TexLeaf

A web-based LaTeX editor with real-time preview, syntax highlighting, and PDF compilation.

Quick Start

# Start the server
cd backend
go run .

Then open http://localhost:8080 in your browser.

Docker

# Build and run
docker-compose up -d

# Access at http://localhost:8080

Data is persisted in a Docker volume.

Architecture Overview

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      Browser  ·  Frontend                       │
├───────────────┬────────────────┬────────────────┬───────────────┤
│  Monaco       │   Sidebar      │   Topbar       │  PDF Viewer   │
│  Editor       │   (files)      │   (actions)    │               │
└───────────────┴────────────────┴────────────────┴───────────────┘
                               │
                    HTTP API · port 8080
                               │
                               ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Go Backend  ·  Port 8080                     │
├───────────────────┬──────────────────┬──────────────────────────┤
│   Handlers        │   SQLite         │   Temp Dir               │
│   routes.go       │   db.go          │   (compile)              │
└────────┬──────────┴────────┬─────────┴──────────────────────────┘
         │                   │
         ▼                   ▼
┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  compile/       │ │  data/                                      │
│  latex.go       │ │  texleaf.db  ◄── all data stored here       │
└─────────────────┘ └─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Data Storage

All project data is stored in a single SQLite database (data/texleaf.db):

• Projects table: Project metadata (id, uuid, name, main_file, timestamps)
• Project files table: All project files (project_id, filename, content as BLOB)
• Output PDF: Stored in DB as binary
• Compile logs: Stored in DB as text

No file system storage for project content - everything is in SQLite.

Compilation Flow

1. User clicks "Compile" in the editor
2. Backend receives request with project UUID
3. Step 1: All files are fetched from SQLite and written to a temp directory
4. Step 2: pdftex is executed in the temp directory with the main .tex file
5. Step 3: The generated PDF is read from temp dir and stored in SQLite
6. Step 4: Compile log is stored in SQLite
7. Step 5: Temp directory is cleaned up
8. Browser receives PDF via GET /output.pdf

Draft vs Full Mode

• Draft mode: Runs pdftex with -draftmode flag (fast, no PDF output, just checks for errors)
• Full mode: Generates actual PDF, may run twice for cross-references

Tech Stack

• Backend: Go
• Database: SQLite
• Editor: Monaco Editor
• PDF: PDF.js

Requirements

• Local: Go 1.23+, TeX Live or MacTeX
• Docker: Docker + Docker Compose

LaTeX Benchmark Results

Test	Description	Time (s)
T1	10000 macro expansions (\foreach, integer print only)	0.19
T2	3000 blocks of text using \lipsum[1] (no page breaks)	9.2
T3	1500 iterations of multi-paragraph \lipsum[1-4]	1.07
T4	500 sections with forced \newpage after each block	0.61
T5	400 blocks with itemize lists + horizontal rules	0.47
T6	300 mixed blocks (sections + paragraphs + lists + pages)	6.8

Acknowledgments

• Monaco Editor
• PDF.js
• Go SQLite Driver