Tufte-Typst

A Typst template inspired by Edward Tufte's distinctive book designs and Aaron Turon's thesis style. Features a wide right margin for sidenotes, elegant typography, and minimal table styling.

Features

• Wide right margin (3") for sidenotes and margin quotes
• Sidenotes — numbered margin annotations that don't interrupt reading flow
• Margin quotes — italic epigraphs in the margin
• Classic tables — borderless Tufte-style with header rules
• Chapter headings — decorative openers with large numbers
• Part pages — centered dividers for multi-part documents
• Typography — New Computer Modern at 10pt with tight leading

Quick Start

1. Copy tufte-thesis.typ to your project
2. Import and apply the template:

#import "tufte-thesis.typ": *

#show: tufte-thesis.with(
  title: "Your Document Title",
  subtitle: "Optional Subtitle",
  author: "Your Name",
  date: "January 2026",
  abstract: [
    Your abstract text here.
  ],
)

= First Section

Your content here.#sidenote[This appears in the margin.]

3. Compile with typst compile your-document.typ

Template Functions

Sidenotes

This is body text.#sidenote[This note appears in the right margin.]

Margin Quotes

#margin-quote(
  [The quote text goes here.],
  attribution: [Author Name],
)

Or without attribution:

#margin-quote[A shorter quote without attribution.]

Classic Tables

#classic-table(
  columns: (1fr, 2fr, 1fr),
  header: ([Column 1], [Column 2], [Column 3]),
  [Row 1 Cell 1], [Row 1 Cell 2], [Row 1 Cell 3],
  [Row 2 Cell 1], [Row 2 Cell 2], [Row 2 Cell 3],
)

Chapter Headings

#chapter-heading(1, "Introduction")

Creates a decorative chapter opener with a large gray number.

Part Pages

#part-page(1, "Background")

Creates a centered part divider page.

Epigraphs

Block-style quote for chapter openings:

#epigraph(
  [The quote text.],
  [Attribution],
)

Full-page epigraph:

#epigraph-page(
  [A longer quote for a dedicated page.],
  [Author Name],
)

Other Helpers

#hrule()              // Horizontal rule (respects margin)
#dedication([Text])   // Centered italic dedication page
#colophon([Text])     // End-of-document colophon

Page Layout

Element	Value
Page size	US Letter (8.5" × 11")
Left margin	1 inch
Right margin	3 inches
Top/bottom margins	1 inch
Text width	~4.5 inches
Sidenote width	1.6 inches

Typography

Element	Size
Body text	10pt
Level 1 headings	12pt small caps, blue
Level 2 headings	10pt uppercase, blue
Level 3 headings	10pt italic
Sidenotes	8pt gray
Code blocks	8pt
Tables	9pt

Colors

The template uses a muted color palette:

• thesis-blue (#4A6FA5) — headings, chapter titles
• thesis-maroon (#8B2332) — links, list markers, sidenote numbers
• thesis-gray (luma(120)) — secondary text, rules
• thesis-light-gray (luma(245)) — code backgrounds

Files

• tufte-thesis.typ — the template (import this)
• example.typ — usage demonstration
• STYLE_CHECKLIST.md — detailed styling reference

Requirements

• Typst 0.11 or later
• New Computer Modern font (included with Typst)

License

MIT License — see LICENSE

Acknowledgments

Inspired by:

• Edward Tufte's book designs
• tufte-latex
• Aaron Turon's PhD thesis style
• classicthesis by André Miede