What is Typeward
This page explains what Typeward is, what every build contains, and where to go next in these docs. Typeward is an open-source desktop app for writing, compiling, and previewing LaTeX and Typst projects. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and everything it does happens on your own machine.
Where to start
Section titled “Where to start”Start from the row that matches what you already have.
| What you have | Where to go |
|---|---|
| No app yet | Install on Windows, Install on macOS, or Install on Linux |
| The app, and no PDF yet | Your first project |
| A project on Overleaf | Importing from Overleaf |
| No LaTeX experience | LaTeX basics in Typeward |
| A Typst project | Typst projects |
Plain-folder projects
Section titled “Plain-folder projects”A Typeward project is a plain folder on your disk, and your .tex, .typ, .bib, and figure files sit in it as ordinary files. You can open them in another tool, back them up however you like, or hand the project to a co-author as a zip. New projects go under the projects root, which is Documents/Typeward by default. You can point it at any folder.
Typeward keeps its own bookkeeping in the project’s .typeward folder: project metadata, autosave snapshots, the aggregated bibliography, and similar files. See Data locations, credentials, and uninstall.
Local compiles
Section titled “Local compiles”Every compile runs on your machine. LaTeX projects use your TeX distribution or the bundled Tectonic engine, and Typst projects use the typst command-line tool. Compiled output lands in the project folder, the same place a command-line compile puts it. See Compiling LaTeX and reading errors and Typst projects.
No account and no telemetry
Section titled “No account and no telemetry”Typeward runs without an account, and it collects nothing about how you use it.
- There is no account of any kind. No sign-in screen exists, Typeward runs no server, and there is nothing to subscribe to.
- There is no telemetry and no crash reporting. Typeward makes no network connection you did not ask for.
Optional integrations use your own credentials. Zotero, Mendeley, a WebDAV server, and AI providers keep theirs in your operating system’s keyring, and git uses the same credential helper your command line uses. Typeward stores none of them in a plain file, and sends them nowhere except to the service you pointed them at. See Privacy and network behavior.
Open source
Section titled “Open source”Typeward is free software, licensed GPL-3.0-or-later. The source lives in the Typeward app repository, and Typeward publishes installers for Windows, macOS, and Linux on GitHub releases. You can also build the app yourself. See Build from source.
For the license, the third-party notices, and how to contribute, see Open source and licensing.
Features in every build
Section titled “Features in every build”Typeward has no editions and no paid tier. Every build contains every feature, for every user, and no feature sits behind a plan.
Editor
Section titled “Editor”- Editor overview: syntax highlighting, one tab per open file, the Files tab and the Outline in the sidebar, and the command palette on
Ctrl+K(Cmd+Kon macOS). - Autocomplete, snippets, and formatting: built-in completion for
\refand\citethat needs no extra tooling, plus the texlab and tinymist language servers when they are on your PATH. - Visual editing for LaTeX: work through a rendered view of your source, per file, with the file on disk staying the verbatim source you wrote.
- Themes and appearance: six built-in themes, plus custom JSON themes.
- Focus mode and keybindings: focus mode, plus Vim or Emacs keybindings for the source pane.
Citations and cross-references
Section titled “Citations and cross-references”- How references work: Zotero (local and web), Mendeley, and DOI or arXiv lookup, aggregated into one bibliography per project.
- Labels, references, and navigation: jump from a
\refor\citeto where it is defined, preview the target on hover, list every use of a label, and rename one across the project.
Compilation and preview
Section titled “Compilation and preview”- Choosing a compile engine: your TeX distribution, or the bundled Tectonic engine, which needs no TeX distribution on the machine.
- Chapter drafts: after a full compile, recompile only the chapter you are editing, with cross-references and page numbers intact.
- PDF preview: a live preview with SyncTeX jumping in both directions, from source to PDF and back. SyncTeX data comes from a TeX distribution, so a Tectonic-only setup compiles normally and never syncs.
- Markdown preview: a live rendered view of
.mdfiles inside a project, math included.
Projects and history
Section titled “Projects and history”- Project templates: built-in LaTeX and Typst templates, plus saving any project back out as a template of your own.
- Importing from Overleaf: bring an existing project over from a zip export, or clone the git bridge.
- Version history: local per-file history with diff and restore.
- Autosave and crash recovery: autosave snapshots kept in the project’s
.typewardfolder. - Review comments and TODOs: comments anchored to lines in your source, kept in the project’s
.typewardfolder rather than in the text.
Version control, sync, and export
Section titled “Version control, sync, and export”- Git in Typeward: stage, commit, clone, fetch, pull, and push over HTTPS, using your own git identity and credential helper. Typeward ships its own git library, so you need no git installation.
- Cloud sync with WebDAV: optional sync against a WebDAV server you control, such as Nextcloud, ownCloud, or a NAS. No Typeward server is involved.
- Exporting your work: PDF, a source bundle, a PDF with your annotations, and Word or HTML through pandoc.
Optional assistance
Section titled “Optional assistance”- AI assistant: off until you turn it on in Settings. With it off, no AI code path runs and Typeward makes no AI request.
- Grammar and spell checking: on-device checking with Harper, off until you turn it on in Settings. It runs inside the app, and no text leaves your machine.
Known limitations
Section titled “Known limitations”Every feature these docs describe ships in the build you downloaded. These are the limits of that build.
- Typeward is desktop only. Tablet layouts and a WebAssembly TeX engine for iPadOS and Android exist in the source tree, and only desktop builds ship.
- Typeward pulls fast-forward only and has no merge-conflict UI. Resolve a diverged history with an outside git client. See Git in Typeward.
- Typeward is a single-user editor with no real-time collaboration. Git and cloud sync cover asynchronous co-authoring.
- The built-in auto-updater is inactive in every shipped build. You update by downloading a new installer. See How updates work.
- The AI assistant offers one provider in Settings, a local Ollama. Settings lists no cloud provider row, so it takes no cloud API key.
- Builds carry no code signature and no notarization, so Windows SmartScreen and macOS Gatekeeper warn you the first time you launch. Your install guide walks through the prompt.