Texinfo File Format (.texi)
A TEXI file is Texinfo source, GNU's plain-text documentation markup that a single source file compiles into an Info manual, an HTML page and a printed PDF.
Texinfo at a glance#
| Full name | GNU Texinfo |
|---|---|
| File extension | .texi |
| Category | Documents |
| Developer | Richard Stallman and Robert Chassell |
| First released | 1986 |
| MIME types | application/x-texinfo |
| Other extensions | .texinfo |
| Compression | Uncompressed |
| Specification | GNU Texinfo Manual |
| FileFlip support | FileFlip writes this format but cannot open one |
What a .texi file can hold#
These are the things a Texinfo file either supports or does not, and they are what decides whether a conversion keeps everything or quietly drops something.
| Selectable text | Yes |
|---|---|
| Human readable | Yes |
Strengths and limitations of Texinfo#
What Texinfo does well
- One source file produces Info pages, HTML, PDF and plain text without maintaining separate copies
- Info's cross-referencing and node structure are built for reading a manual inside a terminal with the info command or Emacs
- It's the format nearly every GNU manual ships in, so tools built around GNU documentation read it natively
Where Texinfo falls short
- The @-command markup is dense and strict about syntax compared to Markdown or reStructuredText
- Outside the GNU toolchain almost nothing reads .texi files directly
- Info's terminal-first design looks dated next to a browsable HTML manual
Write documentation in Texinfo when it needs to ship as Info pages inside the GNU toolchain alongside the software it documents.
Convert Texinfo to HTML or PDF when the audience is reading in a browser or printing a manual, rather than browsing Info pages in a terminal.
How to open a .texi file#
A .texi file opens in the programs below, grouped by the platform you are on.
| Platform | Programs that open it |
|---|---|
| Windows | Emacs, Texinfo (via MSYS2 or Cygwin) |
| macOS | Emacs, info (via Homebrew texinfo) |
| Linux | Emacs, info (GNU Texinfo), Vim |
Texinfo questions people ask#
What programs can open a .texi file?
A .texi file is plain text, so any text editor shows the raw source, but reading it as intended means running it through makeinfo to produce an Info manual, HTML, or a PDF. Emacs has Texinfo support built in and can preview it directly.
What's the difference between Texinfo and Info?
Texinfo is the source markup format, written in .texi files with @-commands. Info is one of Texinfo's compiled output formats, the hyperlinked manual you browse with the info command or inside Emacs.
Why do GNU manuals use Texinfo instead of Markdown?
Texinfo predates Markdown by two decades and was built specifically to produce a printed manual, an Info document and now HTML from one source, which is why the GNU project standardized on it for software documentation and has never had a reason to move off it.
Converting Texinfo files#
FileFlip cannot open a .texi file, so there is nothing to convert it into here. It appears on the site as something other formats can be converted to.
Convert another format to Texinfo
- 3FR to Texinfo
- ARW to Texinfo
- AsciiDoc to Texinfo
- AVIF to Texinfo
- BibTeX to Texinfo
- BMP to Texinfo
- BMP2 to Texinfo
- BMP3 to Texinfo
- CBZ to Texinfo
- CR2 to Texinfo
- CR3 to Texinfo
- Creole to Texinfo
- CRW to Texinfo
- DCR to Texinfo
- Djot to Texinfo
- DNG to Texinfo
- DocBook to Texinfo
- DOCX to Texinfo
- DokuWiki to Texinfo
- EPUB to Texinfo
- ERF to Texinfo
- FB2 to Texinfo
- GIF to Texinfo
- GIF87 to Texinfo
See every document conversion (63 more)
Every conversion runs inside your browser. The file is read from your disk, the work happens on your own machine, and nothing is uploaded. How FileFlip works names the engine behind each family and how to verify that for yourself.