MCP LaTeX Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for LaTeX file creation, editing, validation, and compilation. Built with FastMCP and Pydantic for type-safe, structured output.

Features

• Create LaTeX documents from parameters or bundled templates (article, beamer, report)
• Edit files with replace, insert, append, and prepend operations
• Read and list .tex files within a secure base directory
• Validate syntax — braces, environments, references, required declarations
• Compile to PDF with pdflatex, xelatex, or lualatex
• Resources — browse and retrieve bundled templates via latex:// URIs

Prerequisites

• Python 3.11.9+
• LaTeX distribution (for compilation):
  • Windows: MiKTeX or TeX Live
  • macOS: MacTeX (brew install --cask mactex)
  • Linux: sudo apt install texlive-full (Debian/Ubuntu) or sudo dnf install texlive-scheme-full (Fedora)

Installation

Using uv (recommended)

git clone https://github.com/RobertoDure/mcp-latex-server
cd mcp-latex-server
uv pip install -e .

Using pip

git clone <repository-url>
cd mcp-latex-server
python -m venv .venv
# Windows
.venv\Scripts\activate
# macOS/Linux
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e .

Quick setup (Windows)

python quick_setup.py

This checks Python version, installs dependencies, verifies the server imports correctly, and optionally configures Claude Desktop.

Configuration

The server uses a single environment variable:

Variable	Description	Default
LATEX_SERVER_BASE_PATH	Root directory for all file operations	. (current directory)

All file paths passed to tools are resolved relative to this base directory. Access outside it is denied.

MCP client configuration

Claude Desktop

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "latex-server": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/path/to/mcp-latex-server",
        "run",
        "latex_server.py"
      ],
      "env": {
        "LATEX_SERVER_BASE_PATH": "/path/to/your/latex/files"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Code (GitHub Copilot)

Add to .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace:

{
  "servers": {
    "latex-server": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/path/to/mcp-latex-server",
        "run",
        "latex_server.py"
      ],
      "env": {
        "LATEX_SERVER_BASE_PATH": "${workspaceFolder}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Tools

create_latex_file

Create a new LaTeX document from parameters.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
file_path	str	required	Path for the new .tex file
document_type	article|report|book|letter|beamer|minimal	article	Document class
title	str	""	Document title
author	str	""	Document author
date	str	\today	Document date
content	str	""	Body content
packages	list[str]	[]	Extra LaTeX packages
geometry	str	""	Geometry settings (e.g. margin=1in)

create_from_template

Create a document from a bundled template.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
file_path	str	required	Path for the new .tex file
template	article|beamer|report	article	Template name

edit_latex_file

Edit an existing LaTeX file.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
file_path	str	required	Path to the file
operation	replace|insert_before|insert_after|append|prepend	required	Edit operation
new_text	str	required	Text to insert or replace with
search_text	str|null	null	Text to find (required for replace/insert)
line_number	int|null	null	1-based line number (alternative to search_text)

read_latex_file

Read and return the contents of a .tex file.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
file_path	str	required	Path to the file

list_latex_files

List all .tex files in a directory.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
directory_path	str	.	Directory to search
recursive	bool	false	Search subdirectories

validate_latex

Check LaTeX syntax: required declarations, balanced braces, environment matching, undefined references.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
file_path	str	required	Path to the file

get_latex_structure

Extract document structure: class, title, author, packages, and section hierarchy.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
file_path	str	required	Path to the file

compile_latex

Compile a .tex file to PDF (runs the engine twice for references/TOC).

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
file_path	str	required	Path to the file
engine	pdflatex|xelatex|lualatex	pdflatex	LaTeX engine

Resources

URI	Description
latex://templates	List available bundled templates
latex://template/{name}	Get the content of a specific template

Testing

Test with the MCP Inspector:

uv run mcp dev latex_server.py

Or run the included test suite:

python test_server.py

Troubleshooting

Server won't start — Verify Python 3.10+ (python --version) and that mcp is installed (pip list | grep mcp).

Compilation fails — Ensure a LaTeX distribution is on your PATH (pdflatex --version). Install MiKTeX or TeX Live if missing.

"Access denied" errors — The requested file path resolves outside LATEX_SERVER_BASE_PATH. Use relative paths or adjust the env variable.

Claude can't connect — Double-check file paths in your MCP config, restart Claude Desktop, and verify with uv run mcp dev latex_server.py.

License

MIT