Gummi vs Kile

Gummi is a free desktop LaTeX editor for writing documents on Linux, BSD, macOS/NetBSD, and Windows. Its preview pane reflects document changes almost immediately, while syntax highlighting distinguishes LaTeX commands from other text. Users can choose alternative editor colour schemes or add custom styles in `~/.config/gummi/styles`. Command snippets can be assigned shortcut keys or command text, and some examples are preconfigured. Wizards insert LaTeX for images, tables, matrices, or bibliography files; documents can also be saved as templates. Project support groups documents and keeps compilation settings and file locations in a plain-text file. PDF export is among the documented file operations. The install guide lists packages for several Linux distributions, OpenBSD, macOS/NetBSD, and Windows. Developers can compile Gummi from source, though the guide calls that the latest untested development code. The home page says development is active again and points readers to GitHub for current code and releases. Spell checking is off by default and requires selecting a language and having gtkspell installed.

Kile is a free, open-source desktop editor for TeX and LaTeX on Linux, macOS, and Windows. It can compile, convert, and view a document with one click, and provides completion for (La)TeX commands alongside advanced editing commands. Templates and wizards help start documents. Projects group related files and support inserting citations and references. Forward and inverse search connect the editor with a DVI viewer, while QuickPreview shows a selected document section. The maker describes Kile’s build system as flexible and smart for compiling LaTeX documents. The download page provides source code and lists 64-bit Windows binaries for version 3.0 beta 3; it also displays a SHA-256 hash for the 3.0 beta 4 source archive. For Linux, the maker recommends installing a matching distribution package through the package manager when available. Technical questions can be sent to the kile-devel mailing list, and problems can be reported through KDE’s bug tracking system.