This page is for people who want to try out TeX or LaTeX, but may decide not to use it. They want an installation which contains everything needed to immediately write and typeset a document, without searching for other pieces of software. But they also want an installation which can easily be removed, if they decide not to use LaTeX.

Below we provide two software packages, BasicTeX and Gui-Applications, which produce such a complete LaTeX installation. When the packages are installed, they are completely configured and ready to use. The first package contains the actual typesetting program, originally written by Donald Knuth. The second contains an editor and previewer, and a short guide explaining how to get started. After installing these two packages and reading the first pages of the guide, you will be able to typeset your own short document in five minutes or less.

BasicTeX is quite small, but it contains all of the standard tools needed to write TeX documents, including TeX, LaTeX, pdfTeX, MetaFont, dvips, MetaPost, and XeTeX. BasicTeX does not overwrite the full MacTeX distribution because it is installed in a separate location, /usr/local/texlive/2025basic. So if a user later wants to use the full TeX Live, they do not need to remove anything and can just install the full MacTeX-2025 on top of what we provide below.

Basic TeX

Click the following link to download BasicTeX to your downloads directory:

After downloading, move the package to the desktop or another convenient spot, and double click it to install. Follow the straightforward instructions. Installation on a recent Macintosh takes three or four minutes. The installer presents a Welcome page. Then it presents a ReadMe page with more information. It presents a Software License page, and then a Final Page. Clicking the "Install" button on this page will start the actual installation.

GUI Programs and Documentation

Using the Software

After you install both packages, you will find a folder named TeX in your Applications folder. This folder contains a front end to TeX named TeXShop and a file named READ ME FIRST. This file explains how to create your first documents using TeXShop. It will take just a few minutes to read a few pages of READ ME, run TeXShop, and write and typeset some of your own sentences. Over time, read the rest of READ ME for more detailed information.

The ``READ ME FIRST'' document has a link to a free 139 page book about LaTeX titled ``The Not So Short Introduction to LaTeX 2e.'' This item is in the full MacTeX-2025 distribution, but not in Basic TeX. However, the same document is available over the internet. See The Not So Short Introduction. The following link produces a page making the same document available in a large number of different languages: The Not So Short Introduction in Other Languages

For other documentation on LaTeX, please see the page getting started with TeX.

Ghostscript 10.04.0

Removing the Software

To remove Gui-Applications, go to the Applications folder and drag the folder TeX to the trash. You might prefer to reach into this folder and drag selected applications to the trash.

To remove Basic TeX, use the ``Go to Folder'' command in the Finder's ``Go'' menu to go to /usr/local/texlive. Drag the folder 2025basic to the trash. For a complete cleanup, also go to /Library, the system library folder. (This is not ~/Library, the Library folder in your home directory, which is often hidden by Apple.) Find the folder named TeX inside /Library and throw it in the trash. This folder is so small and harmless that you may prefer to leave it be.

To remove Ghostscript, change directory to /usr/local/bin, or go there using the Finder's Go menu. Inside this bin folder, remove the three files named gs, gs-X11, gs-noX11. Then go to /usr/local/share/ghostscript and remove the folder named 10.04.0.