tlmgr-platform
Manage TeX Live platform-specific binaries
TLDR
List all available platforms in the package repository
Add the executables for a specific platform
Remove the executables for a specific platform
Auto-detect and switch to the current platform
Switch to a specific platform
SYNOPSIS
tlmgr platform [option]
PARAMETERS
show
Show the current platform setting.
set
Set the platform to the specified platform. Platform can be `unix` or `windows` or a sub-platform of either of these. Platform names can be checked by using the tlmgr platform show command.
unset
Unset the platform, which defaults to the system's platform. This means that system library versions will be used instead of versions bundled with TeX Live.
DESCRIPTION
The `tlmgr platform` command in TeX Live allows you to manage the platform settings. Specifically, it is primarily used to switch between a Unix-like system's libraries and those bundled within TeX Live itself. This is critical to solve library conflicts or use versions shipped with TeX Live.
Switching platform is done by setting or unsetting the platform option. This option is used by tlmgr to select binary files in the TeX Live distribution which might be built differently for each target platform. The main use case is when the TeX Live libraries might conflict with the system-provided libraries. This tool allows TeX Live to use its own built-in libraries instead of the OS system's libraries if any incompatibility is detected.
If the platform is set to the same as the system platform, this command will not change anything, but if the platform is set to something else the binaries for that target will be used. Setting the platform to nothing unsets the platform and allows the system binaries to be used.
This command also allows you to show the current platform setting.
CAVEATS
Incorrect platform settings can lead to TeX Live failing or malfunctioning.
Platform changes might require rebuilding the format files.
PLATFORM NAMES
Platform names vary depending on your operating system and architecture.
The result of tlmgr platform show lists the available platform names.
USE CASES
A common use case is resolving library conflicts between TeX Live and the system's libraries.
Another is when TeX Live libraries or binaries were not built for the current platform.
SEE ALSO
tlmgr(1)
