Recompiling your project
The LaTeX compile processes take use your source files to produce a PDF. Pressing the Recompile button kicks off the LaTeX compile.
A key part of working with LaTeX is compiling your source (.tex, .bib, images, and other files) into a PDF.
You should compile frequently, and always fix any errors that you encounter as soon as they arise.
Compiling
When you press the Recompile button, your source code will be compiled to produce the PDF. If there are errors in your project, these will be reported in the error logs.
If you run into trouble when compiling your project, these resources should help:
Compile options
The drop-down menu under the Recompile button allows you to toggle various compile options.
Auto compile
When this option is turned on, Overleaf automatically compiles your document for you every few seconds.
Compile Mode
The LaTeX compiler can be given an instruction to produce a fast draft of the PDF, rather than a complete document. The main effect of choosing the Fast [draft] option is to skip over image file processing. This means that the compile will complete more quickly, but all images will be replaced with empty boxes. This mode is helpful when working on large projects, or ones that have many image files.
Syntax Checks
Overleaf automatically checks your LaTeX code for common syntax issues as you type. These checks help catch typos and errors that could prevent your project from compiling properly. Some things Overleaf's Syntax Checks highlights include unmatched braces or brackets, undefined commands, and missing or extra \begin \end statements.
You can read more about Overleaf's syntax checking here.
Compile error handling
The default mode for LaTeX compilation on Overleaf is for the compiler to attempt to produce a PDF even if there are errors. In this mode, the compiler will ignore or compensate for errors it encounters when compiling. If errors are encountered, the PDF produced may be helpful in identifying the errors.
When errors are encountered, or if you encounter a compile timeout, it is recommended to switch to Stop on first error mode. In this mode, the compiler will not attempt to produce a PDF when errors are encountered, but will instead stop and report the error immediately.
Recompile from scratch
The LaTeX compiler generates temporary helper files when it compiles your project. These files are preserved when possible between compiles, which can help speed up the compilation process. If the files are stale or contain errors from a previous compile, it is sometimes helpful to remove them. Please see Clearing the project cache.
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