logonavy




Downloading MacTeX 2024

MacTeX-2024 requires macOS 10.14, 10.15, 11, 12, 13, or 14, Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur, Monterey, Ventura, or Sonoma. It runs natively on both Arm and Intel machines. The same source code is used to compile both types of code, so Apple's Arm and Intel machines are on exactly the same footing. All install packages are developer-signed and notarized by Apple.

Click the link below to download. While downloading, please skim read the rest of the page. Users who run into trouble often write us without noticing that the solution is on this very page.

MacTeX.pkg.

The Size is 5.7G - 13 March 2024

The MD5 sum is fbdf86b3f8c139f515ac26094d7df84c

The SHA512 sum is 72ac41651260989d9c08c1e46c1beb165aafe1adf1d028a132c5c3f656c8318eb3943a7c314920aec27cb2937242c9e902c585e8866cd5a40cc3139814f04372



Installing MacTeX

It is not necessary to remove earlier TeX distributions before installing MacTeX, because the distribution will be installed in a separate location /usr/local/texlive/2024. Your earlier distribution will remain and can be used in case you run into difficulties with the 2024 version. It will be easy to eventually remove that earlier distribution. For instance, suppose you still have the distribution released in 2021. To remove it, just drag the folder /usr/local/texlive/2021 to the trash.

After downloading, move the file MacTeX.pkg to the desktop or another convenient spot, and double click it to install. Follow the straightforward instructions. Installation on a recent Macintosh takes about ten minutes. When installation is complete, go to /Applications/TeX and read the document READ ME FIRST installed there, which explains how to find and use LaTeX. A copy of this document is available here.

The installer presents a Welcome page. Then it presents a ReadMe page with more information. It presents a Software License page, and then a Final Page; clicking the "Install" button on this page will start the actual installation. The final page also has a ''Customize" button, which leads to a panel allowing users to decide which pieces to install: Ghostscript, , the GUI applications, and TeX Live itself. Most users will take the standard installation and ignore "Customize". Users who use MacPorts or HomeBrew may prefer to use the Ghostscript provided by these projects; if so they should use "Customize" to disable Ghostscript installation.

At the end of installation, the installer will report "Success." But sometimes, the installer puts up a dialog saying "Verifying..." and then the install hangs. In all cases known to us, rebooting the Macintosh fixes this problem. After the reboot, install again.

If other problems are reported during installation, skip to the section "Installation Errors" below.

MacTeX writes a symbolic link /Library/TeX/texbin which indirectly points to the TeX Live binary directory. Configure your GUI programs to use this link. The GUI programs we supply will automatically configure themselves.

MacTeX installs TeX Live, the actual TeX distribution, in /usr/local/texlive/2024. This location is often hidden in the Finder. Typical users access TeX using a "front end", a program providing an editor to enter TeX source and a preview window to view the typeset output. MacTeX installs the front end TeXShop in /Applications/TeX and most people will access TeX using that front end or a similar one.

MacTeX does not overwrite the TeX distribution from the previous year. Users who run into trouble can switch to the previous distribution until the new distribution is fixed. Long ago we installed a Preference Pane which could do this switching, but this functionality is now in TeX Live Utility, which is in /Applications/TeX. To switch, use the Configure menu item "Change Default TeX Live Version."

MacTeX completely configures TeX, so after installation it is ready to use. Go to "/Applications/TeX/READ ME FIRST.pdf" and read this short document to get started.



What Is Installed

MacTeX installs TeX Live, which contains TeX, LaTeX, AMS-TeX, and virtually every TeX-related style file and font. TeX Live is maintained by TeX User Groups across the world. TeX Live is compiled from the same sources for all platforms: Macintosh, Windows, Linux, Unix.

MacTeX also installs the GUI programs TeXShop, LaTeXiT, TeX Live Utility, and BibDesk.

MacTeX installs Ghostscript, an open source version of Postscript. Two optional packages install libgs, the dynamical library for Ghostscript, and mutool, an extra tool. These tools are used by only one program in TeX Live, dvisvgm. So they are not installed by default, but can be obtained using the "custom install" option in MacTeX.

X11 is an open source windowing system used by Linux systems. Most Macintosh users can ignore it. An open source version of X11 called XQuartz is available for the Macintosh. It can be found here. If you use X11, you should update to the latest version of XQuartz, 2.8.5. This is particularly important for users with Arm machines. If you installed MacTeX before upgrading XQuartz, just install the Ghostscript piece again.

The TeX Live programs xdvi, pdfopen, and pdfclose require X11. In addition, the Ghostscript library libgs requires X11 (but notice that dvisvgm is the only TeX Live program using it). Ghostscript comes with two binaries, gs-X11 and gs-noX11, where gs-X11 has support for X11 and gs-noX11 does not. When Ghostscript is first installed, a symbolic link named gs is created in /usr/local/bin. If X11 is present, gs points to gs-X11; otherwise it points to gs-noX11. On Arm machines, gs points to gs-X11 only if XQuartz 2.8.0 or higher is present.


Installation Errors

Sometimes at the end of installation, the installer will report "The Installer encountered an error that caused the installation to fail. Contact the software manufacturer for assistance." In almost all cases, this error is caused by a faulty download. There is an easy way to check this. Go to /Applications/Utilities and run Terminal. Type
md5
and a space. Then drag the install package icon "MacTeX.pkg" and drop it on the Terminal window. Push RETURN. Terminal will print a message and then a long item with letters and numbers. Compare this number to the MD5 sum at the top of this page just under the MacTeX.pkg link. If the two numbers are different, your download was defective and you must download again. If you downloaded with a third party browser, we recommend trying Safari for the new download.

If you are having trouble downloading MacTeX, note that the download link points to a "multiplexer" site which parcels out requests to various up-to-date CTAN mirrors. Occasionally users have trouble getting the package from this multiplexer. In that case, choose a specific mirror on this mirror page.

If you are still unable to download MacTeX-2024 after trying several specific mirrors, and your md5 sum is always incorrect, there is almost nothing we can do to help. The TeX User Group does not run the distribution servers; they are maintained by an entirely separate organization called CTAN. Complaining to us that your download always fails is a waste of time.

MacTeX is a very large package. If your network is noisy, you might want to try downloading and installing BasicTeX. See Smaller Download. BasicTeX is very much smaller, and yet has most files, fonts, and programs to process TeX, so this is a rapid way to get a working TeX. BasicTeX need not be uninstalled before installing MacTeX, so once you convince yourself that our packages work, you can return to the main task of installing MacTeX. TUG strongly recommends the full MacTeX for most users, including beginners,


Updating Various Pieces after Installation

TeX Live 2024 and the various GUI programs installed by MacTeX are up to date as of April, 2024. But various pieces may have been updated since then. Each of our GUI programs has a menu item called "Check for Updates." Select this item to update the program to the current version. The TeX Live command line files are updated daily. To install these updates, use TeX Live Utility in /Applications/TeX.




Happy TeXing on macOS !

Donate