Blog

Notes on research writing, LaTeX, local-first tools, and what we’re building at Oleafly.

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4 min read

Beyond LaTeX Workshop: a research editor on your machine

A purpose-built research editor with project-wide intelligence, SyncTeX, offline proofreading, bundled compilers, real Git, and citations. VS Code + LaTeX Workshop still owns recipes, remote, and the extension marketplace.

latex-workshopmigrationlocal-firstresearch-workspace

8 min read

Years on Overleaf, then a local research workspace

Overleaf made collaborative LaTeX mainstream—and free accounts still meter collabs, history, AI, and compile time. Where the browser stays thin (resumes, forks, export, multi-engine work), and what a free local workspace on your disk fills in.

overleafmigrationlocal-firstresearch-workspace

7 min read

TeXstudio in 2026: what aged well, what did not

TeXstudio is still a capable classic LaTeX IDE—and still a product of its era: heavy UI, bring-your-own TeX Live, thin project life, no AI workspace. A critical look, and what a modern free research workspace on the same plain files changes.

texstudiomigrationlocal-firstresearch-workspace

4 min read

Converting a PDF to LaTeX without uploading it anywhere

Most PDF to LaTeX converters run on someone else's server. How deterministic local conversion works in Oleafly, what it can and cannot recover, and when optional AI refine helps.

pdflatexprivacylocal-first

4 min read

Local-first vs cloud LaTeX editors: what you actually trade

Cloud LaTeX editors trade ownership for convenience. Local-first means files on disk, a real research editor, real Git, offline work, and network only for actions you take, plus what still belongs in the browser.

local-firstprivacyresearch-workspaceeditor

4 min read

Stop missing conference deadlines: AoE, abstracts, and countdowns

Why conference deadlines confuse everyone (AoE, abstract registration, moving dates), how the open ccf-deadlines dataset helps, and how to keep a countdown next to the manuscript.

conferencesdeadlines

5 min read

Clinical and grant writing: privacy, trackable drafts, and offline LaTeX

Why medical, public-health, and grant writers care where the draft is stored, and how a local research editor with real Git, offline compile, and no account fits review cycles.

medicinegrantsprivacylocal-first

4 min read

Mathematics students: theorems, proofs, and notation that stays consistent

amsthm styles, lemma numbering, macro hygiene, long derivations, and multi-file habits for pure and applied math writeups.

mathematicsproofsmath

4 min read

Git for research papers: what actually works with coauthors

Ignore rules, chapter ownership, commit messages, private remotes, and how a research workspace with real Git, forks, and AI checkpoints keeps papers recoverable without making Git a second job.

gitcollaborationworkflowlocal-first

4 min read

Research diagrams in TikZ when PowerPoint will not cut it

When to draw pipelines, automata, and commutative diagrams in TeX so they recolor for the journal, stay sharp in print, and live as source in the repo.

tikzfiguresresearch

4 min read

Humanities and long-form: biblatex, footnotes, and chapter books

Footnotes, flexible citations, archival sources, multi-chapter structure, and multi-year ownership for history, literature, philosophy, and classics.

humanitiesbiblatexthesis

4 min read

Your first lab report in LaTeX as an undergrad

From zero to a compiling report: template, equations, figures, references, and a compile path that does not require administering TeX Live by hand.

studentsbeginnerslab-report

4 min read

Structure a graduate thesis in LaTeX before the panic sets in

Front matter, chapter includes, acronyms, university class files, compile speed, and Git history for Master's and PhD students.

thesisgraduateworkflow

4 min read

Engineering students: IEEE and ACM templates without the weekend of pain

Start from the real class file, survive two-column floats and equations, get references right, and version the paper before camera-ready.

engineeringtemplatesieee

4 min read

Economics and social science: regression tables that journals accept

booktabs, threeparttable, siunitx stars, notes under estimates, biblatex habits, and working-paper versioning for econ, poli-sci, and sociology.

economicssocial-sciencetables

4 min read

Biology and life-science papers: figures, multi-panel plates, and coauthors

Practical LaTeX for wet-lab and computational biology: multi-panel figures, resolution, supplements, statistics notation, and collaboration without overwriting each other.

biologyfigurescollaboration

4 min read

Chemistry papers in LaTeX: formulas, schemes, and SI units

Reactions with mhchem, structures, experimental tables, SI units, bibliographies, and private drafts for chemistry and chemical-engineering students.

chemistryresearch

4 min read

Physics theses: equations, units, and multi-file sanity

Notation, siunitx, multi-chapter projects, two-column journal traps, and offline compile habits for physics and astronomy students.

physicsthesismath

4 min read

LaTeX for machine learning papers without the notation mess

Notation sheets, ablation tables, algorithms, figures from training runs, and Git next to the paper from first arXiv draft to camera-ready.

machine-learningresearchmath