CLI reference

The compact reference for the platex binary. For a walkthrough with examples and watch mode, see CLI & watch mode.

Usage

platex <input.tex> [options]

Compile a LaTeX file to PDF — locally via system TeX Live or the bundled Tectonic binary, or remotely via a platex HTTP service. Pass - as the input to read LaTeX source from stdin.

npx @nandan-varma/platex main.tex     # → main.pdf (no TeX install required)

Options

Flag	Argument	Default	Description
-o, --output	<path>	input with .pdf	Output PDF path (directories are created)
-e, --engine	<name>	pdflatex¹	pdflatex | xelatex | lualatex | tectonic
-p, --passes	<n>	auto	auto | 1 | 2 | 3
-b, --bib	<name>	bibtex	bibtex | biber | none
-f, --file	<path>	—	Attach a file or directory (repeatable); directories are walked recursively
-t, --timeout	<ms>	30000	Overall wall-clock budget for the whole pipeline
-s, --service-url	<url>	PLATEX_SERVICE_URL	Compile via a remote platex service
--api-key	<key>	PLATEX_API_KEY	Bearer token for the remote service
--retry	<n>	0	Extra attempts on retryable remote failures
-w, --watch	—	off	Recompile whenever the input or attached files change
--json	—	off	Print the full CompileResult as JSON (pdf base64-encoded); writes the PDF file only with -o
-q, --quiet	—	off	Only print errors
-h, --help	—	—	Show help
-V, --version	—	—	Print the version

¹ The engine only affects local system-TeX compiles; remote and bundled compiles are always Tectonic.

Note

Flags map 1:1 onto CompileOptions. -f builds files (keyed relative to the input’s directory; directory contents keyed relative to the directory itself), -s/--api-key map to serviceUrl/apiKey, and so on.

File attachment keys

• A single file -f refs.bib is keyed relative to the input file’s directory.
• A directory -f figures/ is walked recursively; each file is keyed relative to that directory.
• Files outside the input’s directory tree fall back to their basename.

stdin

Pass - to read source from stdin. --watch cannot be combined with stdin (there’s no file to watch) and exits with a usage error.

cat main.tex | platex - -o main.pdf

Exit codes

Code	Meaning
0	Success
1	Compile failed (errors printed with file:line locations)
2	Usage or environment error

Ctrl-C aborts the in-flight compile cleanly — no orphaned TeX processes.

See also

CLI & watch modeExamples, watch mode, and JSON output.

API referenceThe CompileOptions these flags map to.