Overleaf

Overleaf is a browser-based LaTeX editor. It gives you a full TeX Live installation, a live PDF preview, and Google-Docs-style collaboration, all without installing anything on your machine. For most papers written with co-authors, it has become the default place where the writing actually happens.

If you already know LaTeX, there is very little to learn: you write the same .tex and .bib files you would write locally, and Overleaf runs the compiler for you. What Overleaf adds is everything around the LaTeX: shared editing, comments, change tracking, version history, and a single place where every co-author sees the same compiled PDF.

New to Overleaf?
The quickest way in is the video introduction to Overleaf, which walks through the editor, compiling, and sharing in a few minutes. For anything this article doesn't cover, the Overleaf help site has documentation on the editor as well as a large collection of general LaTeX guides.

How It Works

An Overleaf project is a folder of files (your .tex sources, bibliography, figures, style files) stored on Overleaf's servers. When you click Recompile, Overleaf runs the project through latexmk on its own TeX Live installation and shows you the resulting PDF next to the source. Everyone who has access to the project edits the same files at the same time, and changes appear for everyone as they are typed.

Strengths	Weaknesses
Nothing to Install: A complete, maintained TeX Live distribution is available from any browser, so "it compiles on my machine" stops being a problem. Real-Time Collaboration: Co-authors edit the same document simultaneously, with comments and tracked changes built in. One Source of Truth: There is exactly one copy of the paper, and everyone sees the same compiled PDF. Built-In History: Overleaf records who changed what, and you can restore earlier versions. Templates: Thousands of journal and conference templates are a click away in the template gallery.	Compile Limits: Large documents, heavy TikZ/pgfplots figures, or slow packages can hit the compile timeout, especially on the free plan. Online by Default: You need an internet connection to work comfortably, and the browser editor is not your local editor of choice. Premium Paywall: Many useful features (Git/GitHub sync, more collaborators, longer history, reference manager integration) require a paid plan. Not a Code Repository: Overleaf is not a good place for the code and data that produce your figures.
🔗 Overleaf Help and Documentation

Getting Started

Step 1: Create an account

Go to overleaf.com and sign up. Use your CMU email address (or add it to an existing account under Account Settings), since that is how Overleaf recognizes institutional licenses.

Step 2: Create or import a project

From the project dashboard, click New Project. You can start from:

• Blank Project or Example Project for a minimal starting point.
• Upload Project to upload a .zip of an existing local LaTeX project.
• Templates to start from a journal or conference template (many venues publish an official one in the gallery).
• Import from GitHub (Premium) to start from an existing repository.

Options for creating a new project.

Step 3: Get to know the editor

The editor has three main panes: the file tree on the left, the source editor in the middle, and the PDF preview on the right. A few things worth knowing right away:

• Recompile (or Ctrl/Cmd + Enter) builds the PDF. Auto-compile can be toggled from the dropdown next to the button.
• Double-clicking in the PDF jumps to the corresponding line of source, and the arrow buttons between the panes jump the other way (SyncTeX).
• The Code Editor / Visual Editor toggle at the top switches between raw LaTeX and a rich-text-like view. Experienced LaTeX users usually stay in the Code Editor, but co-authors less comfortable with LaTeX may prefer the Visual Editor.
• The Logs and output files button next to Recompile shows errors and warnings, each with a link to the offending line.

The Overleaf editor: file tree, source, and compiled PDF.

Step 4: Check the project settings

Open Menu (top left) to set the project-wide compile options:

• Compiler: pdfLaTeX by default; switch to XeLaTeX or LuaLaTeX if you need system fonts or Unicode-heavy input.
• TeX Live version: new projects use a recent release. Leave older projects on their original version unless you have a reason to upgrade, since package updates can occasionally break a working document.
• Main document: if your project has several .tex files, make sure the one with \documentclass is selected here. Compiling the wrong file is a common source of confusing errors.

Where to find the settings menu.

Compiler and main-document settings in the project menu.

Working With Co-Authors

Sharing a project

Click Share in the top right to invite collaborators by email, as either editors or viewers. You can also turn on link sharing, which gives anyone with the link view or edit access; be careful with edit links, since they work for anyone who receives them.

Warning: Collaborator limits
The free plan only allows a small number of collaborators per project. The limit is set by the project owner's plan, so if your co-authors can't be added, the easiest fix is usually to have someone with Premium (or an institutional license) own the project.

Comments and tracked changes

Highlight any text and click the comment button to start a discussion thread in the margin, much like comments in Word or Google Docs. Threads can be replied to and resolved.

Switching the editor from Editing to Reviewing mode turns on track changes: every insertion and deletion is recorded and shown in the margin, where co-authors can accept or reject it. This is the most polite way to edit someone else's section.

Comments and tracked changes in the review panel.

History and versions

Click History to see a timeline of changes, who made them, and a diff of each. You can label a version (e.g. "Submitted to AISTATS") so it is easy to find later, and restore files from earlier points. The free plan only keeps a limited window of history, so label important milestones and don't rely on Overleaf as your only backup.

Browsing project history and labeling a version.

Getting Files In and Out

Overleaf is easy to use on its own, but you will often want to move files between it and your computer.

Manual upload and download (free): The Upload button in the file tree accepts individual files or a whole folder. Menu → Download → Source gives you a .zip of the project, and the download button above the PDF gives you the compiled paper. This is fine for occasional use, but tedious if your figures change often.

Git and GitHub sync (Premium): Every Premium project can be cloned directly with Git, and can also be synchronized with a GitHub repository. This lets you edit locally in your own editor, and lets your analysis code write figures and tables straight into the paper. See Overleaf GitHub Integration for a complete workflow.

Reference managers and Dropbox (Premium): Overleaf can import a .bib file from Zotero or Mendeley and refresh it on demand, and can keep a project synced with a Dropbox folder.

Tips for Experienced LaTeX Users

• You can configure latexmk: Overleaf builds with latexmk, and you can add a file named latexmkrc to the project root to customize the build (for example, to run extra tools or set environment variables).
• Clear the cache when things get weird: If errors persist after you've fixed the source, open the logs pane and choose Clear cached files, then recompile. Stale auxiliary files cause most "impossible" errors.
• Turn off "Stop on first error" carefully: The recompile dropdown lets you compile through errors, as -interaction=nonstopmode would. This is handy for seeing the whole document, but don't let errors accumulate.
• Draft mode for speed: The recompile dropdown has a Fast [draft] option that skips images, which helps a lot with figure-heavy documents.
• Precompile heavy figures: Complex TikZ or pgfplots figures are the most common cause of compile timeouts. Compile them separately (or generate them in your analysis code) and include the resulting PDF with \includegraphics.
• Use the help site for LaTeX questions too: The Overleaf help site doubles as one of the better general-purpose LaTeX references on the web.

Common Pitfalls

Things to Watch Out For

Compile timeouts: Large documents and heavy figures can exceed the compile time limit, which is shorter on the free plan. Precompile figures, use draft mode, or move to a Premium or institutional plan. Wrong main document: If you upload a project with several .tex files, Overleaf may guess the wrong one. Set it explicitly under Menu → Main document. Editing the same paragraph at once: Simultaneous editing works, but two people rewriting the same sentence will step on each other. Split up sections, or use comments to coordinate. Ignoring warnings: Overleaf will happily show a PDF with undefined references and overfull boxes. Check the logs pane before you submit. Treating Overleaf as your only backup: Download the source periodically, or use Git sync, especially before deadlines. Oversized uploads: Projects have size and file-count limits. Keep raw data, high-resolution PNGs, and intermediate outputs out of the project; only include paper-ready figures.

Note: Overleaf is a writing tool, not a research workflow by itself. Once you're comfortable with the basics, see Overleaf GitHub Integration for a way to keep your figures and tables in sync with your code.