How Typst Works for Writing and Formatting Documents
Typst is a document preparation system that separates what you write from how it looks. You write content as structured markup, and the compiler handles formatting automatically. This suits anyone who wants consistent, reproducible documents—reports, theses, papers, presentations, invoices—without manually adjusting layout each time. The core compiler is open source, and the hosted app at typst.app adds templates, collaboration, and export.
Write content as markup, not layout
Instead of dragging text boxes or setting margins by hand, you describe structure. Headings, lists, figures, and equations have their own syntax, and Typst applies formatting rules on top.
A heading is written with an equals sign:
= Introduction
A bullet list uses dashes:
- First point
- Second point
A figure with an image and caption:
#figure(
image("a-mail.svg"),
caption: [Visualization of the FTL Earth-to-Mars comms capabilities enabled by A-Mail.],
)
The point is that you never position the caption or size the image manually—the system does it. Change the template or document class later, and everything reformats.
Templates and automatic formatting
You have three starting paths:
- Pick an existing template (the site shows examples like an internal report, a scientific journal article, and a colorful newsletter).
- Create your own template.
- Just start writing with no template.
In all cases, formatting happens automatically. This is what makes Typst practical for repeated document types: define the structure once, reuse it.
Content types supported out of the box
Typst handles common document needs without extra packages, and lets you build the rest:
- Visualizations — Gantt charts, arrow diagrams, and similar graphics.
- Equations — complex math typesets cleanly, which matters for lecture notes and papers.
- References — citations and bibliographies for theses and academic work.
- Semantic organization — structure large works like books and apply automatic formatting.
The site lists concrete use cases: specifications, reports, theses, presentations, papers, lecture notes, transactional documents, books, CVs, letters, invoices, proposals, and websites (in preview).
Export without touching your markup
Once written, you export the same source to different outputs:
- Image
- Website (in preview)
The key detail: you don't edit the markup to change the output format. The same document produces a print PDF and a web page.
Who is already using it
According to the site, members of over 3,500 universities and laboratories and over 1,000 businesses use Typst. The compiler itself is developed in the open with the community.
Deciding whether it fits
Choose Typst if you want structured writing, automatic formatting, and one source that exports to multiple formats—especially for documents you produce repeatedly from templates or machine-readable data. If your work depends on pixel-level manual layout control, the markup-first model will feel indirect. Pricing and plan details are available on the Typst pricing page; check there for current terms rather than assuming access conditions.