TeX Live 2018 - bugs and updates

Most of TeX Live is a redistribution of packages and programs from elsewhere, primarily CTAN. So, the target for bug reports varies according to the nature of the problem.

• If you have problems with a TeX document, e.g., a package is no longer behaving as it used to, report it to the package maintainer. As a rule, package-specific fixes are not installed directly in TL (new versions of packages should be uploaded to CTAN), or made by TL developers.
• If you have questions about using TeX, or need help with TeX, please use the general help resources.
• To report a bug in TeX Live installation or infrastructure, email the tex-live mailing list.

Highlights of changes in this release; details for pdfTeX, LuaTeX, XeTeX, MetaPost, dvips.

If you need to use alternate binaries, the custom binary support in the TL installer may be useful.

Known issues in TeX Live 2018

• The binaries for most platforms are built on newer systems than in the past; for example, the x86_64-linux binaries now require glibc 2.14. This is because the core libraries ICU and poppler now require C++11, and it is not feasible to compile with that on the older systems we have used in the past. Unfortunately.

  For x86_64-linux, we have built the subset of binaries which do not depend on icu and poppler on an older system (CentOS 6.10=glibc 2.12). They are available as a tarball (md5, build script) and can be installed as a custom binary set (q.v.).

• Notes for Raspberry Pi users explain some details for that platform, notably potential issues with /tmp storage.

• Notes for FreeBSD users explain some details for that platform.

• Windows XP is no longer supported. In general, on Windows, installation and/or various scripts and programs may fail for a variety of reasons. See the TeX Live on Windows page for some symptoms and remedies.

Bug archives for the previous release and earlier years remain online.