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 
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:

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.

`create_from_template`

Create a document from a bundled template.

`edit_latex_file`

Edit an existing LaTeX file.

`read_latex_file`

Read and return the contents of a `.tex` file.

`list_latex_files`

List all `.tex` files in a directory.

`validate_latex`

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

`get_latex_structure`

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

`compile_latex`

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

Resources

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