Setting Up LaTeX in GitHub Codespaces

Perks of having this setup

Trust me, this setup is a game changer for document management:

• you can write as much documents as you want (limit will be only github codespace storage)
• All your files will be on your private repo
• Ai assisted Doc Refinements and writing
• Version Control via Git
• Organized documents
• Wide Range of document generation

You can do the same setup locally but it would require more space + WSL ( Windows Sub System for Linux).

Limitations to Keep in Mind

While Codespaces are awesome, they do have some limits:

• Usage Hours: GitHub Free generally gives 120 core hours per month (60 hours on a 2-core machine).
• Storage: You have a 15GB/month storage limit.
• Timeout: The environment hibernates after 30 minutes of inactivity (save your work!).

If you run out of hours, you'll need to wait for next month or pay up. Or... use the local method below!

Here's quick guide with screenshots on How to do it?

The must have things you'll need

Before jumping in, check off this list:

• GitHub account ( if you have pro account via Edu pack that's a ++ ;)
• VS code on your local pc

That's it for the tools.

Setting up the Repository

Second thing you have to do is create a repo Privately ( unless you want to make all your documents Public lol)

Setup and Configuration

go to https://github.com/codespaces/

then click open codespace in VS code

after that wait for 10-15 sec your codespace environment will open.

Install the Extension

then you'll need this extension in your codespace vs code install it

https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=James-Yu.latex-workshop

then run all these commands one by one.

1. Install Dependencies

First, get the necessary tools for the installation.

sudo apt install -y perl wget tar

2. Download and Extract Installer

Move to a temporary folder and download the official installer.

cd /tmp

wget https://mirror.ctan.org/systems/texlive/tlnet/install-tl-unx.tar.gz

tar -xzf install-tl-unx.tar.gz

3. Run the Installation

Enter the directory and start the script.

cd install-tl-*/

sudo ./install-tl

When prompted, just type I to proceed.

I # choose the default options and it will install everything

It will take around 30-45 min to install everything so be patient

4. Update Path Variables

We need to tell the system where the new files are.

echo 'export PATH=/usr/local/texlive/2025/bin/x86_64-linux:$PATH' >> ~/.bashrc

Apply the changes:

source ~/.bashrc

5. Verify Installation

Check if everything is working correctly.

which pdflatex

pdflatex --version

now open a new terminal in vs code or you can reboot codespace too

now you are all set 🎉

Alternative: Local Setup (WSL)

Don't want to rely on the cloud? You can run this tailored setup on Windows using WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux).

1. Open PowerShell as Administrator and run: wsl --install (then restart computer).
2. Open "Ubuntu" from your start menu.
3. Install VS Code on Windows.
4. Install the WSL Extension in VS Code.
5. Open your folder in WSL using VS Code (code .).

That's it! Now just follow the exact same Steps 1-5 from the "Setup and Configuration" section above inside your WSL terminal.

Using LaTeX

now create a resume.tex file and you can render it via these two buttons

or via this command

cd /workspaces/<your-repo-name>/resume && pdflatex resume.tex

you can also have icons via this library in your resume (optional but pretty cool)

sudo tlmgr install fontawesome5

That's it! You now have a fully functional LaTeX environment in GitHub Codespaces. Happy document writing! 📝