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TeX Live vs Tectonic: catalog facts
TeX Live	Tectonic
Free The open-source distribution is available without a license fee.	Free Free and open source under the MIT licence.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line	Command line
Comprehensive package coverage with its own package manager The same distribution on Linux, macOS and Windows	No full TeX distribution needed Fetches missing LaTeX packages automatically
A full installation is several gigabytes Annual releases mean packaged versions can lag upstream	Needs network access to fetch support files it has not cached Built on XeTeX, so documents relying on other engines may need changes
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License not stated	License: MIT
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 1, 2026

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