check
Checks your prose, skips commands, math, and comments.
MCP
Connect Claude and other AI assistants to the editor.
Tabs and session restore
Reopen a folder and your tabs and cursor come back.
SyncTeX
Click in the PDF to jump to the source line, and back.
Math preview
Equations preview live in the source editor.
Download
Free. Windows, macOS, and Linux.
DownloadCompiles with your own TeX distribution: TeX Live, MacTeX, or MiKTeX. Editing works without one.
Windows · macOS · Linux · Offline · AGPL-3.0