Getting started

In about two minutes you’ll have a project open, compiled, and exported as a PDF. Everything runs locally, so you don’t need an account or an internet connection to write or compile (only the very first compile fetches packages).

1. Install

Download the app for your platform from the latest release and open it. The builds aren’t signed yet, so your OS warns on first launch; the install guide has the one-time unlock for each platform.

2. Create your first project

On a fresh installation, choose Show me around on the welcome screen. The progressive guide introduces the library, creates a real project with you, and continues in the workspace. Settings, AI Assistant, and Diagram Composer each have a guide that appears on the first eligible visit. Manage individual guides and progress in Settings → General → Enable tour guides, or restart the guide for the current view from Help & About → Start tour.

1. On the Library home screen, click New project.
2. The template gallery opens. Browse by category, search, or filter by ATS-friendly. Try one of these to start:
   • Blank document: a minimal article to start from scratch.
   • ATS Resume or Software Engineer Resume: single-column resumes built to survive applicant tracking systems.
   • IEEE Research Paper: a two-column conference paper with figures, tables, and a bibliography.
3. Click your pick, give the project a name, choose a cover color, and hit Create project.

The full catalog of 19 templates is on the Templates page.

3. Write and compile

Type in the editor on the left. Press ⌘↵ (Ctrl+Enter on Windows/Linux) to compile; the PDF appears on the right with zoom, page navigation, and single or two-page layouts.

Prefer compile-as-you-type? Open the command palette (⌘K / Ctrl+K) and run Enable auto-compile: from then on, a compile starts about 2.5 seconds after you stop typing.

While you write, the editor is already helping: type \ for LaTeX command completion, / for the slash insert menu (/figure, /table, /section, /cite, /math and more), and Ctrl+Space to trigger suggestions anywhere. See Autocomplete & slash commands.

4. Jump between source and PDF (SyncTeX)

• Source to PDF: put your cursor anywhere and press ⌘⇧J (Ctrl+Shift+J). The PDF scrolls to the matching spot and flashes a highlight.
• PDF to source: hold ⌘ (Ctrl) and click any word in the PDF. The editor jumps to that exact word, even across \input files.

More in SyncTeX.

5. Export

Click the Export button (download icon) in the toolbar, then Export as PDF. The output is ATS-clean by default: real selectable text with embedded fonts. The same menu exports your full source as a .zip, and Word, HTML, Markdown, and plain text via pandoc (downloaded on demand the first time). Details in Export formats.

6. Where your files live

Every project is a plain folder under ~/.openleaf/projects/ containing your .tex, .bib, images, and a real .git repository. They’re just files: browse, copy, or back them up with any tool. See Where your data lives.

Keep going

• Cite something: paste a DOI or paper title and get a \cite plus a clean BibTeX entry. Citations
• Draw a figure: the diagram composer generates editable TikZ from a visual canvas. Figures & diagrams
• Connect an AI: bring a key from any of nine providers, or run local with Ollama, and let the assistant fix your LaTeX errors. Set up AI
• Check before you submit: Preflight scores your PDF for resume parsers and screen readers. Preflight
• Back it up: publish the project to GitHub in two clicks. GitHub sync