# \[ANN\] DocumenterTypst.jl - Fast PDF Generation for Documenter.jl via Typst
**URL:** https://discourse.julialang.org/t/ann-documentertypst-jl-fast-pdf-generation-for-documenter-jl-via-typst/134772
**Category:** Package Announcements
**Tags:** package, documentation, pdf, typst
**Created:** [December 28, 2025, 10:03am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/ann-documentertypst-jl-fast-pdf-generation-for-documenter-jl-via-typst/134772 "2025-12-28T10:03:31Z")
**Posts on this page:** 15
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@lucifer1004](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/lucifer1004)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2025, 10:03am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/ann-documentertypst-jl-fast-pdf-generation-for-documenter-jl-via-typst/134772/1 "2025-12-28T10:03:31Z")
* * *
**TL;DR** : A new Documenter.jl backend that generates professional PDFs **10x faster** than LaTeX, with zero setup required.
* * *
Two years ago, I shared [an early experiment](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/building-julia-documentation-using-typst/) with using Typst as a backend for Documenter.jl. Today, I’m excited to announce that **DocumenterTypst.jl v0.1** is ready for production use!
## 🚀 Speed Comparison
Building the complete Julia documentation (2000+ pages, see [here](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ms9HTO9FvqpRuMdpcRFwj4ujl2GZWy6i/view?usp=sharing)):
- **Typst backend (2 years ago)**: ~13 minutes (on Intel i9-9900K)
- **DocumenterTypst.jl today** : **\< 60 seconds** (on Apple M4 Max)
```julia-auto
┌ Info: TypstWriter: AST conversion completed.
└ time = "0.97s"
[ Info: TypstWriter: compiling Typst to PDF (Typst_jll)...
┌ Info: TypstWriter: Typst compilation completed.
└ time = "47.06s"
┌ Info: TypstWriter: optimizing PDF with pdfcpu...
└ size_before = "61.28 MB"
┌ Info: TypstWriter: PDF optimization completed.
│ size_after = "21.12 MB"
│ reduction = "65.5%"
└ time = "5.82s"
```
**Want to try it yourself?** Check out our [step-by-step guide](https://github.com/lucifer1004/DocumenterTypst.jl/blob/main/scripts/README.md) for building the Julia documentation with the Typst backend. It’s as simple as:
```bash
julia scripts/build_julia_docs.jl
```
## ✨ What’s New Since the Prototype
The package is now **feature-complete** and ready for production:
✅ **Full Markdown support** : All Documenter features work out of the box
- Code blocks with syntax highlighting (Julia fully supported!)
- Tables, images, cross-references
- Admonitions, footnotes, block quotes
- Nested lists and complex layouts
- **NEW** : Pure Typst files (`.typ`) can be mixed with Markdown sources
✅ **Math rendering** : Two options for maximum compatibility
- LaTeX math via [mitex](https://github.com/mitex-rs/mitex) (backward compatible)
- Native Typst math syntax (for new projects)
✅ **Zero setup required** : Uses Typst\_jll for automatic installation
- No LaTeX distribution needed
- Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux
- Perfect for CI/CD pipelines
✅ **Optimized output** : Automatic PDF compression
- **NEW** : Built-in PDF optimization using pdfcpu (65%+ size reduction for large docs)
- System font control to avoid emoji font bloat
- Detailed timing for performance monitoring
✅ **Customizable styling** : Easy template system
- Override colors, fonts, and layouts
- Create custom title pages
- See [styling guide](https://lucifer1004.github.io/DocumenterTypst.jl/stable/manual/styling/)
## 📦 Installation & Usage
~~**Note** : DocumenterTypst.jl is not yet registered in the General Julia Registry. Install from source:~~
DocumenterTypst.jl is available now!
```julia
using Pkg
Pkg.add("DocumenterTypst")
```
```julia
using Documenter
using DocumenterTypst
makedocs(
sitename = "MyPackage",
authors = "Your Name",
format = DocumenterTypst.Typst(), # That's it!
pages = [
"Home" => "index.md",
"Guide" => "guide.md",
]
)
```
## 🎯 Why Typst?
Compared to LaTeX:
- **Faster** : Compilation in seconds, not minutes
- **Simpler** : No TeX distribution installation
- **Modern** : Clean syntax, better error messages
- **Reliable** : Reproducible builds with Typst\_jll
## 📚 Resources
- **Documentation** : [https://lucifer1004.github.io/DocumenterTypst.jl/](https://lucifer1004.github.io/DocumenterTypst.jl/)
- **Repository** : [GitHub - lucifer1004/DocumenterTypst.jl](https://github.com/lucifer1004/DocumenterTypst.jl)
- **Build Julia Docs Yourself** : [Step-by-step guide](https://github.com/lucifer1004/DocumenterTypst.jl/blob/main/scripts/README.md)
- **Example Output** : [Julia Documentation PDF](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ms9HTO9FvqpRuMdpcRFwj4ujl2GZWy6i/view?usp=sharing) (2000+ pages, built in \< 60s)
## 🙏 Acknowledgments
Built on top of [Documenter.jl](https://github.com/JuliaDocs/Documenter.jl) and powered by [Typst](https://typst.app/). LaTeX math rendering via [mitex](https://github.com/mitex-rs/mitex).
Special thanks to the Documenter.jl team for their excellent plugin architecture, and the Typst team for creating such a fast and reliable typesetting system.
## 🔮 Future Plans
- Julia General Registry registration (coming soon!)
- Template gallery with pre-made styles
- Additional Typst-native features
- Performance optimizations for very large documents
- Your suggestions!
* * *
**Try it out and let me know what you think!** Bug reports, feature requests, and contributions are all welcome at [GitHub - lucifer1004/DocumenterTypst.jl](https://github.com/lucifer1004/DocumenterTypst.jl)
* * *
---
### Author:  [@laborg](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/laborg)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2025, 2:03pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/ann-documentertypst-jl-fast-pdf-generation-for-documenter-jl-via-typst/134772/2 "2025-12-28T14:03:03Z")
Hi,
do you mind to share an example of the typst based Julia manual?
---
### Author:  [@lucifer1004](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/lucifer1004)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2025, 2:13pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/ann-documentertypst-jl-fast-pdf-generation-for-documenter-jl-via-typst/134772/3 "2025-12-28T14:13:42Z")
I already pasted the Google Drive url in the original post.
---
### Author:  [@laborg](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/laborg)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2025, 2:44pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/ann-documentertypst-jl-fast-pdf-generation-for-documenter-jl-via-typst/134772/4 "2025-12-28T14:44:50Z")
I’ve missed that.
You should note the huge size difference. Your example is 100MB, whereas the original Julia docs pdf is ~8MB.
---
### Author:  [@lucifer1004](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/lucifer1004)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2025, 3:15pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/ann-documentertypst-jl-fast-pdf-generation-for-documenter-jl-via-typst/134772/5 "2025-12-28T15:15:46Z")
A possible cause is that I did not do label hashing in this version to ensure no coliision. I would do another experiment to check the effect on the final file size.
---
### Author:  [@lucifer1004](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/lucifer1004)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2025, 3:43pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/ann-documentertypst-jl-fast-pdf-generation-for-documenter-jl-via-typst/134772/6 "2025-12-28T15:43:07Z")
Key issue seems to be embedded fonts.
---
### Author:  [@lucifer1004](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/lucifer1004)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2025, 4:14pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/ann-documentertypst-jl-fast-pdf-generation-for-documenter-jl-via-typst/134772/7 "2025-12-28T16:14:34Z")
- Original: 100 M
- System font disabled: 60 M
- Codly disabled (using default codeblock rendering instead of the fancier one): 40 M
- `pdfcpu` postprocessing (very fast, ~2s): 15 M
---
### Author:  [@technocrat](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/technocrat)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2025, 7:15pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/ann-documentertypst-jl-fast-pdf-generation-for-documenter-jl-via-typst/134772/8 "2025-12-28T19:15:55Z")
As of 2025-12-28, this doesn’t appear to have made it to the registry, even after `Pkg.Registry.update()`. Will definitely check back in a few.
---
### Author:  [@lucifer1004](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/lucifer1004)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2025, 11:04pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/ann-documentertypst-jl-fast-pdf-generation-for-documenter-jl-via-typst/134772/9 "2025-12-28T23:04:02Z")
Ah, yes, sorry for not mentioning this.
The PR [New package: DocumenterTypst v0.1.0 by JuliaRegistrator · Pull Request #145159 · JuliaRegistries/General · GitHub](https://github.com/JuliaRegistries/General/pull/145159) has not been auto-merged yet.
---
### Author:  [@lucifer1004](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/lucifer1004)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2025, 8:54am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/ann-documentertypst-jl-fast-pdf-generation-for-documenter-jl-via-typst/134772/10 "2025-12-31T08:54:15Z")
It is available now!
---
### Author:  [@lucifer1004](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/lucifer1004)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2026, 3:26pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/ann-documentertypst-jl-fast-pdf-generation-for-documenter-jl-via-typst/134772/11 "2026-01-12T15:26:21Z")
v0.1.1 has been merged and DocumenterCitations.jl has been supported!
---
### Author:  [@andreeco](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/andreeco)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2026, 7:47pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/ann-documentertypst-jl-fast-pdf-generation-for-documenter-jl-via-typst/134772/12 "2026-01-12T19:47:50Z")
I tried the extension you added, and it worked for generating PDF output! Thanks for implementing it and being so responsive.
---
### Author:  [@giordano](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/giordano)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2026, 8:31pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/ann-documentertypst-jl-fast-pdf-generation-for-documenter-jl-via-typst/134772/13 "2026-01-12T20:31:13Z")
The LaTeX command `\mathscr` doesn’t seem to be supported in math blocks
---
### Author:  [@lucifer1004](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/lucifer1004)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2026, 9:53pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/ann-documentertypst-jl-fast-pdf-generation-for-documenter-jl-via-typst/134772/14 "2026-01-12T21:53:49Z")
See [feat: support missing commands by Shichien · Pull Request #214 · mitex-rs/mitex · GitHub](https://github.com/mitex-rs/mitex/pull/214).
This should be resolved after next release of mitex.
---
### Author:  [@Al3cLee](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Al3cLee)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2026, 9:51am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/ann-documentertypst-jl-fast-pdf-generation-for-documenter-jl-via-typst/134772/15 "2026-04-03T09:51:45Z")
Hi, just wanted to drop by and thank you (also to provide a usecase) for the awesomeness that is DocumenterTypst.jl. I wanted to learn the package TensorKit.jl with very complicated math expressions and unicode symbols in its 200+ pages (seen from a PDF) of docs, and your package compiled it within 3 minutes. I tried every way Documenter.jl provided to compile a PDF but none worked, probably due to missing character problems.