kpathsea
Provides intelligent file searching and path resolution capabilities for TeX-related files and resources across different system configurations.
Overview
A fundamental library that handles the complex task of locating TeX-related files across different directories and system configurations. Built into the core of modern TeX distributions, it enables:
- Smart file searching that automatically finds required files, fonts, and resources
- Support for relocatable TeX installations through self-locating features
- Flexible path configuration and searching strategies for different file types
- Efficient handling of multiple texmf trees and local/global file hierarchies
This infrastructure component is crucial for maintaining portable and reliable TeX installations across different platforms and environments, particularly in large TeX distributions where files may be scattered across many directories.
Getting Started
The kpathsea package is a library that provides path searching facilities for TeX-related files. It is not a LaTeX package that you include directly in your documents, but rather a component of the TeX Live distribution.
No special setup is required in your LaTeX documents to use the functionality provided by kpathsea, as it works behind the scenes in your TeX distribution.