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TexLab (LaTeX & BibTeX)

TexLab is a language server for LaTeX and BibTeX. It provides diagnostics, completion, hover information, go-to-definition, references, document symbols, and formatting for .tex and .bib files. Unlike prose-focused servers such as Harper LS or LTeX LS Plus, TexLab handles LaTeX structure including commands, environments, labels, citations, and the project files.

TeXlyre connects to TexLab via WebSocket using lsp-ws-proxy. TexLab communicates LSP over stdio, so the proxy bridges the WebSocket directly to the server's standard input and output.

1. Install the server​

TexLab includes prebuilt binaries for Linux, macOS, and Windows.

Example for Linux x64:

VERSION="v5.26.0"
ARCHIVE="texlab-x86_64-linux.tar.gz"

curl -L -o "$ARCHIVE" \
  "https://github.com/latex-lsp/texlab/releases/download/$VERSION/$ARCHIVE"

tar -xzf "$ARCHIVE"

This extracts a single texlab binary. Move it somewhere on your PATH:

chmod +x texlab
mv texlab ~/.local/bin/

Alternatively, build from the tagged source with Cargo (requires the Rust toolchain):

cargo install --git https://github.com/latex-lsp/texlab --tag v5.26.0 --locked texlab

Do not install TexLab from crates.io; the project no longer publishes server releases to the registry, so that version will be outdated.

2. Install the WebSocket proxy​

TeXlyre requires a WebSocket transport. lsp-ws-proxy bridges WebSocket to stdio.

Install lsp-ws-proxy (distributed via Cargo, requires the Rust toolchain):

cargo install lsp-ws-proxy --locked

3. Run the server​

Start the proxy and launch TexLab over stdio:

lsp-ws-proxy -l 127.0.0.1:7031 -- texlab
  • The proxy listens on ws://localhost:7031
  • TexLab runs as a child process and communicates over stdio
  • Keep this process running while using TeXlyre

4. TeXlyre configuration​

You can use more than one LSP at the same time. To do this, simply add another config block below this one in the same list. Keep everything inside the square brackets [ ] and separate each { } block with a comma.

Paste the following JSON into Settings ⚙️ → LSP → Generic LSP → LSP Configurations.

[
  {
    "id": "texlab",
    "name": "TexLab (LaTeX)",
    "enabled": true,
    "fileExtensions": ["tex", "latex", "bib", "bibtex"],
    "languageIdMap": {
      "tex": "latex",
      "latex": "latex",
      "bib": "bibtex",
      "bibtex": "bibtex"
    },
    "transportConfig": {
      "type": "websocket",
      "url": "ws://localhost:7031",
      "contentLength": false
    },
    "clientConfig": "{\"rootUri\":\"file:///\",\"workspaceFolders\":[],\"capabilities\":{\"workspace\":{\"configuration\":true}},\"initializationOptions\":{}}"
  }
]

TexLab pairs well with a prose checker: running it alongside LTeX LS Plus gives structural LaTeX diagnostics from TexLab and grammar diagnostics from LTeX on the same file.

Notes​

  • If you change the proxy port, update transportConfig.url accordingly.
  • TexLab indexes the packages a project uses to build its completion data, so the first index of a large project can take a moment. Completions improve once indexing finishes.
  • Build-related features such as forward and inverse search, or chktex diagnostics, depend on a local TeX distribution and external tools, and are not supported through TeXlyre.
  • TexLab resolves a project's dependencies on its own and does not need %!TEX root magic comments.

Debugging​

To check that the server starts correctly, run it directly first:

texlab --version

Common things to check:

  • Make sure texlab is on your PATH, or pass its absolute path to the proxy.
  • If diagnostics do not appear, restart both the proxy and TeXlyre.