latex-setup

When to use this skill:

• Installing LaTeX on a new machine

• Setting up MacTeX distribution

• Configuring Skim PDF viewer with SyncTeX

• Verifying LaTeX installation

• Troubleshooting missing packages

Recommended Stack

| MacTeX 2025 | Full LaTeX distribution (TeX Live 2025) | ✅ Recommended

| Skim 1.7.11 | PDF viewer with SyncTeX support | ✅ macOS only

| TeXShop 5.57 | Integrated LaTeX IDE (optional) | ✅ Native macOS

Quick Start

Install MacTeX

brew install --cask mactex
# Size: ~4.5 GB (includes everything)

Verify Installation

tex --version
# Expected: TeX 3.141592653 (TeX Live 2025)

pdflatex --version
latexmk --version

Test Compilation

echo '\documentclass{article}\begin{document}Hello World!\end{document}' > test.tex
pdflatex test.tex
ls test.pdf  # Verify PDF created

Post-Installation Checklist

Verify tex --version shows TeX Live 2025 Verify latexmk --version shows 4.86a+ Verify pdflatex test.tex creates PDF Install Skim if using mactex-no-gui Test SyncTeX: compile with -synctex=1 flag Configure Skim preferences for editor integration Add /Library/TeX/texbin to PATH if needed Test package installation: sudo tlmgr install <package>

Reference Documentation

For detailed information, see:

• Installation - Full MacTeX vs lightweight options, Skim installation

• Verification - Check installation, verify PATH, test compilation

• Package Management - Check, install, search for packages with tlmgr

• Skim Configuration - Enable SyncTeX, configure preferences for editor integration

• Troubleshooting - PATH issues, tlmgr problems, permissions

See Also:

• Build Workflows: Use latex/build skill for latexmk automation

• Table Creation: Use latex/tables skill for tabularray usage