Overleaf

Overleaf is a web-based, collaborative LaTeX editor that runs entirely in the browser. It compiles on Overleaf’s servers, so there is nothing to install, and multiple authors can edit the same document in real time. It was formed from the 2017 merger of Overleaf and ShareLaTeX and is owned by Digital Science.

Why people use it#

• Real-time, Google-Docs-style co-editing.
• Zero setup; a browser and a link are enough, which makes onboarding easy for collaborators who don’t use LaTeX locally.
• A large template gallery, and a rich-text mode for those who prefer not to edit source.

Git integration#

Overleaf can act as a Git remote: every project exposes a git URL you can clone, pull, and push, and a project can be linked to a GitHub repository via GitHub sync. Both are premium features. You cannot link an existing Overleaf project to an existing GitHub repository; you create one from the other.

Limitations#

• Most features beyond basic editing—git sync, more collaborators, etc.—sit behind a per-seat subscription.
• The files live on Overleaf’s servers; an outage blocks all work, and there is no easy way to bulk-export everything.
• It compiles only its own project with its own toolchain, so an external build (e.g., Snakemake or a Makefile) won’t run there.

See Leaving Overleaf for why I default to a plain Git repository for new papers instead.