MIKTEX-PDFTEX(1)

📦 version 25.12, in nixos 26.05, nixpkgs unstable

✨ miktex-pdftex ✨

okay so real talk: this is the MIKTEX-PDFTEX(1) page, straight out of the User Commands section — the manual for miktex-pdftex, the MiKTeX build of pdfTeX. it's a lot of options, but like, so is your skincare routine, and you handle that fine. let's go 💅

🌸 NAME 🌸

miktex-pdftex — DVI/PDF output from TeX. that's it, that's the whole job, and it ate 💖

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

miktex-pdftex [option...] [[file] | [\command...]]

💜 DESCRIPTION 💜

ngl, this man page is an adaption of the corresponding TeX Live man page. so credit where credit is due 🫶

so you run the pdfTeX typesetter on file, and it usually creates file.pdf. if the file argument has no extension, .tex gets appended to it — the tool just assumes, lowkey helpful. 🎀

instead of a file name, you can hand it a set of pdfTeX commands, and the first of those must start with a backslash \. no exceptions, that's the rule.

with a &format argument, pdfTeX uses a different set of precompiled commands, contained in format.fmt — but honestly it's usually better to use the --undump=format option instead. iykyk.

pdfTeX is a version of TeX, with the eTeX extensions, that can create PDF files as well as DVI files. two icons, one engine. ⭐

in DVI mode, pdfTeX can be used as a complete replacement for the TeX engine. periodt.

the typical use of pdfTeX is with pregenerated formats for which PDF output has been enabled. the miktex-pdftex command uses the equivalent of the plain TeX format, and the miktex-pdflatex command uses the equivalent of the LaTeX format. want to generate formats yourself? use the --initialize switch. 🔥

in PDF mode, pdfTeX can natively handle the PDF, JPG, JBIG2 and PNG graphics formats. it cannot include PostScript or Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) graphics files — first convert them to PDF using miktex-epstopdf(1), no cap. pdfTeX's handling of its command-line arguments is similar to that of the other TeX programs in the MiKTeX implementation.

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

so many options. all iconic, none skippable. 💅

  • --alias=name — pretend to be program name, i.e. set the program (and memory dump) name to name. this may affect the search paths and other values used. using this option is equivalent to copying the program file to name and invoking name.
  • --aux-directory=dir — set dir as the directory to which auxiliary files are written. also look for input files in dir first, before along the normal search path.
  • --buf-size=n — set the maximum number of characters simultaneously present in current lines of open files and in control sequences between \csname and \endcsname. TeX uses the buffer to contain input lines, but macro expansion works by writing material into the buffer and reparsing the line. as a consequence, certain constructs require the buffer to be very large, even though most documents can be handled with a small value. 😭
  • --c-style-errors — change the way error messages are printed. the alternate style looks like error messages from many compilers and is easier to parse for some editors.
  • --disable-8bit-chars — make only 7-bit characters printable.
  • --disable-installer — disable automatic installation of packages. specifying this option overrules settings in the MiKTeX configuration data store.
  • --disable-write18 — disable the \write18{command} construct.
  • --dont-parse-first-line — disable checking whether the first line of the main input file starts with %&.
  • --draftmode — sets \pdfdraftmode so it doesn't write a PDF and doesn't read any included images, thus speeding up execution. speedrun vibes 🏃‍♀️
  • --enable-8bit-chars — make all characters printable.
  • --enable-enctex — enable encTeX extensions such as \mubyte.
  • --enable-etex — enable eTeX extensions.
  • --enable-installer — enable automatic installation of packages. specifying this option overrules settings in the MiKTeX configuration data store.
  • --enable-mltex — enable MLTeX extensions such as \charsubdef.
  • --enable-write18 — fully enable the \write18{command} construct. it's only partially enabled by default to avoid security problems. when fully enabled, the command (which undergoes the usual TeX expansions) is passed to the command interpreter. the output of the command is not diverted anywhere, so it will not appear in the log file. the command execution either happens at \output time or right away, according to the absence or presence of the \immediate prefix.
  • --error-line=n — set the width of context lines on terminal error messages.
  • --extra-mem-bot=n — set the extra size (in memory words) for large data structures like boxes, glue, breakpoints, et al. relevant only after the memory dump file has been read.
  • --extra-mem-top=n — set the extra size (in memory words) for chars, tokens, et al. relevant only after the memory dump file has been read.
  • --font-max=n — set the maximum internal font number.
  • --font-mem-size=n — set the size, in TeX memory words, of the font memory.
  • --half-error-line=n — set the width of first lines of contexts in terminal error messages.
  • --halt-on-error — quit after the first error. dramatic, but valid 💀
  • --hash-extra=n — set the extra space for the hash table of control sequences (which allows 10K names as distributed).
  • --help — give help and exit.
  • --hhelp — this option is only available on Windows systems: show the manual page in an HTML Help window and exit when the window is closed.
  • --include-directory=dir — add the directory dir to the head of the list of directories to be searched for input files.
  • --initialize — become the INI variant of the program.
  • --interaction=mode — set the interaction mode. must be one of batchmode, scrollmode and errorstopmode. the meaning of these modes is the same as the corresponding commands.
  • --job-name=name — set the name of the job (\jobname). this has an affect on the output file names.
  • --job-time=file — set the time-stamp of all output files equal to
  • --main-memory=n — change the total size (in memory words) of the main memory array. relevant only while creating memory dump files.
  • --max-in-open=n — set the maximum number of input files and error insertions that can be going on simultaneously.
  • --max-print-line=n — set the width of longest text lines output; should be at least 60.
  • --max-strings=n — set the maximum number of strings.
  • --nest-size=n — set the maximum number of semantic levels simultaneously active.
  • --no-c-style-errors — don't change the way error messages are printed.
  • --output-directory=dir — write output files in dir instead of the current directory. look up input files in dir first, then along the normal search path.
  • --output-format=format — set the output format mode, where format must be either dvi or pdf. this also influences the set of graphics formats understood by pdfTeX.
  • --param-size=n — set the maximum number of simultaneous macro parameters.
  • --parse-first-line — check whether the first line of the main input file starts with %&, and parse if it does. this can be used to specify extra command-line options.
  • --pool-free=n — set the minimum pool space left after loading the format.
  • --pool-size=n — set the maximum number of characters in strings, including all error messages and help texts, and the names of all fonts and control sequences.
  • --quiet — suppress all output, except errors. 🤫
  • --record-package-usages=file — record all package usages and write them into file.
  • --recorder — enable the file name recorder. this leaves a trace of the files opened for input and output in a file with the extension .fls.
  • --restrict-write18 — partially enable the \write18{command} construct.
  • --save-size=n — set the amount of space for saving values outside of current group.
  • --src-specials — embed source file information (source specials) in the file.
  • --stack-size=n — set the maximum number of simultaneous input sources.
  • --string-vacancies=n — set the minimum number of characters that should be available for the user's control sequences and font names, after the compiler's own error messages are stored. must be at least 25000 less than pool_size, but doesn't need to be nearly that large.
  • --synctex=n — generate SyncTeX data for previewers. if n is zero, no .synctex file is created. if n is negative, the .synctex file is a text file. if n is positive, the .synctex file is compressed with gzip and the .gz file name extension is added. furthermore, n is interpreted as a bit field:
    • Bit 1 (n AND 2) — don't add the .gz file name extension.
    • Bit 2 (n AND 4) — activate form support.
    • Bit 3 (n AND 8) — activate better compression.
  • --tcx=tcxname — use the tcxname translation table to set the mapping of input characters and re-mapping of output characters.
  • --time-statistics — show processing time statistics. ⏱️
  • --trace[=tracestreams] — enable trace messages. the tracestreams argument, if specified, is a comma-separated list of trace stream names (Chapter 9, Trace Streams).
  • --trie-size=n — set the amount of space for hyphenation patterns.
  • --undump=name — use name as the name of the format to be used, instead of the name by which the program was called or a %& line.
  • --version — show version information and exit.

🧚 FILES 🧚

🌈 ENVIRONMENT 🌈

  • MIKTEX_EDITOR — the editor to use when selecting e in the error prompt menu. the value can contain these placesholder:
    • %f — the name of the file, which contains the erroneous line of TeX code.
    • %l — the line number.
  • MIKTEX_TRACE — comma-separated list of trace stream names (see Chapter 9, Trace Streams). if this variable is set, then MiKTeX programs will write trace messages into the configured log sink.
  • TEXINPUTS — extra paths to locate TeX \input and \openin files.
  • TEXINPUTS — extra paths to locate TeX \input and \openin files. (yep, it's listed twice in the original. we don't make the rules, we just report them 🙈)
  • TFMFONTS — extra paths to locate TeX font metric files

⭐ SEE ALSO ⭐

  • miktex-epstopdf(1)

the full pdfTeX manual can be accessed from the home page or CTAN page. go read it bestie, it's giving main character energy 👑

so that's the whole page 💖 it's MiKTeX 25.12, dated December 29, 2025 — the MIKTEX-PDFTEX(1) manual, rewritten with love, zero facts dropped, all vibes intact. now go compile something gorgeous 🦋✨

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