Typst is a modern typesetting language combining Markdown-like syntax with a Rust-inspired scripting language, offering a comfortable and consistent writing experience unlike LaTeX.
Compile times in Typst are fast, with incremental builds allowing near-instant updates for content changes even in large documents.
The scripting capabilities let you embed data processing directly in the document, such as generating figures from TOML metadata without external tools.
Layout customization is straightforward and less frustrating than LaTeX templates, making it easy to design and tweak your own thesis style.
Built-in syntax highlighting using regex or TextMate grammars provides high-quality code formatting.
Error messages are generally clearer than LaTeX for simple cases, but complex errors in libraries or stateful rules can be hard to debug.
Bibliography management in Typst is limited: only one bibliography per document, no built-in multiple bibliographies, and opaque BibTeX to CSL translation requiring manual fixes.
Converting documents between Typst and LaTeX can be done with Pandoc and custom tools, but journals still demand LaTeX submissions, adding complexity.
The Typst ecosystem is young; templates for conferences and journals exist but may require adjustments and are not always fully compatible.
Overall, Typst is recommended for users who enjoy tweaking tools and need fast iteration for large documents, while LaTeX remains more 'just works' out of the box for thesis writing today.
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