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 3.10+
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