texchanges

texchanges is a LaTeX-native track-changes protocol for Overleaf, human reviewers, and AI agents. It keeps changes in plain text, renders Word-like review markup, and resolves the same source into accepted or original output.

Installation

After Texchanges is available in your TeX distribution, install it with the distribution's package manager and load it normally:

\usepackage[review]{texchanges}

For Overleaf projects whose TeX Live version does not include Texchanges, upload texchanges.sty beside the main document. Overleaf updates TeX Live on its own release schedule, so a new CTAN package may take time to appear there.

Overleaf quick start

Upload texchanges.sty beside your main .tex file:

\usepackage[review]{texchanges}

\txreplace{old text}{new text}
\txadd{new text}
\txremove{old text}

Switch review to final to accept pending changes or to original to show the unchanged document.

Structured review

\txdefineauthor[name={Phuc Nguyen},color=orange]{phuc}

\txreplace[
  author=phuc,
  id=R12,
  comment={Clarify this claim.},
  status=pending
]{human-like behavior}{O\&M-aligned behavior}

Change keys are:

• author, a registered author ID.
• id, an optional document-unique change ID.
• comment, an attached reviewer note.
• status, one of pending, accepted, or rejected.

The legacy form \txreplace[Reviewer]{old}{new} remains supported as a visual label. Short aliases \add, \remove, \replace, \highlight, and \comment are installed only when another package has not defined them.

Modes and decisions

Reports

\txlistofchanges
\txlistofchanges[style=summary]
\txlistofchanges[
  style=list,
  title={Open reviewer changes},
  show={added,replaced,commented},
  status={pending},
  author={phuc}
]

Detailed reports need two LaTeX runs. With hyperref, entries link to changes that have an ID. Summary and compact-summary reports group counts by author and change type. Reports are displayed and recorded only in review mode.

Visual customization

Presets are texchanges, default, underlined, bfit, and nocolor.

\usepackage[
  review,
  markup=texchanges,
  addedmarkup=uline,
  deletedmarkup=sout,
  highlightmarkup=background,
  commentmarkup=inline,
  authormarkup=superscript,
  authormarkupposition=right,
  authormarkuptext=id
]{texchanges}

• Added/deleted styles: colored, sout, xout, uline, uuline, uwave, dashuline, dotuline, bf, it, sl, and em where relevant.
• Highlight styles: background, uuline, and uwave.
• Comment styles: inline, todo, margin, footnote, and uwave.
• Author styles: superscript, subscript, brackets, footnote, and none.

Runtime hooks such as \txsetaddedmarkup, \txsetcommentmarkup, \txsetauthormarkup, and the width/auxiliary-file setters are documented in the online API reference.

changes compatibility

Compatibility is opt-in because replacement arguments use the opposite order:

\usepackage[review,compat=changes]{texchanges}

\definechangesauthor[name={Phuc Nguyen},color=orange]{phuc}
\replaced[id=phuc,changeid=R12]{new text}{old text}

Use commandnameprefix=none|ifneeded|always for compatibility commands. Native \txreplace always remains old then new.

Resolve source markup

The standard-library CLI can update statuses or permanently merge markup:

python3 scripts/texchanges_merge.py paper.tex reviewed.tex --accept
python3 scripts/texchanges_merge.py paper.tex final.tex --accept --merge
python3 scripts/texchanges_merge.py paper.tex --reject --id R12 --in-place
python3 scripts/texchanges_merge.py paper.tex --accept --author phuc --dry-run

In-place updates create a .bak file. Interactive mode, nested braces, Unicode, comments, and common verbatim-like environments are supported. Malformed input fails before any file is written.

Automatic latexdiff

examples/automatic-diff/ compares two complete revisions through Overleaf's latexmkrc mechanism. It complements explicit semantic markup.

Development

make check
make example
make doc
make dist
make ctan
make website
make release-check

The suite covers all modes, metadata, reports, styles, compatibility syntax, the CLI, pdfLaTeX, XeLaTeX, LuaLaTeX, and automatic latexdiff.

Limitations

• Complex display math, floats, headings, verbatim content, and some commands should be changed at a larger text boundary or reviewed with latexdiff.
• The merge CLI intentionally skips comments and common verbatim-like environments. Custom verbatim environments require manual review.

Maintained by Phuc Nguyen. Report issues at https://github.com/phucnht/texchanges/issues.

Released under LPPL 1.3c or later. See LICENSE.