CLI Usage

LTX provides five subcommands. Run ltx --help for the full reference.

ltx [COMMAND]

ltx new

Create a new LTX project with starter files.

ltx new <name> [OPTIONS]

Examples

# Flat layout (main.tex in project root)
ltx new my-paper

# With src/ directory
ltx new my-paper --src

# With bib/ directory and xelatex engine
ltx new my-paper --bib --engine xelatex

# Full layout: src/ + bib/ + tectonic
ltx new my-paper --src --bib --engine tectonic

Scaffolded layout

Without flags:

my-paper/
├── main.tex
├── references.bib
├── ltx.toml
└── .gitignore

With --src:

my-paper/
├── src/
│   ├── main.tex
│   └── sections/
├── references.bib
├── ltx.toml
└── .gitignore

With --bib:

my-paper/
├── main.tex
├── bib/
│   └── references.bib
├── ltx.toml
└── .gitignore

ltx check

Check a .tex file for syntax errors by running the full lex → parse → diagnostics pipeline.

ltx check <path>

Exit codes

Example

$ ltx check main.tex
Check passed — no issues found.

If errors are found, LTX renders them with source locations and help messages:

LTX::LEXER::E003

  × unmatched brace detected: `{`
   ╭─[main.tex:5:12]
 4 │ \section{Introduction
 5 │ % missing closing brace
   ·            ────┬────
   ·                ╰── here
 6 │
   ╰────
  help: Verify that every opening brace `{` has a matching closing brace `}`.

ltx build

Compile the project described in ltx.toml into a PDF.

ltx build

The manifest is validated first — missing keys, typos, and a missing main file fail fast with a source-spanning LTX::CONFIG::E0xx diagnostic. The selected engine then compiles the document:

• tectonic — compiled in-process by the tectonic crate (the default).
• pdflatex / xelatex / lualatex — not wired up yet; a LTX::COMPILER::W001 warning is printed and the build exits successfully.

Output is always written to the project’s target/ directory.

ltx clean

Remove the target/ directory and print a summary of deleted files and total size, akin to cargo clean.

ltx clean

ltx code

List all registered diagnostic error codes with their descriptions, severities, and owning phase.

ltx code [FILTER]

Output:

CODE                     DESCRIPTION                                SEVERITY  PHASE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LTX::LEXER::E001         Unexpected Token                           error     lexer
LTX::LEXER::E002         Unexpected End of File                     error     lexer
LTX::LEXER::E003         Unmatched Brace                            error     lexer
...
LTX::COMPILER::W001      Engine Not Implemented                     warning   compiler

30 total codes

Global flags

Engine options

LTX supports four LaTeX compilers, set via ltx new --engine or in the [build] section of ltx.toml:

Next steps

• Configuration — customize your project with ltx.toml
• Lexer Errors — the LTX::LEXER::E0xx code table