# Bring existing work into Oleafly

Import a project archive, convert a document, bring in an arXiv source bundle, or copy a GitHub repository into your library.

Choose **New project → Import a project**, or use **Import** in the library. Oleafly creates a new local project and leaves the original file or repository unchanged.

![Choose Import project from the new-project dialog to start with existing work.](https://cdn.oleafly.com/images/screenshots/desktop/docs/new-project-dark-window-v2.png)

## Choose the route that matches your source

| What you have | Import route | Project you can create |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A complete project folder | **Existing project** (`.zip`) | The archived source, figures, bibliography, and local style files |
| A Word document | **Word document** (`.docx`) | LaTeX, Markdown, or Typst |
| A Markdown document | **Markdown document** (`.md`, `.markdown`) | LaTeX or Typst |
| An HTML document | **HTML document** (`.html`, `.htm`) | LaTeX, Markdown, or Typst |
| A Typst document | **Typst document** (`.typ`) | LaTeX or Markdown |
| An arXiv paper | **arXiv** with an ID or URL | The paper's LaTeX source bundle |
| A GitHub repository | **GitHub** | A local project connected to the repository |
| A PDF without editable source | **Oleafly Tools → PDF converters** | Reconstructed LaTeX, Markdown, or Typst, depending on the tool you choose |

Choose the same authoring format only when Oleafly offers it. To keep a Markdown or Typst file in its original format, start a blank project for that format and add the source file through the [file tree](/docs/files/#adding-existing-files).

## Import a complete project archive

Use a ZIP when you already have a working source tree.

1. Put the main document, figures, bibliography, and local class or style files in one folder. Keep the relative paths used by the source.
2. Compress the folder as a `.zip` file.
3. Choose **Import → Existing project** and select the ZIP.
4. Check the starred main document in the imported file tree.
5. Compile. If the project needs a different LaTeX toolchain, choose it from the compiler menu.

For example, keep `main.tex`, `references.bib`, `sections/method.tex`, and `figures/plot.pdf` together. A source ZIP preserves those relationships. A PDF does not contain the same editable project structure.

If the archive contains more than one likely main document, confirm the correct one through the file menu before compiling.

## Convert Word, Markdown, HTML, or Typst

1. Choose the matching document type in **Import**.
2. Select the file.
3. If Oleafly offers more than one destination, choose the format you want to edit next. LaTeX is marked as the recommended route.
4. Complete Pandoc setup if prompted. Oleafly can use a compatible installation or download its managed version.
5. Open the new project, compile it, and compare it with the original.

Conversions run locally through Pandoc. A Word or HTML import also extracts embedded media into the project so the converted source can refer to it.

Choose the destination for the work ahead:

- **LaTeX** suits journal templates, detailed typesetting, and tagged-PDF workflows.
- **Markdown** suits a lighter source format and broad document conversion.
- **Typst** suits fast compilation and Typst-native templates.

Conversion preserves document structure where the source format exposes it. Word-specific page layouts, custom HTML styling, hand-tuned tables, citations, and complex equations can still need a cleanup pass. Compare headings, lists, tables, equations, links, citations, and image placement before deleting the original.

## Import an arXiv source bundle

Choose **arXiv**, then paste an identifier such as `2401.01234` or an `arxiv.org/abs/...` URL. Oleafly downloads the submitted source bundle and opens it as a LaTeX project.

Use this route when you need the authors' editable source. Use [arXiv to LaTeX](/docs/tools/arxiv-to-latex/) when you want to inspect or save a source archive without starting in the import dialog. An arXiv identifier needs a network connection; a source archive already on disk does not.

Always check the license and the authors' terms before reusing source or figures.

## Import from GitHub

Choose **GitHub** in the import dialog. If needed, connect your account through **Settings → Integrations → GitHub**, then select a repository you can access.

Oleafly creates a local copy in the library. Check its main document and run a compile before editing. [GitHub sync](/docs/github-sync/) explains pulling, committing, and publishing changes after import.

## Reconstruct a PDF

Enable **LaTeX tools** in **Settings → Experimentation**, then choose the tool that matches the output you need:

- [PDF to LaTeX](/docs/tools/pdf-to-latex/) for a LaTeX project or source archive
- [PDF to Markdown](/docs/tools/pdf-to-markdown/) for editable Markdown
- [PDF to Typst](/docs/tools/pdf-to-typst/) for editable Typst

The local PDF pipeline reads the text layer, restores reading order, and extracts figures. In **PDF to LaTeX**, switch to scanned-document mode when the PDF is made of page images. That route uses a compatible local Ollama vision model and supports documents up to 50 pages.

Compare the result with the PDF page by page. Columns, equations, tables, footnotes, and reading order are reconstruction problems, so no PDF conversion should be treated as the original source.

## Add references without importing a manuscript

Import BibTeX, RIS, EndNote XML, or Zotero RDF through [References & citations](/docs/citations/#import-a-whole-reference-library). Link a folder of papers or data as [read-only research context](/docs/linked-folders/) when it should remain outside the project.