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Show HN: TexLite – A lightweight self-hosted LaTeX workspace
TexLite is a lightweight, local-first web workspace for a small, trusted team
writing LaTeX together. It provides browser-based editing, compilation,
previewing, and source-level discussion while reusing the LaTeX installation
already present on the host.
Documentation: English (this file) · Operations · Design · 简体中文
Overleaf is a strong choice
when its hosted product or broader ecosystem is the right fit. TexLite addresses
a narrower self-hosted use case:
Self-hosting does not make every document compile faster: that still depends on
the host and the document. It does give the team control over capacity, TeX
updates, data location, and the collaboration workflow.
For a desktop-first, individual workflow, start with
VS Code + LaTeX Workshop or
TeXstudio instead. TexLite is purpose-built for
shared browser writing, not a replacement for a personal IDE.
Install Node.js 24 or newer, latexmk, and at least one TeX engine such as
pdflatex, xelatex, or lualatex. Git is needed only for the optional
Git/GitHub integration.
Open http://127.0.0.1:3000. texlite init creates the configuration and the
first administrator; public registration is deliberately unavailable.
texlite serve runs in the foreground for debugging, Docker, or systemd.
start, stop, restart, status, and logs use the PM2 runtime bundled
with the npm package. Run texlite help for the complete command list.
TexLite is a single-host application for trusted users. It is not a compiler
sandbox: LaTeX and an enabled project latexmkrc can execute powerful local
behaviour. Keep the default 127.0.0.1 bind unless you add the authentication,
network controls, and isolated compiler environment appropriate for an
untrusted deployment.
TexLite is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0; see
LICENSE. For proprietary modifications or commercial terms that
differ from AGPL-3.0, contact the copyright holder.