How to Install MiKTeX on Windows 11: LaTeX Setup, First Compile and Troubleshooting

This guide covers the Windows install, the choices that matter, a first compile, and the fixes for the usual snags.

What the installer options look like​

MiKTeX's download page, as it currently reads, lists several Windows options:

• Basic Installer (64-bit): The Basic MiKTeX Installer is what you use to install MiKTeX on Windows. The download page lists it as basic-miktex-25.12-x64.exe, dated 31 December 2025 and about 142 MB.
• Net Installer (64-bit): It downloads all packages and installs a complete system. The page lists it as dated 6 October 2023, about 24.5 MB.
• MiKTeX Setup Utility: A command-line tool for downloading, installing and removing MiKTeX. It suits unattended setups. MiKTeX recommends it for deploying to many client computers.
• Portable edition: There is no separate installer. You download the standard installer and rename it miktex-portable.exe. This lets you run MiKTeX from a portable storage device.

These are the page's listings as retrieved, not a claim about any other date. MiKTeX's prerequisites page lists Windows 11 (x64 only) for Windows support. Check that before you install on older machines.

The macOS image on the same page is version 22.1 for x86_64, dated February 2022. Mac users should not assume it is the newest option available.

Install MiKTeX on Windows, step by step​

MiKTeX's install how-to describes the Basic Installer wizard like this:

1. Download and double-click the Basic MiKTeX Installer from the official download page. The how-to notes the Basic Installer suits computers connected to the internet, because MiKTeX can install missing packages automatically.
2. Accept the copying conditions. Read them, tick I accept the MiKTeX copying conditions, then click Next.
3. Choose the installation scope. If you have administrator privileges, you can pick a private (per-user) or shared (system-wide) installation. MiKTeX highly recommends private. Shared installs need admin rights, and MiKTeX warns that maintaining one can become complicated and error-prone.
4. Pick the install directory. The default is fine, or you can specify another location.
5. Set the paper size and package behaviour. The installer asks for your preferred paper size and what the integrated package installer should do:
   • Ask me first confirms each required package before installing it.
   • Always installs required packages without asking.
   • Never disallows installing missing packages.
   MiKTeX says all of these can be changed later.
6. Review, then click Start. The install takes a few minutes. Click Next at the end, then Close.
7. Open MiKTeX Console and check for updates. MiKTeX recommends this right after installation. Click Updates, then Check for Updates, then Update now.

Choosing the package setting​

Journal templates routinely load packages you haven't installed yet. With Never, MiKTeX will not fetch them, and the compile fails on the first missing one.

For an internet-connected machine compiling an unfamiliar template, Ask me first is a reasonable choice. It lets packages arrive while keeping you in charge of what gets installed. Always is also reasonable if you don't want the prompts. This is editorial advice, not a MiKTeX requirement.

You can change the setting later in MiKTeX Console under Settings > General. The options there are Ask me, Always install missing packages on-the-fly and Never install missing packages on-the-fly.

Your first compile​

MiKTeX doesn't give you a writing window, so you need an editor. TeXworks, TeXstudio and VS Code with a LaTeX extension are common choices. Open your .tex file in the editor and use its build or compile command. The exact button or shortcut depends on the editor, so check its own documentation.

A successful compile leaves a PDF next to your source file. Compiler messages appear in the editor's log or issues view. If the package setting is Ask me first, a missing package makes MiKTeX show a prompt before it installs anything.

Compiler output also goes to log files. MiKTeX's FAQ says the executables write .log files and that MiKTeX Console can tell you where the log directory is.

Private or shared: don't confuse the scope with the mode​

MiKTeX Console starts in user mode by default, working on your private configuration. With a system-wide install, the Console asks you to switch or confirm the mode:

• Administrator mode restarts the Console with elevated privileges. You can then change the system-wide part of the installation.
• User mode keeps you working on the private part.

So a shared install can still be managed in user mode. System-wide changes need administrator mode.

Troubleshooting​

A class or style file you added yourself isn't found. MiKTeX keeps a file-location cache, so it won't see manually added files until you refresh it.

1. In MiKTeX Console, open Settings > Directories.
2. Click Add and select your user-managed TEXMF root folder.
3. Open the Tasks menu and click Refresh file name database.

MiKTeX's FAQ suggests a layout for your own files. Copy .cls and .sty files into tex/latex/mystuff under a new TEXMF root, then register that root in the Console.

Packages aren't installing on the fly. Check Settings > General. If it is set to Never, change it to Ask me or Always.

A package is "unknown". The FAQ gives two possible reasons. It may be a new package the MiKTeX maintainers don't know about yet. Or its licence may not meet the Debian Free Software Guidelines, so it isn't in the repository.

Packages feel stale. Run Updates > Check for Updates > Update now in the Console.

You want everything installed up front. The FAQ describes a manual route. Open Console, go to Packages, select all uninstalled packages and click the add button.

Other notes​

• MiKTeX's FAQ says MiKTeX and TeX Live can coexist if their bin directories are distinct. On Windows, MiKTeX says this is usually not an issue.
• If you would rather install nothing, a browser-based LaTeX service avoids the local setup. It is a different workflow, and this guide doesn't compare services.
• The submitted guide's Linux details are outside this Windows walkthrough. MiKTeX's download page covers them, including the AutoInstall configuration setting.

Bottom line​

On Windows, download the Basic Installer from miktex.org and choose a private install. Set package installation to Ask me first or Always, then update in MiKTeX Console. Compile from an editor and check the log or issues view if it fails. If your own template files aren't found, register their folder and refresh the file name database.