Aldine / Self-hosting Overleaf compared
Self-hosting Overleaf: what Community Edition includes, and an alternative
Overleaf is open source (AGPL-3.0) and you can run it on your own server. The open-source self-hosted build is Community Edition. It gives you the LaTeX editor and full project history; commenting, real-time track changes, git integration, single sign-on and sandboxed compiles are in Server Pro, which Overleaf licenses separately. (Server Pro vs. Community Edition, as of October 2026)
Written by the Aldine project, so read it with that in mind. Statements about other products are taken from the linked pages of that product's own documentation. Checked on 12 October 2026.
Community Edition compared with Server Pro
Overleaf publishes the comparison itself. In its table, both editions have the LaTeX editor, full project history, direct access to all user projects, and self-hosting. These rows are marked as Server Pro only: (Server Pro vs. Community Edition, as of October 2026)
- Commenting and real-time track changes
- Git integration
- Single sign-on via SAML 2 and LDAP, and automatic user registration
- Sandboxed compiles
- A private template management system
- The symbol palette
- An optimized version of TeX Live, and early notification of security releases
User management through the admin panel is marked "Limited" for Community Edition. Support for Community Edition comes from the community through GitHub issues; Server Pro includes support from Overleaf. (Server Pro vs. Community Edition, as of October 2026)
Who Community Edition is for. Overleaf states that Community Edition "is intended for use in environments where all users are trusted" and "is not appropriate for scenarios where isolation of users is required". Without sandboxed compiles, a LaTeX compile has read and write access to the container it runs in. (Overleaf repository README, as of October 2026)
What running Community Edition takes
Overleaf calls the Overleaf Toolkit "the recommended way to deploy and manage" Community Edition and Server Pro. (Overleaf docs: using the Toolkit, as of October 2026) The quick start is one clone and two commands run inside it: (Toolkit quick start guide, as of October 2026)
git clone https://github.com/overleaf/toolkit.git ./overleaf-toolkit
bin/init
bin/upbin/init writes three files into config/: overleaf.rc, variables.env and version. You create the first admin account at http://localhost/launchpad. (Toolkit quick start guide, as of October 2026)
- Software. The Toolkit depends on bash and Docker. Overleaf recommends a Debian-based system such as Ubuntu and lists the supported Docker, MongoDB (7.0 and 8.0) and Redis versions. MongoDB and Redis are pulled automatically by Docker Compose, so a running install shows three containers:
sharelatex,mongoandredis. (Overleaf docs: software requirements, as of October 2026) - Hardware. "A minimum base requirement of 2 cores and 3GB memory is required for basic operations with around 5 concurrent users", plus about 1 core and 1 GB for every further 5 to 10 concurrent users. (Overleaf docs: hardware requirements, as of October 2026)
If your users are trusted colleagues and you need the editor and history, this is a reasonable setup.
Community Edition, Server Pro and Aldine side by side
Aldine is a separate open-source project: a self-hosted collaborative LaTeX editor in two containers. The Overleaf columns are taken from the linked Overleaf pages, checked on 12 October 2026. The Aldine column is from its README.
| Aldine | Overleaf Community Edition | Overleaf Server Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Licence and price | AGPL-3.0, free. No paid plan and no hosted service today | AGPL-3.0 (source); free to use (source) | Separately licensed; quote from Overleaf sales, with support from Overleaf (source) |
| Deployment | 2 containers (app and compiler) with one docker compose up -d; flat files, no database required | Overleaf Toolkit; containers sharelatex, mongo, redis (source) | Same Toolkit (source) |
| Real-time editing | Yes (Yjs CRDT), unlimited collaborators | Yes (source) | Yes (source) |
| Comments | Yes: anchored, threaded review comments | No (source) | Yes (source) |
| Track changes | No keystroke-level tracking. Review comments with suggested edits that the author accepts in one click | No (source) | Yes, real-time track changes (source) |
| Git | Every project is a git repository; branches and merge in the UI | No git integration (source) | Git integration since 4.0.1 (source). Overleaf's git documentation states "The Overleaf Git system does not support branching" (source) |
| Remote sync | Push and pull to GitHub, GitLab, Gitea and Forgejo; pull or merge requests from the editor | Overleaf documents GitHub synchronization as "a premium feature for Overleaf Cloud users" (source); it is not in the on-premises comparison | Same as Community Edition (source); with git integration, a clone can be pushed to any remote by hand |
| Single sign-on | OpenID Connect, Google, GitHub, ORCID; email and password | No (source) | SAML 2 and LDAP (source) |
| Compile isolation | Always on: compiler container without network egress, all capabilities dropped, restricted shell-escape | No sandboxed compiles (source) | Sandboxed compiles (source) |
| Zotero | My Library or a group library, whole or one collection, with .bib refresh | Overleaf lists Zotero among the third-party integrations of its cloud platform (source); it is not in the on-premises comparison | Same as Community Edition (source) |
| Templates | 4 built in, plus your own from any git repository | No private template management (source) | Private template management system (source) |
| Maturity | Young: v0.x, first release July 2026 | Overleaf dates from 2011 (source) | Overleaf dates from 2011 (source) |
"Not in the on-premises comparison" means Overleaf's Server Pro vs. Community Edition page does not mention the feature. We found no Overleaf page that states it for either on-premises edition (as of October 2026).
Single sign-on
On a self-hosted Overleaf, single sign-on is part of Server Pro, through SAML 2 or LDAP; the Server Pro configuration section has a page for each. (Overleaf docs: Server Pro only configuration, as of October 2026) On overleaf.com, group SSO is SAML-based and available to administrators of certain group subscriptions. (Overleaf docs: Group SSO FAQs, as of October 2026)
Aldine takes a different route. With AUTH_ENABLED=1 it offers sign-in with Google, GitHub and ORCID, with your own OpenID Connect provider (Keycloak, Authentik, Authelia, Pocket ID), or with email and password. ALDINE_SSO_ONLY=1 switches passwords off, and OIDC_ALLOWED_GROUPS limits sign-in to members of named groups. The recipes are in docs/OIDC.md. Aldine's documentation describes OpenID Connect and these OAuth providers, not SAML or LDAP, so if your institution only offers SAML or LDAP, Server Pro is the documented fit.
Where Community Edition or Server Pro is the better choice
- Maturity. Overleaf dates from 2011. (Overleaf: about, as of October 2026) Aldine is at v0.x and its first release was in July 2026.
- Keystroke-level track changes. Server Pro has real-time track changes. Aldine has review comments with suggested edits, which is a different and smaller feature.
- Templates. overleaf.com hosts a public template gallery for journals, theses, CVs and presentations (Overleaf template gallery, as of October 2026), and Server Pro has a private template system. Aldine ships 4 templates and loads your own from git repositories.
- SAML or LDAP. Server Pro documents both.
- Vendor support. Server Pro comes with support from Overleaf.
- Scale. Aldine supports one app node, scaled vertically.
Where Aldine fits
Aldine is for groups that want the features in the Server Pro column that matter to them (review, git, sign-in with their identity provider, isolated compiles) in a free install that is small enough to understand: two containers, flat files, and projects stored as plain git repositories. Postgres is optional. The trade-offs are those of a young project: releases are still v0.x, review works through comments with suggested edits and not through tracked keystrokes, and the supported setup is a single app node that you run yourself. See limits to know before you rely on it.
The install steps are on self-hosting Aldine with Docker Compose, and git with Overleaf and a git-native alternative goes deeper on version control.
No account, no install. The demo is a shared sandbox and resets every night.
Moving a project across
You do not have to migrate everything to try it. In Overleaf, choose File, then Download, then "Download as source (.zip)". (Overleaf docs: downloading a project, as of October 2026) Drop the ZIP on the Aldine home screen: the root file is detected and the first typeset runs automatically. Aldine can also export a project as a ZIP, so you can move it back.
Common questions
Is Overleaf open source?
Yes. Overleaf's repository describes it as "an open-source online real-time collaborative LaTeX editor", released under the GNU Affero General Public License, version 3. The self-hosted build from that repository is Community Edition; Server Pro is the officially supported version with more features. (Overleaf repository README, as of October 2026)
Does Overleaf Community Edition include git integration and track changes?
No. Overleaf's comparison table marks git integration, real-time track changes and commenting as Server Pro features that are not in Community Edition. (Server Pro vs. Community Edition, as of October 2026)
Does Overleaf Community Edition support single sign-on?
No. "Single sign-on (SSO) via SAML 2 and LDAP" is listed for Server Pro only. (Server Pro vs. Community Edition, as of October 2026)
What does Overleaf Community Edition need to run?
Bash and Docker for the Overleaf Toolkit, plus MongoDB and Redis, which Docker Compose pulls automatically. Overleaf gives a minimum of 2 cores and 3 GB of memory for around 5 concurrent users. (software requirements, as of October 2026) (hardware requirements, as of October 2026)
Can I move a project from Overleaf to Aldine?
Yes. Download the project from Overleaf as a ZIP and drop it on the Aldine home screen. The root file is detected and the first typeset runs automatically.