Gummi vs Texpile

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.

Texpile is a free, open-source desktop editor for LaTeX, Typst, and Markdown on Windows, macOS, and Linux. It combines visual and source editing in the same file, with live previews for LaTeX and Typst as users type. Editing works offline and does not require a compiler. LaTeX compilation requires the user's own TeX distribution, while Typst compiling and preview use tinymist. A built-in shell can run latexmk or another compile command. The editor can save project versions, show changes, and restore earlier versions. For collaboration, users can share a folder for real-time editing, and guests can join by code without an account. Shared sessions are end-to-end encrypted; the documentation identifies them as the feature that uses the network. Texpile can search a Zotero library and insert citations when Zotero is running with Better BibTeX installed. An optional local MCP server lets Claude Code or Codex read editor state and control app actions. The software is licensed under AGPL-3.0.