pdftex.js

A pure javascript port of pdftex which compiles latex directly in your browser! - Demo

pdftex.js compiles latex code at near-native speed, and does not require a server. pdftex.js ships with custom service worker for caching dependencies.

Get Started

Install dependencies using bower, or download a GitHub release.

$ bower install --save pdftex.js

Include the main js file (also works well with module loaders)

<script src="bower_components/pdftex.js/pdftex.js"></script>

In order to locate the pdftex-worker you must set the location of the pdftex.js directory.

pdftex.setPdftexDir('/bower_components/pdftex.js/')

The texlive distribution is rather big, so you should use service worker to cache it. pdftex.js ships with an optimized (it's actually not difficult) service worker to cache the texlive distribution. I recommend to use it event if you are already implemented a service worker for your project (you can run them in parallel).

if ('serviceWorker' in navigator) {
  navigator.serviceWorker
  .register(
    './bower_components/pdftex.js/pdftex-service-worker.js',
    { scope: '/bower_components/pdftex.js/' }
  ).then(function (reg) {
    // registration worked
    console.log(
      'Pdftex service worker registration succeeded. Scope is ' +
      reg.scope
    )
    // Optionally you can preload the worker and the resources for a faster
    // initial compilation. You should only do that if the service worker is
    // activated
    if (reg.active != null) {
      pdftex.preload()
    }
  }).catch(function (error) {
    // registration failed
    console.log('Pdftex service worker registration failed with ' + error)
  })
}

Start a process

var latexSource = '\documentclass[12pt]{article} ..'
var compile = pdftex(latexSource)
compile.on('finish', function (event) {
  if (event.success) {
    console.log('Url to compiled latex document: ', event.url)
  }
})
compile.on('log', function (message) {
  console.log(message)
})

compile.on('err', function (message) {
  console.error(message)
})

The source code for the demo is also a good point to start

API

pdftex(latexSource: String, options : Object) : PdfTeXCompilation

Starts a compilation process. Calling it will terminate the previous compilation. Options may have the following properties:

• debug : Boolean - If true, logs all messages to the console

PdfTeXCompilation

This is returned when calling pdftex(latexSource). Has the following methods:

• on(eventName : String, eventHandler : Function) - Possible values for eventName:
  • 'log'
  • 'err'
  • 'finish' - Called when the compilation ends (succes or failure)

pdftex.preload()

Preload the worker and the resources for a faster initial compilation.

pdftex.setPdftexDir(dir : String)

Set the path to the pdftex.js directory. This is required in order to determine the location of the pdftex-worker.

Contribution

This project wouldn't be possible without [emscripten] (https://github.com/kripken/emscripten). @manuels did all the pioneering work on porting pdftex. [His project] (https://github.com/manuels/texlive.js) was very helpful in figuring out how emscripten works.