Run Your Own Collaborative LaTeX Editor with Overleaf

// Before you start

What you need

A Linux, Mac, or Windows machine with at least 4 GB RAM (8 GB recommended)
Docker Desktop installed and running (docker.com/get-started)
Docker Compose available (included in Docker Desktop)
Git installed (git-scm.com)
A stable internet connection for the initial image download (~3 GB)
Basic comfort opening a terminal or command prompt

Step 1 of 6

Install the Overleaf Toolkit

3 min

Overleaf provides an official helper tool called the Overleaf Toolkit. It handles all the Docker configuration for you. You clone it from GitHub — this just downloads a folder of setup scripts onto your machine.

Terminal · mac

$ git clone https://github.com/overleaf/toolkit.git overleaf-toolkit && cd overleaf-toolkit

What you should see

A new folder called 'overleaf-toolkit' is created and you are now inside it.

This might happen

'git' is not recognized as a command

Install Git from https://git-scm.com/downloads, restart your terminal, then try again.

Step 2 of 6

Initialize your local configuration

2 min

This command creates a 'config' folder with three plain-text config files. You do not need to edit them to get started — the defaults work fine for a local install. Think of this as Overleaf laying out its settings files before it boots.

Terminal · mac

$ bin/init

What you should see

You should see messages saying config files were created inside a new 'config/' directory.

This might happen

Permission denied when running bin/init on Mac or Linux

Run 'chmod +x bin/init' first, then try again.

Step 3 of 6

Pull and start Overleaf

15 min (first run — downloading ~3 GB)

This single command downloads the Overleaf Docker image (which includes a full LaTeX installation) and starts all the services. The first run takes a while because it downloads a large image. Subsequent starts are fast. Leave the terminal open and wait until it settles.

Terminal · mac

$ bin/up

What you should see

After several minutes of download logs, you will see lines like 'sharelatex ... done' and the terminal will stop scrolling. Overleaf is now running.

This might happen

Docker reports 'Cannot connect to the Docker daemon'

Open Docker Desktop and make sure it shows 'Engine running', then retry the command.

Step 4 of 6

Create the first admin account

2 min

Overleaf does not create a default user for you. You must visit a special setup page in your browser to register the first admin account. This only works once — after the first user is created, the page is disabled.

Terminal · mac

$ open http://localhost/launchpad

What you should see

A registration form appears in your browser asking for an email address and password.

This might happen

'open' does not work on Windows or Linux

Manually type http://localhost/launchpad into your browser address bar.

Step 5 of 6

Log in and create your first project

2 min

After registering, you are redirected to the Overleaf dashboard. Click 'New Project', choose a template or blank project, and you will land in the collaborative LaTeX editor. You can invite other users by going to Admin > Manage Users and registering them, or sharing a project link.

Terminal · mac

$ open http://localhost/project

What you should see

The Overleaf dashboard loads in your browser showing your projects list.

Step 6 of 6

Stop and restart Overleaf later

1 min

When you want to shut Overleaf down, run the stop command from the toolkit folder. To start it again later, run 'bin/up' from the same folder. Your projects and users are saved in a Docker volume and will still be there.

Terminal · mac

$ bin/stop

What you should see

Terminal prints 'Stopping ...' for each service and returns to the prompt.

This might happen

You closed the terminal without stopping — containers are still running

Reopen a terminal, navigate back to the overleaf-toolkit folder, and run 'bin/stop'.

// Status

cooked. baked. worked.

A fully working private Overleaf instance running at http://localhost, where you and trusted teammates can create, edit, and compile LaTeX documents together in real time from any browser on your local network.

// the honest bit

The honest part

This Community Edition is designed for trusted users only — anyone with a login can access the server's filesystem during a LaTeX compile. Do NOT expose this to the public internet without reading the security docs. Sandboxed compiles (which add isolation) require Docker-in-Docker setup and are not covered here. Email delivery (for password resets) requires extra SMTP configuration in config/variables.env. If you need SSO, tracked changes, or managed upgrades, look at Overleaf Server Pro.