MacTeX

About

MacTeX is a package that installs TeX Live on the Macintosh. It is notarized by Apple, uses Apple's standard install technology, and contains native code for both Intel and Arm processors. Once installation is complete, the software is fully configured and ready to use. The full version includes essentially all software available for typesetting with TeX-like systems, including TeX, LaTeX, XeTeX, LuaTeX, and ConTeXt, and supports almost every written language in use today. It requires macOS 11, Big Sur, or higher.

MacTeX includes a GUI-Applications subpackage that installs TeXShop, TeX Live Utility, LaTeXiT, BibDesk, and hintView in /Applications/TeX. TeX Live Utility is used to keep the distribution up to date. When first opened, it lists packages updated overnight and offers to install them, and if it has not been opened for a while, it provides all updates since it was last used. It also lets users switch between multiple installed TeX distributions through its "Configure" menu.

For users who want a smaller installation, BasicTeX is a separate package of about 140 MB that is fully capable of typesetting standard TeX and LaTeX documents. BasicTeX and MacTeX can coexist on the same machine. The website recommends the full MacTeX for users who are certain they will use TeX, since example documents in books will work without adding missing components.