LaTeX PDF Preview
February 4, 2026 ยท View on GitHub
Live PDF preview for LaTeX documents in VS Code.
Features
- Real-time PDF preview - Auto-compiles on save
- Lightweight - No bundled PDF renderer (~36KB package)
- Uses VSCode's native PDF viewing
Requirements
- LaTeX distribution (pdflatex, xelatex, lualatex, or latexmk)
- PDF viewer extension for VSCode (e.g., vscode-pdf)
# macOS
brew install --cask mactex # or basictex
# Windows/Linux
# Install TeX Live or MiKTeX
Usage
- Open
.texfile - Click preview icon or use Command Palette
- Edit and save - preview updates automatically
Commands
LaTeX: Show Preview- Open PDF previewLaTeX: Refresh Preview- Manual refresh
Settings
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
latex-preview.executablePath | "" | Custom LaTeX executable path |
latex-preview.autoCompile | true | Auto-compile on save |
latex-preview.debounceDelay | 300 | Debounce delay (ms) |
latex-preview.throttleDelay | 2000 | Throttle delay (ms) |
License
MIT