Projects and Files

This page describes project ownership and saving in every host. Three concepts are independent:

Concept	Answers
Root document	Which preamble, macros, includes, bibliography, numbering, and relative paths define the preview?
Active file	Which file is currently open and receiving editor changes?
Storage backend	Where does Save write the active file?

The root and active file may differ. The storage backend changes between VS Code, direct folders, browser workspaces, and remote projects without changing LaTeX rendering semantics.

Project root

A project contains one root .tex document plus optional included text, bibliography, style, class, image, and PDF files. SnapTeX resolves relative paths from the active root document.

In the Web app, select a .tex file and use Set Root. In VS Code, start the preview from the intended root file.

Changing the root performs a complete document load. This is necessary because preamble macros, metadata, bibliography state, block boundaries, numbering, and source maps all belong to one root lifecycle.

Set the root before debugging rendering

Starting from an included chapter can make its prose appear while macros, bibliography files, images, labels, or source mapping remain incomplete.

Supported project files

Text editing and creation are limited to common source formats:

• .tex, .bib, .sty, .cls, .bst
• .md, .txt

Projects may also contain preview resources such as PDF, PNG, JPEG, GIF, SVG, WebP, and BMP files. Binary resources can be read and exported but are not edited as text.

Creating and deleting files

The Web app supports New File and Delete for supported text files. Paths are normalized inside the active project. Server projects reject traversal, hidden path segments, symbolic-link escapes, unsupported file types, and oversized writes.

Saving

Project type	Ctrl+S behavior
Direct local folder	Writes through the browser-granted file handle
Imported workspace or demo	Persists to IndexedDB
Server project	Sends an authenticated same-origin API write

Unsaved files are marked in the editor state. Exporting a project creates a ZIP snapshot of the current project files.

Direct local folders and server projects have an external source of truth. Imported workspaces and the demo do not: their working copy lives in the current browser profile's IndexedDB until exported.

Saving a browser workspace updates IndexedDB; it does not write back to the directory that was originally imported. Re-import and export are explicit project-copy operations.

Included TeX files

SnapTeX follows \input{...} for preview content and source mapping. Use paths relative to the root document. The preview is still structural: package loading and arbitrary TeX file execution are intentionally restricted.

Moving between project types

• Use Import Folder when you want an isolated browser copy of a local project.
• Use Export ZIP to move an imported workspace or demo to another browser or machine.
• Extract that ZIP before using Open Folder; a ZIP archive is a snapshot, not a live project backend.
• A server project is selected by project name and cannot read outside the server's configured project root.

Next

• Use Rendering Support to check which project syntax is approximated.
• Use Troubleshooting when an include, image, bibliography, or source map resolves from the wrong root.