matplotlib text.usetex cross-host rendering consistency with external TeX toolchains

Rendering goal

Determine whether matplotlib figures that enable text.usetex produce consistent text layout and glyph metrics when saved on hosts running different TeX distributions or Ghostscript versions.

Integration constraint

Matplotlib offloads text and math layout to an externally installed LaTeX toolchain and does not bundle or version-pin TeX Live, MiKTeX, MacTeX, or Ghostscript. Missing packages or toolchain version drift can cause silent fallback, rasterization failures, or different glyph metrics between hosts. Byte-identical output should not be assumed unless the TeX packages and Ghostscript version match across environments.

Which rendered elements are most sensitive to TeX package or Ghostscript version differences? Can matplotlib be configured to detect and refuse rendering when the local toolchain diverges from a reference environment? What minimum set of toolchain version pins is required for reproducible text.usetex output across CI and local machines?