A writing space for LaTeX

Write deeply.
Compile locally.

Opal is a calm, offline-first LaTeX editor for researchers, scientists, and anyone who cares about the words as much as the typesetting.

Download latest release View source on GitHub

Free forever · Open source under MIT · macOS, Windows, and Linux

research-paper — Opal

main.tex references.bib

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\title{A Better Way to Write}
\author{Ada Researcher}
\begin{document}
\maketitle
                
\section{Introduction}
Good tools should help us think
                
without getting in the way.
% Every change
                    remains yours.

A Better Way to Write

Ada Researcher · July 2026

1 Introduction

E = mc²

Local by default

Your documents compile on your computer with the embedded Tectonic engine.

You stay the author

AI is optional, bring-your-own-key, and every suggested edit waits for your approval.

No account required

Open a project and start writing. The complete editor works without signing in.

Powerful when you need it. Quiet when you don’t.

Learn the basics, manage a serious research project, or ask for a little help—all without leaving the page you are writing.

01 / 06

For beginners

New to LaTeX? Start gently.

A built-in guide teaches one idea at a time, from your first compile to figures, tables, equations, and citations. Insert an example or type it yourself—the guide never blocks your progress.

Step 4 of 15

Meet Opal

First compile

Document skeleton

Add a title

Write a section

Learn LaTeX Give your document a title

The title, author, and date live in the preamble. Add them now, then compile to see the result.

Insert an example

Live preview

Source and PDF, always in sync.

Native MuPDF preview and bidirectional SyncTeX keep your source and finished document connected. Move between them with a click.

Bibliography

References, resolved.

Manage BibTeX across your project, find duplicates, connect Zotero, and look up records by DOI, ISBN, or arXiv identifier.

DOIAttention Is All You NeedVaswani et al. · 2017cited

ZDesigning Data-Intensive ApplicationsKleppmann · 2017saved

arXivResearch methods for reproducible workPreprint · 2026new

Visual tools

Structure without the syntax hunt.

Edit tables, equations, figures, citations, and cross-references with focused visual tools—then keep working in clean LaTeX source.

Optional AI

Assistance only when you ask.

Proofread a selection, explain a compile error, or reason across a project. You choose the provider, what to send, and whether any suggested change is accepted.

Can you make this sentence more concise?

Here is one focused revision. Your meaning and citation remain unchanged.

− The results clearly demonstrate that…

+ The results show that…

Accept changeReject

Version history

Experiment without losing your way.

Automatic Git snapshots make it easy to compare drafts, label important checkpoints, and restore an earlier version of your work.

Download Opal

Your next draft starts here.

Choose your platform. Opal is free, open source under the MIT License, and does not require an account.

Checking the latest release…

Verified

Windows

64-bit installer

Confirmed working on Windows. The installer is the recommended download.

Download installer (.exe) Download MSI

Unsigned build

macOS

macOS 11 or later · Apple Silicon & Intel

These builds are unsigned — there is no paid Apple certificate yet, so macOS blocks them on first launch. After downloading, remove the quarantine flag: open Terminal and run xattr -cr /Applications/Opal.app, or right-click the app in Finder and choose Open, then confirm.

Apple Silicon (.dmg)Recommended Intel (.dmg)

Use AppImage

Linux

x86_64 · Ubuntu 22.04 or newer

The AppImage has passed a startup check. Native packages currently have limited compatibility.

JavaScript is disabled. Use GitHub Releases to download Opal.