¶ Introduction
Overleaf is a Software with that you can edit LaTeX files in a browser. This is a Tutorial on how to setup a self-hosted Overleaf Community Edition server on Linux.
It is intended that you run this server behind a reverse proxy. It is very important to do so if you plan to publish the application to the internet!
¶ Preparation
- Linux server
gitdockeropenssl- Reverse proxy (not included in this tutorial)
# Get packages with the package manager of your distro
sudo dnf install git
## dnf RHEL based (RHEL, Rocky, Alma, Centos, etc.)
## apt Debian based (Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, etc.)
## and so on
# add dedicated application user
adduser overleaf
# Be sure that your designated user is part of the docker group
## Give application user right for docker
usermod -aG docker overleaf
## Check it when you are logged in as overleaf - displays docker
groups
!Caution!
When using RHEL based os for the server it is recomended to deinstall Podman and install Docker CE. Podman was not tested.
¶ Installation
*Sources:
- Official
- Additional Instructions*
- Example Implementation
- Completing Tex Live
- Ubuntu 20.04 TexLive full
- Old scheme full
Installation successfully tested on the 05.04.2026
# Make a directory and cahnge the permissions
sudo mkdir /opt/overleaf-toolkit
sudo chown overleaf:root /opt/overleaf-toolkit
# change to application user
su - overleaf
## (OPTIONAL) set alias for easier access
echo "# alias for working dir" >> .bashrc
echo "alias cda='cd /opt/overleaf-toolkit/'" >> .bashrc
source .bashrc
# Download git repo to opt and cd into it
git clone https://github.com/overleaf/toolkit.git /opt/overleaf-toolkit
cd /opt/overleaf-toolkit
# initialize the project
./bin/init
## (OPTIONAL) change any variable needed in this directory
ls config
vi config/overleaf.rc
----------------START-----------------
# Gets reachable outside of the server. Do not use if you are using the provided TLS proxy.
## OVERLEAF_LISTEN_IP=127.0.0.1
OVERLEAF_LISTEN_IP=0.0.0.0
# Disable this because it is a Pro feature
## SIBLING_CONTAINERS_ENABLED=true
SIBLING_CONTAINERS_ENABLED=false
# Needed if logs should be written to the host
OVERLEAF_LOG_PATH=logs
----------------STOP------------------
## Note: we recommend that you re-create the docker containers after changing anything in `overleaf.rc` or `variables.env`, by running `bin/docker-compose down`, followed by `bin/up`
mkdir logs
# Add the http service to the local firewall
sudo firewall-cmd --add-service=http --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --reload
sudo firewall-cmd --list-all
# Test if you can start the application
## This takes some time
./bin/up
# Check if the website is reachable
# Stop the application if needed
./bin/stop
¶ Configuration
# Make the application to a systemd service
vi /etc/systemd/system/overleaf.service
----------------START-----------------
[Unit]
Description=Overleaf Community Edition
[Service]
Type=oneshot
WorkingDirectory=/opt/overleaf-toolkit
ExecStart=/opt/overleaf-toolkit/bin/start
ExecStop=/opt/overleaf-toolkit/bin/stop
RemainAfterExit=yes
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
----------------STOP------------------
# Reload the deamon, enable & start overleaf Service
systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable overleaf.service
systemctl start overleaf.service
# Check status of service
systemctl status overleaf.service
¶ Create admin user [1]
In a browser, open http://localhost/launchpad. You should see a form with email and password fields. Fill these in with the credentials you want to use as the admin account, then click "Register".
Then click the link to go to the login page (http://localhost/login). Enter the credentials. Once you are logged in, you will be taken to a welcome page.
Click the green button at the bottom of the page to start using Overleaf.
¶ Tex Live full install
By default Overleaf Community Edition installs LaTeX in a "lite" version. In order to use the full capabilities of Overleaf it is advised to fully install LaTex (all packages).
Remember, that once you update the image used for Overleaf you need to redo this step. Each time. That's CE Version for you
# Change in to working directory
cda
# Enter a shell into the container
./bin/shell
# Current container (6.1.2) still has TeX Live 2025 so no longer update. Change repo to historic
tlmgr option repository https://ftp.math.utah.edu/pub/tex/historic/systems/texlive/2025/tlnet-final
# Update TeX Live Manager
tlmgr update --self
## Display version of TeX Live
tlmgr --version
tlmgr revision 71331 (2024-05-24 09:30:36 +0200)
TeX Live (https://tug.org/texlive) version 2024
# Install full scheme (takes about 10 to 20 min)
tlmgr install scheme-full
# **Important**: From `3.3.0` release onwards running `tlmgr path add` is required again after every use of `tlmgr install`, in order to correctly symlink all the binaries into the system path.
tlmgr path add
# Exit container shell
exit
OPTIONAL - Saving your changes
The changes you've just made have changed the sharelatex container, but they are ephemeral --- they will be lost if Compose recreates the container, e.g. as part of updating the config.
To make them persistent, use docker commit to save the changes to a new docker image:
$ cat config/version
5.0.3
#^^^^ --------------- matching version ----------- |
# vvvvv
$ docker commit sharelatex sharelatex/sharelatex:5.0.3-with-texlive-full
$ echo 5.0.3-with-texlive-full > config/version
After committing the changes, update the config/version accordingly. Then run bin/up, to recreate the container.
Note that you will need to repeat these steps when you upgrade (./upgrading.md).
¶ Update [2][3]
# Stop service
systemctl stop overleaf.service
# Change into working directory
cda
# Update
./bin/upgrade
# Stop automaticly started containers
./bin/stop
# Start service again
systemctl start overleaf.service