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<img src="assets/weblatexmcp-lockup-beta.svg" alt="WebLatexMCP — public beta" width="100%" />
# WebLatexMCP
**Read, edit, compile, and commit LaTeX in any git-hosted project — straight from Claude.**
[](https://github.com/elias-ramzi/WebLatexMCP/actions/workflows/ci.yml)
[](#license)
**Works with**
[](docs/install/README.md)
[](docs/install/gemini.md)
[](docs/install/copilot.md)
</div>
> [!WARNING]
> **Public beta — very early development.** WebLatexMCP is now public, but it's in its early stages and
> under active development. Expect bugs, rough edges, and incomplete features. Editing and git operations
> touch real projects, so review diffs before you push. Please
> [report anything you run into](https://github.com/elias-ramzi/WebLatexMCP/issues) — bug reports and
> feedback are hugely welcome.
---
An MCP server that lets Claude **read, edit, compile, and commit LaTeX** in a git-hosted project —
**Overleaf**, **GitHub**, or any git remote. It keeps a local clone, compiles locally (TeX Live +
`latexmk`, or `tectonic`) so you see errors and PDFs without round-tripping, and sends changes back through an explicit
commit → push you review first. Works with **Claude Desktop** and **Claude Code** over stdio, on
**macOS, Linux, and Windows**.
## Highlights
- 🗂️ **Multi-project** — Overleaf, GitHub, or any git remote, side by side, each with its own credentials.
- ✏️ **Surgical edits** — atomic, exact-match string replacements; read with optional line ranges.
- 🧪 **Local compiles** — `latexmk` (or `tectonic`) runs on your machine and returns structured errors/warnings + the PDF.
- 🔍 **Reviewable pushes** — `commit` and `push` are separate; nothing leaves your machine implicitly.
- 🔐 **Tokens stay in memory** — never written to `.git/config`, and scrubbed from all output.
- 🧩 **Bundled Claude Code skills** — project cleanup, DBLP citation audits, bibliography normalization.
## Quick start
The easiest way in: **clone this repo, point Claude Code at the folder, and just ask.**
```bash
git clone https://github.com/elias-ramzi/WebLatexMCP.git
```
Then let Claude walk you through the rest:
> 👽 **You**
>
> Claude, can you walk me through how to install the WebLatexMCP server?
> ✦ **Claude**
>
> Absolutely — I'll install dependencies, build the server, register it with Claude, and help you
> add your first Overleaf project. Let's go step by step.
Claude drives the whole setup from the chat. Editing and git operations work without TeX; only
`compile` needs a backend on your `PATH` — `latexmk` by default, or `tectonic` (set `WEB_LATEX_MCP_COMPILER`;
see [Configuration](docs/configuration.md#compile-backend)).
### ⚡ Super fast start in VS Code — recommended
The **[step-by-step VS Code guide](docs/install/vscode-quickstart.md)** is the most tested and by far
the most efficient path. Best of all, run it **from your paper's own repo** — that way Claude sees
your code _and_ writes the paper right alongside it.
### Detailed setup, all platforms
Prerequisites, authentication, and registering with both Claude Code & Claude Desktop:
[macOS](docs/install/macos.md) · [Linux](docs/install/linux.md) · [Windows](docs/install/windows.md).
Using **Gemini** or **GitHub Copilot** instead? See the [Gemini guide](docs/install/gemini.md) (Gemini
CLI and Gemini Code Assist) or the [Copilot guide](docs/install/copilot.md) (Copilot agent mode in VS
Code / Visual Studio) — both register the same server over stdio.
### Or install from npm — no clone, no build
Prefer not to clone the repo? Register the published package with `npx`. Editing and git work without
TeX; only `compile` needs `latexmk` or `tectonic` on your `PATH`. Add this to your Claude Code or Claude
Desktop MCP config:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"web-latex-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "web-latex-mcp"],
"env": {
"WEB_LATEX_MCP_PROJECTS": "{\"thesis\":{\"gitUrl\":\"https://git.overleaf.com/…\"}}"
}
}
}
}
```
Or add it in one line with Claude Code:
```bash
claude mcp add web-latex-mcp --scope user -- npx -y web-latex-mcp
```
### Or install the Claude Code plugin — server **and** skills together
The `claude mcp add` / raw-config routes register the server but **not** the [skills](#skills-claude-code) —
those only load when Claude Code is launched from a clone of this repo. Installing the **plugin** instead
gives you the MCP server _and_ all the skills in every session, from any directory:
```bash
# In Claude Code:
/plugin marketplace add elias-ramzi/WebLatexMCP
/plugin install web-latex-mcp@web-latex-tools
```
The plugin pins no workspace, so clones still land beside your paper (the workspace-local default). Set
`WEB_LATEX_MCP_PROJECTS` in your own MCP config, or register projects at runtime, as usual.
## What you can do
Once connected, ask Claude to work on your project — it drives these [tools](docs/tools.md):
- **Sync & browse** — clone/pull a project, list and read files.
- **Edit** — create, overwrite, or make surgical string-replacement edits to `.tex` files.
- **Compile** — run `latexmk` (or `tectonic`) locally and get back structured errors, warnings, and a clickable `file://` link to the PDF.
- **Cite** — search [DBLP](https://dblp.org) and add verified BibTeX entries (`.bib` files are protected
from hand-edits — see [Citations](docs/tools.md#citations-via-dblp)).
- **Review & push** — inspect `status` / `diff`, commit, then push safely (rebase, never force; conflicts
come back to you with both sides, and you resolve them by pushing the merged content back — or rewind
the clone to the current remote with `reset_to_remote` and redo your edits cleanly).
See the [full tool reference](docs/tools.md).
## Skills (Claude Code)
Claude Code loads task-specific skills that drive the tools — each stops at the diff, so nothing is
committed or pushed unless you ask. You get them by [installing the plugin](#or-install-the-claude-code-plugin--server-and-skills-together)
(available everywhere) or by launching Claude Code from a clone of this repo:
- **`/format-latex-project`** — split the main file into per-section `\input`s and reflow to one sentence per line.
- **`/arxiv-clean-project`** — run [arxiv-latex-cleaner](https://github.com/google-research/arxiv-latex-cleaner) to strip comments and draft macros (`\todo`, notes) for arXiv, as a separate submission copy or applied in place.
- **`/verify-citations`** — audit every `.bib` entry against DBLP, flag discrepancies, and write a local git-excluded audit report (read-only for the `.bib`).
- **`/format-bibliography`** — deduplicate, normalize cite keys, harmonize venues, propagate renames into `\cite`s.
- **`/summarize-paper`** — write/update a small local summary of the paper (git-excluded) so future sessions start fast.
See the [skills guide](docs/skills.md) for details.
## Documentation
- [Configuration](docs/configuration.md) — environment variables, per-host token resolution, in-context guides, cross-platform notes.
- [Tools](docs/tools.md) — full tool reference, the DBLP citation flow, and how safe pushes work.
- [Skills](docs/skills.md) — what each bundled Claude Code skill does.
- [Concurrency](docs/CONCURRENCY.md) — how the server pushes without clobbering edits made elsewhere.
- [Writing guide](docs/writing-guide.md) — the LaTeX style conventions surfaced to the client.
- [Contributing](CONTRIBUTING.md) — how to build, test, and open a pull request.
## Contributing
This repo **accepts pull requests** — bug reports, feature ideas, docs fixes, and code changes are all
welcome. See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for how to get set up, run the local gate, and open a PR.
A note on maturity: this project is largely vibe-coded, so treat it as best-effort rather than
battle-tested. Robustness isn't guaranteed — expect rough edges, and please report them. It has been
mostly tested on these setups: VS Code + Claude Code extension, the Claude Code CLI, and Claude Desktop
for macOS.
## License
MIT
