TeXstudio Espresso

TeXstudio Espresso

A fork of the TeXstudio LaTeX editor with a live preview. The preview is produced by TeXpresso and updates while you edit, without running a separate compile.

macOS test builds In development · Windows test builds · Build from source
TeXstudio Espresso with source on the left and the live preview on the right. A formula is typed into an article, bullet points are added to a Beamer slide, and a vertex of a TikZ triangle is moved; the preview updates after each change.
The preview updates while you edit: an article, a Beamer slide and a TikZ figure.

Live preview

  • Starts automatically when you open a saved .tex project.
  • Each open project keeps its own session and preview position when you switch tabs.
  • Page navigation, zoom, Pause/Resume, Stop, Restart, Output and Sync.
  • Command-click in the preview (Ctrl-click on Linux) jumps to the source line.
  • Turn it off under View → Show → Live Preview.

Relation to TeXstudio

Apart from the preview, the editor is TeXstudio: completion, syntax and reference checking, structure view, and the usual build commands, which you still use for the final PDF.

Requirements

  • A TeX Live installation (on macOS, for example MacTeX) or MiKTeX, which provides the packages.
  • The TeXpresso engine is bundled; nothing else to install.
  • macOS or Linux. On Windows, live compilation runs inside WSL2; see the setup guide.

Installation

  1. Install TeX Live or MiKTeX if you do not have it. On Windows, install it inside WSL2.
  2. Download a test build from a successful GitHub Actions run (a GitHub account is required). On macOS, extract the app and move it to Applications. Public releases will be listed on the releases page.
  3. Open a saved .tex file. The preview appears next to the editor.

To build from source, see the build instructions.

Source and license

Free software under the GNU GPL, version 3. Source code, build instructions and issue tracker are on GitHub. Based on TeXstudio and on TeXpresso by Frédéric Bour.

Other TeXpresso-based editors