latex-to-typst

LaTeX to Typst Translation Guide

A comprehensive reference for converting LaTeX article-class documents to Typst.

When to Use This Skill

• User asks to convert, port, or translate a .tex file to .typ
• User wants to know the Typst equivalent of a LaTeX command
• User is migrating an academic paper or report from LaTeX to Typst
• User needs help with specific LaTeX environments in Typst

Quick Navigation: Use What Reference

| Task | Reference File |

|------|---------------|

| Overall document structure, preamble → set rules | [01-document-structure.md](references/01-document-structure.md) |

| Bold, italic, fonts, font sizes, colors | [02-text-formatting.md](references/02-text-formatting.md) |

| Margins, page size, columns, headers/footers | [03-page-layout.md](references/03-page-layout.md) |

| \section, \subsection, numbering | [04-headings-sections.md](references/04-headings-sections.md) |

| itemize, enumerate, description | [05-lists.md](references/05-lists.md) |

| Math mode, equations, aligned, matrices, operators | [06-math.md](references/06-math.md) |

| Symbol table: arrows, Greek, operators, sets, logic | [07-math-symbols.md](references/07-math-symbols.md) |

| \includegraphics, figure environment, subfigures | [08-figures.md](references/08-figures.md) |

| tabular, booktabs, tabularx, multirow/multicolumn | [09-tables.md](references/09-tables.md) |

| BibTeX, biblatex, natbib → bibliography, cite | [10-bibliography.md](references/10-bibliography.md) |

| \label, \ref, \eqref, \autoref | [11-cross-references.md](references/11-cross-references.md) |

| TikZ → CeTZ diagrams | [12-diagrams-cetz.md](references/12-diagrams-cetz.md) |

| verbatim, lstlisting, minted; footnotes, links | [13-misc.md](references/13-misc.md) |

Key Conceptual Differences

Preamble → set and show Rules

LaTeX uses a \documentclass{article} preamble with \usepackage calls. Typst replaces this with set rules (for properties) and show rules (for transformations), placed at the top of the document.

% LaTeX
\documentclass[12pt,a4paper]{article}
\usepackage[margin=1in]{geometry}
\usepackage{fontenc}
\setmainfont{Times New Roman}

// Typst equivalent
#set page(paper: "a4", margin: 1in)
#set text(font: "Times New Roman", size: 12pt)

No \begin/\end Environments

Most LaTeX environments have direct Typst function equivalents. For example:

| LaTeX | Typst |

|-------|-------|

| \begin{equation}...\end{equation} | $ ... $ (block, with space) |

| \begin{figure}...\end{figure} | #figure(...) |

| \begin{tabular}...\end{tabular} | #table(...) |

| \begin{itemize}...\end{itemize} | - item (markup) |

Content vs. Code Mode

In Typst, # switches from markup mode into code mode. Inside #{ } blocks or function arguments, you write code. Markup is the default.

Units

| LaTeX | Typst | Notes |

|-------|-------|-------|

| pt | pt | Same |

| em | em | Same |

| cm | cm | Same |

| mm | mm | Same |

| in | in | Same |

| \textwidth | 100% (relative to container) | — |

| 0.5\textwidth | 50% | — |

Minimal Article Template

% LaTeX article
\documentclass[12pt]{article}
\usepackage[margin=1in]{geometry}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\title{My Paper}
\author{Jane Doe}
\date{\today}
\begin{document}
\maketitle
\begin{abstract}
This paper...
\end{abstract}
\section{Introduction}
Hello world.
\end{document}

// Typst equivalent
#set page(margin: 1in)
#set text(size: 12pt)

#align(center)[
  = My Paper
  Jane Doe \
  #datetime.today().display()
]

#set par(justify: true)

*Abstract.* This paper...

= Introduction

Hello world.

For a more polished article template with abstract box, see [01-document-structure.md](references/01-document-structure.md).

Workflow for Full Document Conversion

1. Convert preamble → #set page(), #set text(), #set par() (see [03-page-layout.md](references/03-page-layout.md), [02-text-formatting.md](references/02-text-formatting.md))
2. Convert sectioning → =, ==, === (see [04-headings-sections.md](references/04-headings-sections.md))
3. Convert math → inline $...$, block $ ... $ (see [06-math.md](references/06-math.md), [07-math-symbols.md](references/07-math-symbols.md))
4. Convert figures → #figure(image(...), caption: [...]) (see [08-figures.md](references/08-figures.md))
5. Convert tables → #table(...) or #figure(table(...), ...) (see [09-tables.md](references/09-tables.md))
6. Convert bibliography → #bibliography("refs.bib") + @key citations (see [10-bibliography.md](references/10-bibliography.md))
7. Convert TikZ → #canvas({...}) with CeTZ (see [12-diagrams-cetz.md](references/12-diagrams-cetz.md))
8. Fix cross-references → <label> + @label (see [11-cross-references.md](references/11-cross-references.md))