Overleaf CLI (olcli)

Sync and manage Overleaf LaTeX projects from the command line. Pull projects locally, push changes back, compile PDFs, and download compile outputs like .bbl...

Overleaf Skill

Manage Overleaf LaTeX projects via the olcli CLI.

Installation

# Homebrew (recommended)
brew tap aloth/tap && brew install olcli

# npm
npm install -g @aloth/olcli

Authentication

Get your session cookie from Overleaf:

1. Log into overleaf.com
2. Open DevTools (F12) → Application → Cookies
3. Copy the value of overleaf_session2

olcli auth --cookie "YOUR_SESSION_COOKIE"

Verify with:

olcli whoami

Common Workflows

Pull a project to work locally

olcli pull "My Paper"
cd My_Paper/

Edit and sync changes

# After editing files locally
olcli push              # Upload changes only
olcli sync              # Bidirectional sync (pull + push)

Compile and download PDF

olcli pdf                      # Compile and download
olcli pdf -o paper.pdf         # Custom output name
olcli compile                  # Just compile (no download)

Download .bbl for arXiv submission

olcli output bbl               # Download compiled .bbl
olcli output bbl -o main.bbl   # Custom filename
olcli output --list            # List all available outputs

Commands Reference

Command	Description
olcli auth --cookie <value>	Authenticate with session cookie
olcli whoami	Check authentication status
olcli list	List all projects
olcli info [project]	Show project details
olcli pull [project] [dir]	Download project files
olcli push [dir]	Upload local changes
olcli sync [dir]	Bidirectional sync
olcli upload <file>	Upload a single file
olcli download <file>	Download a single file
olcli zip [project]	Download as zip archive
olcli compile [project]	Trigger compilation
olcli pdf [project]	Compile and download PDF
olcli output [type]	Download compile outputs

Tips

• Auto-detect project: Run commands from a synced directory (contains .olcli.json) to skip the project argument
• Dry run: Use olcli push --dry-run to preview changes before uploading
• Force overwrite: Use olcli pull --force to overwrite local changes
• Project ID: You can use project ID instead of name (24-char hex from URL)

Troubleshooting

Session expired

Get a fresh cookie from the browser and run olcli auth again.

Compilation fails

Check the Overleaf web editor for detailed error logs.

Links

• GitHub
• npm