Directory macros/latex/contrib/chatui

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Preview  •  Install  •  Overleaf  •  Usage  •  Environments  •  Customization  •  Examples  •  Full docs

A LaTeX package for typesetting AI chat transcripts: user/assistant messages, reasoning ("thinking") traces, tool-call traces, and image/file attachments, styled as a **terminal**, **web**, or **desktop** chat UI, in light or dark theme. ## Preview | Web | Terminal (dark) | |---|---| |  |  | | Desktop | Tool-call kinds (cli / code / api) | |---|---| |  |  | More combinations (light/dark per style, attachments, page breaks, custom themes) are in [`examples/`](examples/). ## Install **Quickest:** drop `chatui.sty` next to your `.tex` file. Works anywhere, no path setup needed. **From CTAN**, once published: `tlmgr install chatui` (TeX Live) or via the MiKTeX package manager. **From GitHub**, for the latest version before it hits CTAN, or to track a specific commit: ```sh git clone https://github.com/TechyNilesh/chatui.git ``` Then either copy `chatui.sty` next to your project, or install it into your personal texmf tree so every document on your machine can find it: ```sh mkdir -p "$(kpsewhich -var-value TEXMFHOME)/tex/latex/chatui" cp chatui/chatui.sty "$(kpsewhich -var-value TEXMFHOME)/tex/latex/chatui/" texhash "$(kpsewhich -var-value TEXMFHOME)" # or: mktexlsr ``` (`kpsewhich -var-value TEXMFHOME` prints your personal texmf root, e.g. `~/texmf` on Linux, `~/Library/texmf` on macOS, or `%USERPROFILE%\texmf` on Windows with MiKTeX.) ## Using on Overleaf Overleaf doesn't have a texmf tree you can install into directly, but a single `.sty` file works fine as a project upload: 1. Download [`chatui.sty`](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/TechyNilesh/chatui/main/chatui.sty) (right-click -> Save As, or `curl -O` it). 2. In your Overleaf project, click **New File -> Upload** (or drag and drop) and add `chatui.sty` to the project root, the same folder as your main `.tex` file. 3. Use it exactly as documented: `\usepackage[style=web]{chatui}`. No further setup needed. Overleaf finds any `.sty` file sitting next to your document automatically. Once `chatui` is accepted on CTAN, Overleaf will eventually pick it up through its own periodic TeX Live sync, and `\usepackage{chatui}` will work without uploading anything. That sync isn't instant though, so the manual upload above is the reliable path in the meantime. ## Usage ```latex \usepackage[style=web]{chatui} % style = terminal | web | desktop \begin{chatconversation}[chat.example.com] \begin{chatuser}[John Doe] How do I show tool calls in a LaTeX paper? \end{chatuser} \begin{chatthinking} \tstep{User wants a reusable way to render tool-call traces.} \tstep{A titled box with a monospace body fits best.} \end{chatthinking} \begin{chattool}{web_search} \toolargs{query="latex tool call trace package"} \toolresult{3 results found.} \end{chattool} \begin{chatassistant} Use the \texttt{chattool} environment: it renders a titled box with a status glyph, plus \texttt{\textbackslash toolargs} and \texttt{\textbackslash toolresult} helpers. \end{chatassistant} \end{chatconversation} ``` ## Environments | Environment | Purpose | |---|---| | `chatconversation[title]` | Outer window chrome (terminal bar / browser bar / macOS title bar) | | `chatuser[name]` | User message bubble | | `chatassistant[name]` | Assistant message bubble | | `chatthinking[title][mode]` | Reasoning/thinking trace box. `mode` = `steps` (default, use `\tstep{...}` per bullet) \| `paragraph` (plain upright prose). | | `chattool[status][kind]{name}` | Tool-call trace box. `status` = `ok` \| `error` \| `running`. `kind` = `api` (default, "tool: name" chip) \| `cli` (shell-style "$ name") \| `code` (function-call style "

</> name"). Use \toolargs{...}, \toolresult{...}, and \tooljson{...} inside. |

\chatimage[width]{path} and \chatfile{name}{size}: use inside chatuser/chatassistant (or standalone) to show an attached image or file. \chatimage clips to the bubble's own corner radius; \chatfile renders a small bordered chip with a document icon, filename, and size. See examples/x-tool-kinds/example-attachments.tex.

Package options

• style: terminal (monospace, shell-prompt look), web (rounded chat bubbles + browser chrome, default), or desktop (macOS-style window with traffic-light dots).
• theme: auto (default: terminal is dark, web/desktop are light), light, or dark. Dark mode uses the same palette across all three styles.

Customizing colors

Every color is a plain xcolor name, redefine any of them after loading the package, with a named color, a mix, or a raw hex code:

\usepackage[style=web]{chatui}
\colorlet{chatuiUserBg}{teal}                    % named xcolor
\colorlet{chatuiAssistantBg}{gray!10}             % mixed
\definecolor{chatuiToolAccent}{HTML}{7C5CFC}      % raw hex

Available: chatuiUserBg/Fg, chatuiAssistantBg/Fg/Border, chatuiThinkBg/Border/Fg, chatuiToolBg/Border/Accent, chatuiOk, chatuiErr, chatuiWarn (status glyphs and chattool accents), plus the window-chrome colors chatuiAppBg/Text/Chrome/ChromeText, chatuiAppPillBg/Border/Text (web/desktop) and the chatuiTerm* family (terminal style). See examples/x-tool-kinds/example-custom-theme.tex for a worked example.

Customizing fonts

Two hooks control every font family in the package. Redefine them after \usepackage (and after loading any font package you want to use):

\usepackage{fourier}                                % example serif font
\renewcommand{\chatuiFontSans}{\rmfamily}            % web/desktop bubbles, prose
\renewcommand{\chatuiFontMono}{\ttfamily}            % terminal + tool/code text

Only sizing (\small, \scriptsize) is fixed internally, tuned to each box's proportions; the family is entirely yours to swap.

Long conversations and page breaks

The outer chatconversation window is breakable and splits cleanly across pages: the chrome (title bar, dots) only draws once, on the first page, and the border/background continue seamlessly on later pages. Individual messages, reasoning boxes, and tool calls are each a single atomic unit (they don't break mid-box), so a page break always falls between two messages, never through the middle of one, matching how a real chat UI never splits a single message bubble. A message far longer than a full page is an unsupported edge case. See examples/x-tool-kinds/example-long-conversation.tex.

Examples

Organized by style under examples/:

examples/
  desktop/       example-desktop-light.tex, example-desktop-dark.tex
  terminal/      example-terminal-light.tex, example-terminal-dark.tex
  web/           example-web-light.tex, example-web-dark.tex
  x-tool-kinds/  example-tool-kinds.tex  (cli/code/api tool calls, JSON, reasoning modes)

Dark theme uses the same palette across all three styles. Pass theme=dark explicitly, or leave theme unset with style=terminal (terminal defaults to dark; web/desktop default to light).

Each .tex file has a matching .pdf already built alongside it. To recompile one yourself, point TEXINPUTS two levels up so pdflatex can find chatui.sty:

cd examples/web
TEXINPUTS=../..: pdflatex example-web-light.tex

Requirements

tcolorbox ([most] libraries), tikz, etoolbox, kvoptions, xcolor, pifont. All standard, on any full TeX Live / MiKTeX install.

Citation

If chatui is useful in a paper, report, or other published work, please cite it:

@software{chatui2026,
  author  = {Verma, Nilesh},
  title   = {{chatui}: A LaTeX Package for Typesetting AI Chat Transcripts},
  year    = {2026},
  version = {1.0.0},
  url     = {https://github.com/TechyNilesh/chatui},
  note    = {LaTeX Project Public License (LPPL) 1.3c}
}

A machine-readable citation is also available in CITATION.cff (GitHub surfaces this automatically via the "Cite this repository" button).

License

LPPL 1.3c. See LICENSE.