--- title: "LaTeX with Mermaid, Graphviz and D2 diagrams — TeXForge" source: "https://univerlab.org/texforge/" --- [UniverLab · open laboratory](/)EXP-002 # TeXForge Movable type once took a workshop. Now it takes one binary. A single Rust binary that scaffolds, lints, formats, proofreads and compiles your document, then lets you inspect what came out — the text a reader sees, the fonts, the metadata, and which section opens each page. The LaTeX engine arrives by itself on first build, and Mermaid, Graphviz or D2 diagrams render inside your `.tex` files with no browser and no Node.js. Code blocks come out highlighted the same way: the highlighter is compiled into the binary, so no Pygments and no shell-escape. LaTeX → one self-contained toolchain → reproducible documents [Star on GitHub ↗](https://github.com/UniverLab/texforge)[Documentation →](/texforge/docs/) Install macOS / LinuxWindows `curl -fsSL https://install.univerlab.org/texforge | sh``irm https://install.univerlab.org/texforge.ps1 | iex`⧉✓ ![](/bench/machines/texforge-day-450.webp) EXP-002 · active · Sol 87 (2026-03-28) · [release v0.10.1 · 3 weeks ago](https://github.com/UniverLab/texforge/releases/tag/v0.10.1) · roadmap: · · Built with [Canopy](/canopy/) · Repository set up with [ghScaff](/ghscaff/) · Demo recorded with [DemoStage](/demostage/) · Commits checked by [GitKit](/gitkit/) Latest release: v0.10.1 (2026-10-06) Genesis · 2026 · Sol 87 (2026-03-28) ## Born from a thesis. A master’s thesis, written with AI in the loop. Overleaf charged, TeXstudio was too heavy, VSCode wanted an extension for everything. All I wanted was Mermaid diagrams in my LaTeX — which of course meant Node and a pile of `.mmd` files. I duct-taped a latexmake to render the missing ones. It held the way duct tape holds. And every error sent the model scrolling a thousand-line build log to find one bad line. TeXForge condenses all of that into a binary and a skill. Fig. 1TeXForge — recorded with DemoStage > Writing LaTeX should not require installing four gigabytes of toolchain. The whole press \begin{mermaid} flowchart LR tex[.tex] --> lint --> typeset typeset --> pdf[(PDF)] lint -.->|error| log \end{mermaid} Fig. 1 · build pipeline · mermaid * 01**Compose** — templates with placeholders that already know your name. * 02**Proof** — a linter that catches broken refs, missing files and unclosed environments before the press runs. * 03**Proofread** — spell-checking that reads the language from the document — Babel, polyglossia, or your configured default — and checks prose against the right dictionary. * 04**Set** — one canonical format, like rustfmt for .tex. Clean diffs forever. * 05**Illustrate** — Mermaid, Graphviz and D2 blocks become figures at build time, rendered in pure Rust. * 06**Highlight** — code blocks become framed listings with line numbers and captions, coloured at build time — light, dark or mono for print. * 07**Inspect** — the compiled PDF — text, fonts, metadata, page diffs and whether every source word survived. * 08**Print** — Tectonic compiles deterministically; watch mode reprints as you write. ![A Python code block typeset by texforge: a light frame, line numbers in the margin, keywords, strings and numbers in colour.](/demos/texforge-listing.webp) Fig. 5 · listing as printed · python Templates ### 13 templates in the open registry | name | description | version | | --- | --- | --- | | apa-generalCopy | Academic report or thesis with chapters, and APA 7 tables, figures and references | 0.3.0 | | apa-unisalleCopy | APA 7 thesis proposal for Universidad de La Salle | 0.3.0 | | apa7-studentCopy | APA 7 student paper with student title page, double spacing, headings, tables and references | 0.1.0 | | articleCopy | Single-column academic article with running heads and author affiliations | 0.3.0 | | bookCopy | Long-form book layout with epigraphs and front matter | 0.2.0 | | cvCopy | Clean, ATS-friendly curriculum vitae | 0.1.0 | | generalCopy | Editorial foundation for essays and other documents, with serif type and spaced paragraphs | 0.3.0 | | ieeeCopy | IEEE journal format for technical papers | 0.2.0 | | letterCopy | Formal letter template for professional correspondence | 0.2.0 | | reportCopy | Structured university report with front matter, contents and appendices | 0.3.0 | | slidesCopy | 16:9 presentation slides with code and diagrams | 0.1.0 | | technical-briefCopy | Concise technical update with callouts, diagrams, code and results | 0.2.0 | | workshopCopy | Workshop handout with a cover page, workflow, code and test table | 0.3.0 | Every row copies the command; my-doc is your project name: `texforge new my-doc -t apa-general` The `general` template ships embedded in the binary so creating a document works even offline. [texforge-templates ↗](https://github.com/UniverLab/texforge-templates) FAQ ## FAQ What problem does TeXForge solve? Compiling LaTeX normally requires installing TeX Live (4+ GB), then separate tools for Mermaid, Graphviz, and D2 diagrams — each with its own setup. TeXForge is a single ~15 MB binary that handles everything: scaffolding, linting, formatting, diagrams, and compilation. Can AI agents use TeXForge to work with LaTeX? Yes. An agent can run texforge build without installing anything — the LaTeX engine downloads on first use. Errors are concise (not 1000-line logs), and diagrams render inside .tex files without Node.js or external tools. Does TeXForge support Mermaid and D2 diagrams in LaTeX? Yes. Write a Mermaid, Graphviz, or D2 block directly in your .tex file. TeXForge renders it to a figure at build time, in pure Rust, with no browser or Node.js required. How does spell-checking work in languages other than English? The language comes from the document itself — \\usepackage\[spanish\]{babel} or polyglossia — and falls back to your configured default when nothing is declared. Spanish is checked against a Hunspell dictionary with affix rules, so soluciones is recognised from the stem solución without being stored as its own entry. Dictionaries download on first use into ~/.texforge/dicts/. Field notes