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Tectonic vs MiKTeX: catalog facts
Tectonic	MiKTeX
Free Free and open source under the MIT licence.	Free The open-source distribution is available without a license fee.
Command line	Windows, macOS, Linux
No full TeX distribution needed Fetches missing LaTeX packages automatically	Installs packages on demand, so the base install is small Integrated updater keeps packages current without manual work
Needs network access to fetch support files it has not cached Built on XeTeX, so documents relying on other engines may need changes	On-demand installation needs network access while compiling Less commonly assumed by Linux documentation than TeX Live
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: MIT	License not stated
No account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 1, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.