Getting started
- Install — open the downloaded
.dmgand drag texspark into Applications. The app is signed and notarized; it opens without Gatekeeper warnings. - Check TeX — texspark drives your own TeX distribution. No TeX yet? Install MacTeX or BasicTeX once. If
which xelatexin Terminal returns a path, you’re set. - Build — open a
.texfile and hit ⌘B. The log streams below the editor, and the PDF lands on the right. For a multi-file project, mark your root file as the build target (⌘⇧P) first — from then on ⌘B always compiles the right file.
Updates arrive in-app — texspark → Check for Updates… — and every update is cryptographically signed.
Keyboard shortcuts
| ⌘B / ⌘⇧⌫ | Build / Clean |
| ⌃⌘B | Run custom command |
| ⌘⇧P | Set / clear build target (or double-click a tab) |
| ⌘⇧↩ | Forward search — jump PDF to cursor |
| ⌘-click PDF | Jump editor to the matching source line |
| ⌘T | Toggle PDF / AI panel |
| ⌘⇧A | Send selection to AI / toggle editor ↔ AI focus |
| ⇧⌘Y | Toggle bottom panel (Terminal / Issues / Log) |
| ⌘/ | Toggle line comment |
| ⌘R | Find and replace |
Troubleshooting
“xelatex: command not found”
texspark runs your build command through a login shell, so it uses the same $PATH as your Terminal. If which xelatex works in Terminal but the build fails, your TeX distribution’s path may be set only for interactive shells — check that /Library/TeX/texbin is on your PATH (MacTeX adds it automatically). If which xelatex fails in Terminal too, install MacTeX or BasicTeX first.
The PDF doesn’t update after a build
Check the Issues tab under the editor — if the build failed, the PDF keeps showing the last successful output. Click any error to jump to the offending line, fix it, and ⌘B again.
SyncTeX jumps to the wrong place
Make sure your build command includes -synctex=1 (the built-in templates do). If you build through a custom script, the .synctex.gz file must end up next to the PDF.
Support
Stuck on anything not covered here? Email support@texspark.io — it goes straight to the developer, and usually gets a reply within a day.
Last Updated on September 2, 2026