latex-mcp-server

CategoryGeneral
AuthorCommunity
Stars602
PricingFree

Overview

The latex-mcp-server bridges the gap between LLMs and the complex LaTeX ecosystem, moving beyond simple code generation to actual document orchestration. Instead of manually copying snippets into an editor, developers can now delegate the compilation process, bibliography management, and figure integration directly to the model. It is particularly useful for researchers and technical writers who need to automate the synchronization of cited papers with their manuscripts or execute visualization scripts to generate dynamic plots. By treating LaTeX as a programmable environment rather than a static markup language, this server reduces the friction of the 'write-compile-debug' loop and allows the AI to verify visual outputs in real-time.

Highlights

  • Automated LaTeX compilation and error handling via MCP
  • Programmatic management of cited papers and bibliographies
  • Direct integration of visualization scripts and generated figures
  • Streamlines the iterative technical writing and debugging workflow

Full Documentation

LaTeX MCP Server

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that can supercharge your VSCode + LaTex Workshop writing workflow

Currently houses MCP tools, and new tools can be easily added in either Python and TypeScript. The Python process is the MCP server; selected tools are delegated to a small Node/TypeScript module via a bridge.

LaTex MCP Server + Copilot/Claude/Cursor, what can you do?

  • Read your cited papers, verify / add onto your claims
  • Access your python scripts to generate new figures / latex tables based on your experiment data, and place them into latex autonomously
  • Can verify every step and ensure your pdf compiles
  • Functionally it can autonomously take your outline + experimental results and turn it into a paper (may looks like slop though)

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Python Tools

  • list_tex_files
Lists all .tex files under your LaTeX workspace (relative paths). Useful for LLMs or agents to discover available chapters and sections.
  • read_file
Reads a text or binary-safe slice of a file given a relative path inside the workspace. Supports specifying a maximum number of bytes to return.
  • extract_bibliography
Parses a BibTeX file and returns structured entry metadata, including download URLs (DOI, arXiv). Helps agents or scripts work with citation data programmatically.
  • download_bibliography
Downloads PDFs for bibliography entries listed in resources/cited_papers/index.json. Can force re-downloads and limit the number of new downloads.
  • compile_latex
Runs LaTeX compilation (pdflatex/xelatex via latexmk) on the main document and returns success plus a log snippet. Supports specifying the entry .tex file and number of passes.
  • read_pdf
Extracts text and metadata from a PDF filepath using pypdf, with page and character limits. Stores a JSON artifact for downstream use.
  • read_pdf_from_citation
Resolves a citation key via resources/cited_papers/index.json to its PDF and extracts text (auto-downloads if needed). Returns extracted text, metadata, and the citation key.

---

TypeScript Bridge Tools

  • summarize_text
Produces a concise natural language summary of provided LaTeX or text content. Accepts a maximum sentence count for the summary.
  • suggest_bib_key
Suggests a stable BibTeX key based on authors, year, and title metadata. Useful for generating consistent citation keys.

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Install (with uv)

From the repository root:

bash
cd latex-mcp-server
uv tool install -e .
or
code
uv tool install -e ./latex-mcp-server

This will make the console script latex-mcp-server available on your PATH.

> If you prefer a one-off run without installing as a tool:
>
>

bash
> uv run latex-mcp-server
>

MCP Configuration Snippet

Add to your mcp.json (VS Code / Claude Desktop user settings):

jsonc
"latex-mcp-server": {
  "command": "uv",
  "args": ["tool", "run", "latex-mcp-server", "--workspace", "ABSOLUTE_PATH_TO_YOUR_PROJECT_ROOT"]
}

If you omit --workspace, the server will infer the current working directory.

Windows example

On Windows (PowerShell / Bash), if your paper_1 root is at C:\Users\User\projects\paper_1, use:

jsonc
"latex-mcp-server": {
  "command": "uv",
  "args": [
    "tool", "run", "latex-mcp-server",
    "--workspace", "C:/Users/User/projects/paper_1"
  ]
}

Forward slashes are fine; they avoid the need to escape backslashes. Be sure to replace the placeholder ABSOLUTE_PATH_TO_YOUR_PAPER_1_ROOT — leaving a placeholder like WORKSPACE_FOLDER_PATH will cause the runtime error:

code
Workspace does not exist: C:\Users\User\WORKSPACE_FOLDER_PATH\PAPER_1

Alternative: Install once, then call directly

After running:

bash
cd latex-mcp-server
uv tool install -e .

You can simplify the config to:

jsonc
"latex-mcp-server": {
  "command": "latex-mcp-server",
  "args": ["--workspace", "C:/Users/User/projects/paper_1"]
}

Troubleshooting

| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---------|-------|-----|
| No solution found when resolving tool dependencies | The tool name latex-mcp-server isn’t published on PyPI and uv tried to resolve it as a dependency (often happens if you used a config field like requires or didn’t install locally) | Run uv tool install -e ./latex-mcp-server from repo root, then update your mcp.json to invoke the installed script directly |
| Workspace does not exist: C:\\Users\\...WORKSPACE_FOLDER_PATH... | Placeholder path left unchanged | Replace with the real absolute path |
| TypeScript runtime unavailable in tool results | Node.js not installed (only needed for TS bridge tools) | Install Node.js 18+ or ignore if you don’t need TS tools |

If you change TypeScript sources, rebuild and re-vendor (npm run build) before restarting the server.

TypeScript Bridge

The TypeScript sources live in ts_functions/src. Their compiled JavaScript output is vendored into the Python package under latex_mcp_server/ts_dist so users do not need npm or tsc just to run the server. To modify or add TS functions:

bash
cd latex-mcp-server/ts_functions
npm install
npm run build

Then copy (or allow the provided helper script to sync) the dist/ contents into latex_mcp_server/ts_dist/.

Adding New Python Tools

Add functions in latex_mcp_server/functions/latex_ops.py (or new modules) and register them in server.py inside register_python_tools.

Citation-Aware PDF Reading

When a user asks about a paper (e.g. “Explain how \cite{smith2023model} differs from …”), the agent should:

1. Parse citation key(s) from the request.
2. Call read_pdf_from_citation for each key (fetches / downloads PDF and extracts text snippet + metadata).
3. Ground its answer on the extracted text (and optionally call summarize_text for a concise summary).
4. Indicate if extraction was truncated (check the truncated flag) and avoid over-claiming beyond available pages/characters.

The read_pdf_from_citation tool returns the same schema as read_pdf plus citation_key so multi-citation responses can attribute snippets correctly.

Auto-Updating index.json (Chosen Method: VS Code Tasks)

This project is configured to refresh resources/cited_papers/index.json before each LaTeX build using VS Code tasks (method #3 from the suggested approaches).

Added file: .vscode/tasks.json with three tasks:

  • update-index: Runs a short Python one-liner invoking extract_bibliography on src/references.bib.
  • latex-build: Invokes latexmk -pdf on main.tex.
  • build+index: Sequentially runs update-index then latex-build.

How to Use

1. In VS Code, open the command palette and run “Tasks: Run Task”. 2. Choose build+index (recommend marking it as the default build task when prompted). 3. The BibTeX index will regenerate first; then LaTeX compilation proceeds.

If LaTeX Workshop cannot import the package (ModuleNotFoundError), a helper script latex-mcp-server/update_index.py is provided. The workspace settings have been updated to call:

code
python latex-mcp-server/update_index.py

so that a local editable install is not strictly required.

Make It the Default Build

When prompted by VS Code after first run, accept setting build+index as the default. You can also add to your workspace settings:
jsonc
// .vscode/settings.json (optional)
{
  "latex-workshop.latex.recipe.default": "build+index"
}

Why This Approach

  • No background watcher process.
  • Deterministic: index refresh tied explicitly to build command.
  • Minimal overhead (BibTeX parsing is fast relative to PDF compilation).

If you later need an alternative (e.g., Makefile or on-demand freshness check), you can still layer it on; the tasks approach is non-invasive.

Adding New TS Tools

1. Create a new file in ts_functions/src/functions/ exporting a function.
2. Add it to the export map in ts_functions/src/index.ts.
3. Rebuild and sync dist output.
4. Register a Python wrapper in server.py using bridge.register_ts_tool.

Protocol Notes

This server follows the MCP JSON-RPC message patterns. If the mcp Python package updates its APIs, adjust imports accordingly.

License

MIT

View official source
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