pdftex(1) General Commands Manual pdftex(1)
NAME
pdftex, pdfetex - PDF output from TeX
SYNOPSIS
pdftex [options] [&format] [ file [ more-input ] | [ \more-input ]
DESCRIPTION
Run the pdfTeX typesetter on file[.tex], usually creating file.pdf. If
the file argument has no extension, ".tex" will be appended to it. See
tex(1) for details of command-line parsing.
pdfTeX is a descendant of TeX that can create pdf files directly as
well as dvi files (determined by the value of the \pdfoutput primitive
parameter). It includes the etex(1) extensions, and adds many more
extensions of its own. In dvi mode, pdfTeX can be used as an upward-
compatible replacement for the TeX engine.
The typical use of pdfTeX is with pregenerated TeX formats (.fmt
files), usually with pdf output enabled. For example, the pdftex
command uses the plain TeX format, and the pdflatex(1) command uses the
LaTeX format. As described in etex(1), the e-TeX extensions are
enabled when building the .fmt file.
Image formats supported
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; you can convert them to pdf using, for
example, epstopdf(1). The PostScript files output by mpost(1), which
are highly restricted in their use of PostScript, can be handled
directly using the supp-pdf.tex macros, or converted to pdf with
mptopdf(1).
Program variants
Starting with version 1.40 (around 2007), pdfTeX incorporated the e-TeX
extensions, and the pdfetex and etex executables became symlinks to the
pdftex binary. The etex executable generates dvi files by default;
pdfetex has the same behavior as pdftex.
Both engine and driver
When generating pdf output, pdfTeX must have all necessary font and
device information and thus is acting like a device driver with dvi
output, similar to, say, dvips(1). Therefore there are various
primitives to specify the device information, such as the height,
width, resolution, and so forth. Also, pdfTeX reads glyph information
for the fonts used, e.g., from Type 1 or PK bitmap files. pdfTeX also
supports TrueType fonts, but it's necessary to define an encoding
before using them (see references). OpenType fonts are not supported.
OPTIONS
For the common TeX command-line options and handling, see tex(1). The
following pdfTeX-specific options are also supported:
-draftmode
Enabled \pdfdraftmode, in which pdfTeX doesn't write a pdf and
doesn't read any included images, thus speeding up execution.
-etex Enable the e-TeX extensions. This option is only effective in
combination with -ini. It is typically enabled implicitly, with
a leading "*" on the format initialization file, as described in
etex(1).
-output-format format
Set the output format mode; format must be either ``pdf'' or
``dvi''.
-synctex number
generate SyncTeX data for previewers according to bits of
number. See synctex(1).
ENVIRONMENT
See tex(1). Also, this environment variable is specific to pdfTeX:
TEXMF_DEBUG_PNG_COPY
If set to "1", pdfTeX reports various attributes of each png
image, including whether the image is copied. This is useful
when a document uses numerous png images, since reencoding
(instead of copying) can take considerable time. See the
Graphics chapter in the pdfTeX manual for more information.
Also, these environment variables are considered for all engines except
original TeX:
SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH
If set, its value, taken to be in epoch-seconds, will be used
for the timestamps in the PDF output, such as the CreationDate
and ModDate keys. This is useful for making reproducible
builds.
FORCE_SOURCE_DATE
If set to the value "1", the time-related TeX primitives (\year,
\month, \day, \time) are also initialized from the value of
SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH. This is not recommended if there is any
viable alternative.
pdfTeX also has several primitives to support reproducible
builds; see the manual.
FILES
See tex(1). Also:
$TEXMFMAIN/tex/plain/config/etex.ini
The driver file that builds the plain format files for pdfTeX,
pdftex.fmt and pdfetex.fmt, in TeX Live.
$TEXMFMAIN/tex/plain/config/pdftexmagfix.tex
Make \magnification work as expected under pdfTeX. Included in
the format files.
$TEXMFMAIN/tex/generic/tex-ini-files/pdftexconfig.tex
Define shared pdf settings, such as the default pdf version, the
pdf height and width, etc.
$TEXMF[SYS]CONFIG/tex/generic/tex-ini-files/pdftexconfig.tex
The installation-specific version of the above (in TeX Live),
since the default paper size is defined by the installation.
$TEXMF[SYS]VAR/fonts/map/pdftex/updmap/pdftex.map
Mapping of tfm files to Type 1 fonts; generally maintained
automatically in TeX Live.
BUGS
See tex(1).
SEE ALSO
epstopdf(1), etex(1), luatex(1), mptopdf(1), tex(1).
Micro-typographic extensions to the TeX typesetting system, by Han The
Thanh (thesis describing the major new typesetting feature in pdfTeX):
https://tug.org/TUGboat/tb21-4/
A closer look at TrueType fonts and pdfTeX, by Han The Thanh (on using
TrueType fonts with TeX): https://tug.org/TUGboat/tb30-1/tb94thanh.pdf
pdfTeX home page: https://www.pdftex.org
Package page on CTAN: https://ctan.org/pkg/pdftex
pdfTeX manual:
https://mirror.ctan.org/systems/doc/pdftex/manual/pdftex-a.pdf
Web2c manual: https://tug.org/web2c
Kpathsea manual: https://tug.org/kpathsea
Sources for the TeX-world literate programs, as pdf:
https://ctan.org/pkg/knuth-pdf
AUTHORS
TeX was created by Donald E. Knuth. The primary author of the pdfTeX
enhancements is Han The Thanh, with major contributions from Petr
Sojka, Jiri Zlatuska, and Peter Breitenlohner (e-TeX).
Public discussion list for pdfTeX-specific issues:
https://lists.tug.org/pdftex
Public discussion list for TeX Live: https://lists.tug.org/tex-live
Public discussion list for all things TeX (and LaTeX):
https://lists.tug.org/texhax
Web2C 2026 14 February 2026 pdftex(1)
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