xelatex
Unicode-aware LaTeX to PDF compiler
TLDR
SYNOPSIS
xelatex [options] [file]
DESCRIPTION
xelatex compiles LaTeX documents using the XeTeX engine, producing PDF output. It provides native Unicode (UTF-8) support and can use any system-installed OpenType or TrueType fonts directly via the fontspec package.Unlike pdfLaTeX, xelatex handles non-Latin scripts and complex typography without special encoding packages. Documents can include characters from any writing system directly. Internally, xelatex first produces an XDV (XeTeX DeVice-independent) file, then converts it to PDF using xdvipdfmx.Multiple compilation passes may be needed for cross-references, bibliographies, and indices. Build systems like latexmk automate this process.
PARAMETERS
-output-directory DIR
Write output files to the specified directory.-jobname NAME
Set the output file base name.-interaction MODE
Set interaction mode: batchmode, nonstopmode, scrollmode, errorstopmode.-shell-escape
Enable \\write18 shell command execution.-no-shell-escape
Disable shell command execution (default).-synctex N
Generate SyncTeX data for editor synchronization.-halt-on-error
Stop processing at the first error.-file-line-error
Show file name and line number in error messages.-no-pdf
Generate XDV (XeTeX DeVice-independent) output rather than PDF.-output-driver CMD
Use CMD as the XDV-to-PDF driver instead of the default xdvipdfmx.-8bit
Make all characters printable by default.--help
Display help information.--version
Display version information.
CAVEATS
Some packages designed for pdfLaTeX may be incompatible. Compilation is slightly slower than pdfLaTeX due to the two-stage XDV-to-PDF conversion. Microtype support is more limited than in pdfLaTeX or LuaLaTeX. Part of the TeX Live distribution.
HISTORY
XeTeX was created by Jonathan Kew, initially for Mac OS X in 2004. It was ported to Linux in 2006 and included in TeX Live 2007. XeTeX brought modern font technology and Unicode support to TeX, making it practical for multilingual and professionally typeset documents.
