How to Find Documentation for a Specific TikZ Command or Library on tikz.dev

On tikz.dev, the fastest route to a specific command is the Quick Links row near the top of the manual page: it lists \node, \fill, \draw, \foreach, plus concepts such as color, circle, arc, grid, rectangle, label, edge, anchor, and clip, each linking straight to its section. For a library, scan the chapter list further down the page, where libraries are grouped by topic (for example Circuit, Automata, Calendar, Mindmap, Petri-Net, Shadings, and Graph Drawing). Use the Quick Links when you already know the command name; use the chapter structure when you know the task but not the command.

Starting from a command name

The Quick Links are the manual's own shortcut index, so they reflect how the documentation is organized rather than a separate search tool.

1. Open the manual page and locate the Quick Links line under the heading.
2. Find your command or concept in the list.
3. Follow the link to land in the corresponding section of the HTML manual.

Expected result: you arrive at the section that defines the command, with its syntax and options. If a command is not in Quick Links, it is usually covered inside a broader chapter, so move to the table of contents.

Starting from a library or a task

Libraries appear as their own chapters in the manual's contents, named after what they draw or do. The page lists, among others:

Open the chapter, then use its internal headings to reach the exact environment or key.

Using the tutorials when you do not know the command

If you know the picture you want but not the syntax, the manual's tutorials are the intended entry point. The documentation states that the tutorials teach almost everything you need without reading the rest of the manual. They are listed as:

• Tutorial: A Picture for Karl's Students
• Tutorial: A Petri-Net for Hagen
• Tutorial: Euclid's Elements
• Tutorial: Diagrams as Simple Graphs

Each tutorial builds a complete picture step by step, so a command you see there can be traced back to its reference section. For example, if you need to draw a simple line, the manual's own illustration is \tikz \draw (0pt,0pt) -- (20pt,6pt);, and filling a circle is shown as \tikz \fill[orange] (1ex,1ex) circle ... — both point you to the \draw and \fill entries in Quick Links.

Practical tips and common sticking points

• Version matters. The page identifies the manual as updated 2026-10-09 for Version 3.1.12, and notes it is an unofficial HTML version produced with the lwarp package, maintained by Dominik Peters, with Till Tantau as editor of the PGF/TikZ documentation. If a command behaves differently from what you expect, check that the section you are reading matches your installed version.
• Command vs. concept. Quick Links mix commands (\node, \draw) with concepts (anchor, clip, label). If a link takes you to a conceptual section, the concrete syntax is usually nearby in the same chapter.
• Libraries must be loaded. A library chapter documents what the library provides; the manual's library chapters are the place to confirm the library name before adding it to your document.
• When a search fails. Fall back to the table of contents and read chapter titles as task descriptions — the manual is organized by what you draw, so "Circuit Library" or "Calendar Library" is often faster than guessing a command name.

The manual runs to over a thousand pages, and the documentation itself notes that the wealth of options can be daunting to beginners — which is why the Quick Links and the slow-paced tutorials exist as the two intended ways in.