TeXbrain, a LaTeX editor that runs pdfTeX in the browser via WASM
I'm a master's engineering student and a big fan of LaTeX, which I used for my thesis and research articles. I have used Overleaf and that was fine until I wanted to git sync, which unfortunately sits behind a paywall. Since I didn't want to pay subscriptions for things that should simply just work, I built the editor I wanted in my free time, where you open a tab, write LaTeX, get your PDF and the files stay all in one folder on my disk. TeXbrain is a static site with no backend. pdfTeX is compiled to WebAssembly (SwiftLaTeX) and runs in your browser. The editor can read and write your…
In plain words
TeXbrain is a free, open-source LaTeX editor that runs entirely in the browser without requiring accounts, installations, or servers. It compiles .tex files to PDF directly using pdfTeX compiled to WebAssembly, allowing users to write and preview documents by simply opening a tab. The editor integrates with local project folders through the File System Access API, enabling seamless git integration and compatibility with other tools. Built for LaTeX users who want straightforward document creation without subscription paywalls or complex setups.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
FOSS browser-based LaTeX editor with live preview, on-demand packages and git integration. No accounts, no installs, no servers. - swimmingbrain/texbrain
A free, open-source LaTeX editor that runs entirely in your browser. No accounts. No installs. No servers. Just open a tab and write. I built this because I was tired of paying for features that should be free. I wrote my thesis last year in LaTeX and spent more time fighting tooling than actually writing. Online solutions lock git sync behind a paywall. Local setups break between machines. I wanted something that just works. Open a browser, write LaTeX, get a PDF. texbrain is a full LaTeX editor that compiles your .tex files to PDF directly in the browser. There is no backend. No server processing your files. Everything (the editor, the compiler, the git client) runs client-side. You can…from github.com
In the maker’s words, at launch
I'm a master's engineering student and a big fan of LaTeX, which I used for my thesis and research articles. I have used Overleaf and that was fine until I wanted to git sync, which unfortunately sits behind a paywall. Since I didn't want to pay subscriptions for things that should simply just work, I built the editor I wanted in my free time, where you open a tab, write LaTeX, get your PDF and the files stay all in one folder on my disk. TeXbrain is a static site with no backend. pdfTeX is compiled to WebAssembly (SwiftLaTeX) and runs in your browser. The editor can read and write your project folder through the File System Access API, so you can use git, any local TeX install, local AI Agents, or any other editor on the same files. Git is built in through isomorphic-git for anyone who would rather not touch a terminal and clone, branch, commit, push or pull via commands. No account is needed, no analytics, and everything works offline after the first load. Try it out: https://tex.swimmingbrain.dev/ (Chromium browsers get direct folder access, while Firefox or Safari fall back to a virtual filesystem) Or for self-hosting/contributing: https://github.com/swimmingbrain/texbrain (MIT, the pdfTeX engine is EPL 2.0 / GPL 2.0 and is listed in the THIRD_PARTY_LICENSES file). The part I'm most proud of getting to work is the package loading. The engine itself is only 1.8 MB. When it asks for a file it doesn't have, then a service worker intercepts the request and resolves it through Cache Storage first, then a small bundled subset, then a TeX Live tree mirrored on jsDelivr, then a SwiftLaTeX style server as a last resort. Every file is fetched once at most and after the first successful compilation, the core subset is prefetched in the background so that the offline story actually holds. Only file names go over the network, never any document content. So far, it only supports pdfTeX (no XeTeX or LuaTeX), so fontspec or polyglossia won't work, packages are pinned to the TeX Live 2020 era to stay coherent with the engine's format file and there is no bibtex or biber in the engine yet, which is maybe the roughest edge. This is should be a good solution for people on a work laptop, a Chromebook, or a university lab PC where installing TeX Live isn't always an option, and people who don't want to maintain a TeX install at all. If you already have a local setup you like, keep it. This isn't necessarily thought as a replacement for that. Some people have already used it for their thesis in the past months and their bug reports (which I would never have hit on my own) were then most of the summer's work. The first outside PR also landed recently, so if something doesn't compile for you, an issue with the package name or the bug itself is the most useful thing you can send me!
More life & fun this month
the category →- TL
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Scroll through all 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 reachable Rubik's Cube permutations.
Life & fun · 26d ago · everycube.alen.is
Hi HN, I built Eigendrum, a web tool that solves the 2D wave equation for arbitrary shapes so you can hear what they sound like as drums. How it works: * Solves -∇²u = λu using finite element analysis (Kφ = λMφ) on a triangle mesh. * Validated to <0.1% error against closed-form solutions for circles (Bessel zeros) and rectangles. * Sound model factors in strike location, Rayleigh damping, and mallet width. * Includes Kac drums I & II to demonstrate identical sound spectra from different geometries. * No frameworks, build steps, or dependencies. Repo and tests:…
Life & fun · 26d ago · baselashraf81.github.io
Launched alongside, August 2026
the whole month →- TL
Life & fun · 9d ago · louisabraham.github.io
- SA
Hello HN! I found that picking out plausible but diverse skin tones for my digital art and game development projects was kind of difficult, and I got curious about if there was a way to define a color space that made it easy. I've built a color picker and procedural generation algorithm based on the space as well as a bunch of other fun js features and demos throughout the page that use the equations. If you find it interesting, I have lots of explanations of how I built it and what properties the space has. The methodology might be a bit shaky, but hopefully the result is as helpful for…
Life & fun · Aug 2026 · toneyalexander.github.io
I trained a 125M-parameter transformer to autocomplete piano performances in real time (~108 notes/sec on an iPhone 15). The idea is basically GitHub Copilot or Tabnine, except instead of prompting it with code, you prompt it by playing a few notes on a MIDI piano. The model then continues what you played, entirely on-device. The app is free if anyone wants to try it. Happy to answer questions about the model, training, Core ML, or the many things that didn't work.
AI · 16d ago · simedw.com