Typst

Typst is a new typesetting system designed to be a modern replacement for LaTeX. It compiles documents written in a clean, readable markup language to PDF (or other formats), with incremental compilation so fast it feels interactive. Unlike LaTeX, error messages are clear, the layout model is predictable, and you can script documents with a real programming language built right in.

Features

• Millisecond compilation — incremental compiler means the PDF updates almost instantly as you type
• Friendly syntax — clean markup that feels closer to Markdown than LaTeX, but with full typesetting power
• Built-in scripting — a real functional scripting language for loops, conditionals, custom functions, and data-driven documents
• Strong math support — first-class math typesetting with a dedicated math mode and beautiful output
• Package ecosystem — a growing registry of community packages at typst.app/universe
• Great error messages — precise, actionable errors that point to the exact location of the problem
• Self-hosted or cloud — use the CLI locally or the official web app at typst.app
• LSP support — the official tinymist language server provides completions, hover docs, and live preview in VS Code, Helix, Neovim, and others

Installation

cargo install typst-cli

Or via your package manager:

# macOS
brew install typst

# Arch Linux
pacman -S typst

# Debian / Ubuntu (Debian 12+)
apt install typst

# Fedora
dnf install typst

# Nix
nix-env -iA nixpkgs.typst

# Windows (winget)
winget install --id Typst.Typst

Basic Usage

# Compile a document to PDF
typst compile document.typ

# Watch for changes and recompile automatically
typst watch document.typ

# Start a local preview server with live reload
typst watch document.typ --open

# Export to PNG (one image per page)
typst compile document.typ output-{n}.png

# Check for errors without producing output
typst compile document.typ --diagnostic-format short

Syntax Overview

#set page(paper: "a4", margin: 2cm)
#set text(font: "Linux Libertine", size: 11pt)
#set heading(numbering: "1.1")

= Introduction

Typst is a *modern* typesetting system. It supports:

- Bullet lists
- _Italic_ and *bold* text
- `inline code` and code blocks

== Math

The quadratic formula is $x = (-b plus.minus sqrt(b^2 - 4a c)) / (2a)$.

== Scripting

#let greet(name) = [Hello, #name!]

#greet("world")

#for i in range(1, 4) {
  [Item #i \ ]
}

Comparison with LaTeX