---
title: Quick Start
description: From zero to PDF in two commands.
order: 3
---
# Quick Start
## New project
```bash
texforge new my-thesis
cd my-thesis
texforge build
```
That's it: `my-thesis.pdf` is ready in the project root. On the very first build texforge
downloads Tectonic (the LaTeX engine) automatically — no TeX distribution
needed.
## Interactive wizard
If you prefer a guided flow, `texforge init` auto-detects the context:
- If a `.tex` file with `\documentclass` is found in the current
directory, it **migrates the existing project**: asks for title and
author and generates `project.toml`.
- Otherwise it **guides the creation of a new project**: asks for name
and template.
```bash
# Existing LaTeX project
cd my-existing-thesis/
texforge init
# Empty directory
mkdir my-new-doc && cd my-new-doc
texforge init
```
## The everyday loop
```bash
texforge check # lint: missing files, broken refs, unclosed envs
texforge fmt # normalize formatting
texforge build # compile to <title>.pdf in the project root
texforge build --watch # rebuild automatically while you edit
```
## Project layout
A texforge project is a regular LaTeX project plus a `project.toml`
manifest:
```
my-thesis/
├── project.toml # document metadata and build entry point
├── main.tex
├── sections/ # chapters, sections (depends on template)
├── bib/ # bibliography (depends on template)
└── my-thesis.pdf # generated by texforge build
```
See [Configuration](configuration.md) for the `project.toml` format and
[Templates](templates.md) for the available starting points.