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\usepackage{formatex}

LaTeX without the install.

Write in your browser, compile in seconds, and get your errors explained in plain language.

\section{Why FormaTeX}

The parts that waste your afternoon.

What gets in the way when you write in LaTeX, and what happens to it here.

Try it without an account
  • A 5 GB TeX distribution to install and keep working

    Nothing to install.

    Open a document in the browser and compile. Nothing on your machine to update, break, or set up again on a new laptop.

  • Cryptic errors with no explanation

    Errors in plain language, with the fix.

    The assistant reads the log, names the root cause and hands you the corrected line, so you stop guessing what "Undefined control sequence" meant.

  • Overleaf's free tier runs out fast

    A complete editor, free.

    Multi-file projects, live preview, outline panel, symbol palette and file history, on the free plan, with no card.

  • Mailing versions back and forth with a co-author

    Everyone in the same document.

    Invite co-authors by email, set editor or viewer roles, and see who is in the file. Changes sync live across every open session.

\section{How it works}

From a blank page to a finished paper.

  1. Start from a template, or bring your project.

    Open one of the templates and replace the text, or import an existing Overleaf project as a zip.

  2. Write, and watch the page take shape.

    Your source sits on one side and the compiled page on the other, updating as you type. Nothing to save, nothing to re-run.

  3. Bring in your co-authors.

    Send them a link, pick who can edit and who can only read, and keep writing while they do.

Start writing free
The FormaTeX editor with LaTeX source on the left and the compiled page on the right.
A real compile in the public playground, 0.96 s.

\section{Use cases}

Who is writing in it.

The same editor, doing rather different jobs.

Thesis and dissertation writers

Graduate students, over months rather than days

A long document that has to survive chapters, figures, a bibliography and a supervisor's comments. Start from the dissertation template, keep everything in one project, and hand your supervisor a link instead of a fourteenth attachment.

Papers going out to journals

Researchers preparing a submission

Conference and journal manuscripts have their own classes and their own ways of breaking. Start from the manuscript template, and when the compile fails at midnight before the deadline, read the error in plain language instead of decoding the log.

Course material and problem sets

Lecturers, teaching assistants, tutors

Lecture notes, exam sheets and weekly problem sets, all heavy on mathematics and all needed again next term. Keep them as projects, reuse the preamble, and compile a fresh PDF whenever the numbers change.

\section{Features}

The editor, and the API under it.

Write in the browser, or drive the same compiler from your own code.

Errors explained, with the fix.

Ask what went wrong and the assistant names the cause and hands back the corrected line, with your document as context.

main.tex · line 42

41\begin{equation}

42S=\summ_{k=1}^{n}f(x_k)\,\Delta x

43\end{equation}

! Undefined control sequence. l.42 S=\summ _{k=1}^{n}f(x_k)\,\Delta x The control sequence at the end of the top line of your error message was never \def'ed.

Why won't this compile?

\summ is not a command. You want \sum — one m. Here is line 42 with the fix in place:

S=\summ_{k=1}^{n}f(x_k)\,\Delta x

+S=\sum_{k=1}^{n}f(x_k)\,\Delta x

compiles to
S=k=1nf(xk)ΔxS = \sum_{k=1}^{n} f(x_k)\,\Delta x

Mathematics, set the way it should be.

You write the markup; TeX handles the spacing, the numbering and the line breaking inside a displayed equation.

The markup for a displayed equation on the left and the page it sets on the right, with the measure marked.

Two cursors, one file.

Editors, viewers, or a read-only link for a supervisor. You see where everyone is in the file while they type.

One document with two cursors in it, one able to edit and one able to read.

Your AI agent, LaTeX-native.

Claude, Cursor, VS Code and n8n compile through the Model Context Protocol, with the same engines and the same quota.

Claude

Cursor

VS Code

n8n

FormaTeXcompile_latex

Compile from your own code.

One endpoint, four engines, sync or async. Post LaTeX, get a PDF back.

A compile request on the left and the typeset page it returns on the right.

Also in the editor.

Multi-file projectschapters, figures, .bib
File historyrestore any earlier state
Snippetsyour own reusable blocks
Symbol palettewithout memorising commands
Outline paneljump by section
Export.zip or PDF, any time

\section{Engines}

Four LaTeX engines.

Pick the right tool for each document.

\documentclass[12pt]{article}
\usepackage{amsmath, amssymb}
\usepackage[margin=1in]{geometry}

\title{Fourier Analysis}
\author{A. Mercier}
\date{\today}

\begin{document}
\maketitle

\section{Transform Definition}
The Fourier transform of $f(t)$ is:
\[
  \hat{f}(\xi) = \int_{-\infty}^{\infty}
    f(t)\, e^{-2\pi i \xi t}\, dt
\]

\section{Parseval's Theorem}
For square-integrable functions:
\[ \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} |f(t)|^2\, dt
   = \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} |\hat{f}(\xi)|^2\, d\xi \]

\end{document}

pdfLaTeX

The workhorse. Fast, reliable, and battle-tested with the widest package support.

Standard documentsmathType1 fonts
  • Fastest compilation
  • Widest package support
  • Default for most use cases

One pass. No extra packages -- a plain preamble is the whole setup.

\section{Templates}

Start from a page that already looks right.

Seventeen of them, kept current. Theses, conference manuscripts, lecture notes, problem sets, CVs.

\section{For developers}

There is an API under all of this.

The same compiler runs behind a REST endpoint, four engines, SDKs and an MCP server, so your scripts and agents can produce PDFs too.

Read the API docs
$ curl -X POST https://api.formatex.io/api/v1/compile/sync \
  -H "X-API-Key: $FORMATEX_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"latex": "...", "engine": "pdflatex"}' \
  --output paper.pdf
what comes back200 OK

application/pdf

curlPythonNodeGoMCP

\section{Pricing}

What it costs.

Start free. Move up when the documents get bigger.

MonthlyAnnual-17%
Free

Try it out

$0

15

compilations/mo

5

AI requests/mo

  • 5 projects
  • 30 second compile timeout
  • pdflatex and xelatex
  • 1 MB files
  • Community support
  • Co-authors
Start writing free
Pro

For a paper or a thesis

$4.99/mo

500

compilations/mo

150

AI requests/mo

  • 50 projects
  • Up to 3 co-authors
  • 2 minute compile timeout
  • All four engines
  • 10 MB files
  • 3 private templates
Start writing free
MaxRecommended

For long documents and groups

$14.99/mo

2,000

compilations/mo

1,000

AI requests/mo

  • 200 projects
  • Up to 6 co-authors
  • 5 minute compile timeout
  • All four engines
  • 25 MB files
  • 25 private templates
Start writing free
Enterprise

For departments and labs

$49.99/mo

15,000

compilations/mo

5,000

AI requests/mo

  • Unlimited projects
  • Up to 15 co-authors
  • 5 minute compile timeout
  • All four engines
  • 99.9% uptime commitment
  • Dedicated support
No credit card requiredCancel anytimeImport from Overleaf on every plan

\section{FAQ}

Common questions.

What people ask before their first document.

Still stuck?

Talk to us

No. A full TeX Live runs on our side, so you open a browser and compile. Nothing to install, configure or reinstall when you change machine.

\end{document}

Your first PDF. In your browser.

Start from a template or paste what you already have. Your first PDF is about a minute away.

No credit card required15 free API compilations/moCancel anytime