The people behind TeX, LaTeX, and TeX Live

The TeX Users Group (TUG) is a small, member-funded nonprofit that keeps a decades-old typesetting system usable, current, and free. If you've ever opened a paper, thesis, or book with crisp mathematics and even, hand-set looking type, there's a decent chance TeX did the setting — and TUG keeps the lights on for the people who maintain it.

TUG doesn't sell anything. It funds and coordinates the free software most of the TeX and LaTeX world runs on, publishes the field's journal, and holds an annual conference. Membership dues, not investors, pay for all of it.

What TUG actually does

Three things, mostly. It coordinates TeX Live, the free distribution most people install to get a working TeX system on Linux, Windows, or macOS. It publishes TUGboat, a journal of tutorials and technical articles that has run since the group's founding. And it organises the group's annual conference, usually alongside sister user groups from other countries.

Who it's for

Anyone using TeX, LaTeX, or Metafont — or just curious about good typography and how to get a computer to do it well. You don't need to be an academic or a programmer. See what TeX is if you're new to it, or go straight to joining or supporting TUG.