> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://ayakaleaf-pro.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Open in Overleaf
> Add a link to your website that opens a LaTeX file or a whole project in your instance.
Put a link on your website, blog or course page. Anyone who clicks it gets a new project of their own with your files. Nothing needs to be set up.
Visitors need an account on your instance. A visitor who is not logged in goes to the login page first, and the project opens after logging in.
The pages of this feature use the name Overleaf. Your own link or button can say anything, such as **Open in Ayakaleaf**.
## See the examples
Open `/devs` on your site, for example `https://ayakaleaf.example.com/devs`. No menu links to this page, so type the address. By default you have to be logged in to see it.
The Overleaf API page
Click **A LaTeX code snippet** or **A zipped project**. A new project opens with the example.
The project from the zipped example
## Link to a file on your website
**1. Build the link**
Put the address of the file after `/docs?snip_uri=`, URL-encoded:
```text theme={null}
https://ayakaleaf.example.com/docs?snip_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com%2Fmain.tex
```
For a zipped project, use `zip_uri`:
```text theme={null}
https://ayakaleaf.example.com/docs?zip_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com%2Fproject.zip
```
Your instance downloads the file, so it must be reachable over HTTP or HTTPS. Addresses on a private network are refused, see [External URL](https://ayakaleaf-pro.mintlify.site/on-premises/configuration/overleaf-toolkit/external-url.md).
**2. Add it to your page**
```html theme={null}
Open in Ayakaleaf
```
**3. Click it**
The new project opens in the editor, with a single file saved as `main.tex`.
A project opened from a link
Each click creates another project. The project is a copy, so later changes to your file do not reach it.
## Put the file in the link
For a small file, you do not need to host anything: put its content in the link as a Base64 data URL. In JavaScript:
```javascript theme={null}
const tex = '\\documentclass{article}\n\\begin{document}\nHello from a link.\n\\end{document}\n'
const link = 'https://ayakaleaf.example.com/docs?' + new URLSearchParams({
snip_uri: 'data:application/x-tex;base64,' + btoa(tex),
name: 'Hello from a link',
})
```
`btoa` only takes Latin-1 characters, so encode other text as UTF-8 first. For a zipped project, use `zip_uri` and `data:application/zip;base64,`.
A link longer than about 8 KB is refused with the error **414 Request-URI Too Large**. For anything bigger, host the file or use a [form](#use-a-button-instead-of-a-link).
## Choose the options
Add these to the link, or to the form as hidden fields:
| Parameter | What it does | Example |
| - | - | - |
| `name` | Names the project. Without it, a zipped project takes the name in its `\title`, anything else is `Open in Overleaf project`. | `name=My%20notes` |
| `engine` | Sets the compiler: `latex_dvipdf`, `pdflatex`, `xelatex` or `lualatex`. | `engine=xelatex` |
| `main_document` | Sets the main `.tex` file, which opens first. | `main_document=thesis.tex` |
| `snip_uri[]`, `snip_name[]` | Imports several files, each with its own name, in the same order. | `snip_uri[]=.../a.tex&snip_name[]=a.tex` |
A `.tex` file without `\documentclass` is wrapped in a standard document, so it compiles right away:
```latex theme={null}
\documentclass[12pt]{article}
\usepackage[english]{babel}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\usepackage{tikz}
\begin{document}
Your file
\end{document}
```
## Use a button instead of a link
A form sends the same parameters as a link:
```html theme={null}
```
To send the LaTeX itself, use `snip` for plain text or `encoded_snip` for text passed through `encodeURIComponent`.
A form does not always work, which is why a link is the better choice unless your file is too long for one:
| Where the form is | Visitor is logged in | Visitor is not logged in |
| - | - | - |
| On the same domain as your instance, or a subdomain | The project opens | Login page, and no project |
| On another domain | Login page, and no project | Login page, and no project |
If your administrator sets `OVERLEAF_ALLOW_PUBLIC_ACCESS=true`, the project opens in all these cases, after logging in if needed. That setting also opens other pages to signed-out visitors, see [Page Access](https://ayakaleaf-pro.mintlify.site/on-premises/configuration/overleaf-toolkit/authentication/public-access.md#page-access).
For the rest of what administrators can set, see [Overleaf Import API](https://ayakaleaf-pro.mintlify.site/on-premises/configuration/overleaf-toolkit/integrations/overleaf-import-api.md). The `/devs` page has more examples.
## If the project does not open
The page says what went wrong. **View the Overleaf API docs** takes you to `/devs`.
A link the instance cannot use
| Message | Why | What to do |
| - | - | - |
| `no snippet, snip_uri or zip_uri provided` | The link has none of these | Check the parameter names |
| `invalid url: ...` | The address does not start with HTTP or HTTPS | Use an HTTP or HTTPS address, or a data URL |
| `could not download ... (HTTP 404)` | The file is not at that address | Check the address |
| `could not download ... (HTTP 403)` | The address is on a private network | Host the file where your instance may reach it |
| `zip_uri did not resolve to a zip archive` | The file behind `zip_uri` is not a zip file | Check the file |
| `invalid base64 data url` | The data URL is damaged | Encode the file again and URL-encode the link |
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