latex

<p align="center"> <img src="assets/banner.gif" width="800" alt="A pixel-art study. Clawd stands by a chalkboard of typeset equations and says: My math renders now!"> </p> <h1 align="center">LaTeX for Claude Code</h1> <p align="center"> Renders TeX math, TikZ diagrams and LaTeX blocks in Claude's replies, in the Claude Code desktop app. </p> <p align="center"> <img alt="License: MIT" src="https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-blue"> <img alt="Claude Code 2.1.287 or later" src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Claude%20Code-2.1.287%2B-555"> <img alt="Desktop app, Code tab" src="https://img.shields.io/badge/runs%20in-desktop%20Code%20tab-555"> </p>

Without this mod, Claude's replies show math as raw source, such as $\frac{\partial L}{\partial w}$ (or Claude will default to try and use Unicode for math characters). With it, the same reply shows typeset math. With a TeX install, it also compiles diagrams, circuits, chess positions and whole LaTeX snippets right in the chat.

<p align="center"> <img src="assets/demo-math.png" width="720" alt="Colored inline math, every math alphabet, colored boxes and a nested continued fraction, rendered in a Claude Code reply"> </p>

Install

claude plugin marketplace add zaahiral/claude-latex
claude plugin install latex@claude-latex

Then restart the desktop app, or run /reload-plugins in an open session. A short welcome note appears above the prompt the first time. Run /latex at any time to open the settings.

Requirements:

• Claude Code 2.1.287 or later (mods were introduced here).
• The Code tab of the Claude desktop app. Note that this mod cannot draw in the terminal/ for VS Code Extension. See Where it works. The chat section of the Claude desktop app already supports LaTeX rendering.
• Optional: a TeX install with latex and dvisvgm, such as MacTeX or TeX Live. You need it for diagrams, LaTeX blocks and the extra fonts. Math works without it.

Rendering Capabilities

| Usage | Render | | --- | --- | | $...$ or \(...\) | Inline math, uses texts baseline | | $$...$$, \[...\], equation, align, gather, multline | Centered display math | | A ```tikz or ```tikzcd code block | A diagram (compiled by your TeX install) | | A ```latex code block | Any LaTeX snippet: chemfig, quantikz, circuitikz, forest, chessboard, amsthm, tables |

<p align="center"> <img src="assets/demo-diagrams.png" width="800" alt="A snake lemma, a chess position, a Feynman diagram, a phase portrait, a polar rose and a 3D sphere, all rendered in Claude Code replies"> </p>

The two example images above are screenshots of the mod running in the Code tab.

MathJax draws the math, so AMS packages are preinstalled.

Your own messages

Experimental feature (WIP)!

The goal is that we would allow the user's message, once sent, to render in chat with markdown/ LaTeX, similar to AI Studio. There's a hacky way of doing this, which is opt in but is not perfect. You can access this feature using \latex.

Fonts

<p align="center"> <img src="assets/fonts.png" width="720" alt="The same formula typeset in ten fonts"> </p>

The default and only MathJax font is Computer Modern. If you use this, rendering speeds will be a lot faster (almost instant).

However, you can set Math font to one of cm, libertinus, palatino, times, euler, concrete, fourier, stix2, kpfonts or cmbright, and your own LaTeX typesets every formula in that font. Since this takes longer to render, MathJax shows each formula (in Computer Modern) until the LaTeX version is ready, usually within a second. All formulas in a message compile in one run, and results are cached in ~/.cache/claude-latex/. Diagrams and LaTeX blocks use the same font.

Settings

Run /latex to open the settings pane. Each change applies at once.

| Setting | Default | Usage | | --- | --- | --- | | Math font | mathjax | MathJax, or one of 10 LaTeX fonts typeset by your TeX install | | Math color | auto | auto follows your system's light or dark setting. Pick light or dark if the app's theme differs | | Compile LaTeX blocks | on | Compile ```tikz, ```tikzcd and ```latex blocks | | Math under your messages | on | Show the math and diagrams from your messages under the bubble | | Full rendered copy of your messages | off | Show your whole message rendered under the bubble | | Copy TeX button | off | A button under each display formula and block that copies its source | | Macros file | ~/.claude/latex-macros.tex | Your own \newcommand and \DeclareMathOperator lines |

Macros

Put definitions in ~/.claude/latex-macros.tex:

\newcommand{\E}{\mathbb{E}}
\newcommand{\R}{\mathbb{R}}
\DeclareMathOperator*{\argmin}{arg\,min}

This here would mean $\E[X]$ and $\argmin_\theta L(\theta)$ then work in every message, in MathJax and in LaTeX.

LaTeX blocks

A ```tikz block holds the inside of a tikzpicture. A ```tikzcd block holds the inside of a tikzcd. A ```latex block holds a document body up to 15 cm wide. Lines at the top of a block that start with \usepackage, \usetikzlibrary, \pgfplotsset, \tikzset, \newcommand, \DeclareMathOperator, \DeclareMathAlphabet, \newtheorem, \definecolor and similar go into the preamble.

```latex
\usepackage{chemfig}
\chemfig{*6((-OH)=-=(-COOH)-=-)}
```

Every block loads amsmath, bm, mathtools, xcolor, cancel, braket and mhchem. TikZ blocks also load tikz-cd, pgfplots and the common TikZ libraries. Black ink follows your theme. Other colors stay as written.

Speed

Diagrams can be a little slow i.e 0.4 to 0.7 seconds to compile the first time and instant after that. Currently upto three compiles run at once. Each kind of document compiles against a saved LaTeX format that already holds its preamble, which roughly halves LaTeX's time.

Security

Claude writes the LaTeX blocks, so a reply could try to make LaTeX read or write your files. The mod treats every block as untrusted:

• Shell escape is off (-no-shell-escape).
• Every latex and dvisvgm run goes through macOS's sandbox-exec. The sandbox blocks reading your home folder apart from TeX's own folders and the mod's cache, blocks writing anywhere else, and blocks the network.
• TeX's own openout_any=p blocks writing outside the build folder.
• A compile is stopped after 60 seconds.
• A drawing over the app's 128 KB limit shows an error on that block instead of breaking the message.

Details and how to report a problem are in SECURITY.md.

Where it works

| Where | Renders | | --- | --- | | Code tab of the Claude desktop app, macOS | Yes | | Code tab on Windows | Math yes. LaTeX blocks are not supported yet | | Claude mobile app through Remote Control | Should work, not tested | | claude in a terminal | No. Terminals cannot draw SVG | | VS Code extension, claude -p | No. Mods do not draw there |

Troubleshooting

• LaTeX blocks stay as code. The mod did not find latex and dvisvgm. It looks in /Library/TeX/texbin, /opt/homebrew/bin, /usr/local/bin, /usr/bin and your PATH.
• Something else looks wrong. Each session writes a setup log to ~/.cache/claude-latex/debug/setup.log, with every setup step, how long it took, and any drawing error. Attach it to a bug report.

How it works

A mod is a plugin whose code runs inside Claude Code. This one hooks the drawing of each message (ui.render on AssistantMessage and UserMessage). When a message contains math, it splits the text into pieces. Prose goes back to the app's own Markdown renderer. Display math becomes an SVG from MathJax 3, which runs inside the mod with no network access. A paragraph with inline math is laid out word by word, with each formula padded so its baseline lines up with the text. LaTeX blocks are queued, compiled in the background with latex and dvisvgm, and drawn when ready.

The MathJax bundle is in hooks/mathjax/, split into chunks because a mod cannot import a file over 1 MiB. build/build.sh rebuilds it from mathjax-full 3.2.2, so you can check it against the published source.

To list everything the mod hooks and calls before you install it:

claude plugin validate .

Known limits

• A very long inline formula is scaled down to fit the line. (Looking to add scrolling for long formula, WIP)
• Tables keep Claude Code's own rendering, so math inside a table cell stays as source.
• A paragraph with inline math loses Markdown links. Bold, italic and inline code are kept.
• Markdown in your own message cannot render inside the app's bubble. Turn on the full rendered copy to see it under the bubble. (Also WIP).

Develop

git clone https://github.com/zaahiral/claude-latex
claude --plugin-dir ./claude-latex
claude plugin test ./claude-latex

The tests need Claude Code 2.1.286 or later. They fake latex and dvisvgm, so they run without a TeX install.

License

MIT. MathJax is Apache 2.0, and its license is in hooks/mathjax/LICENSE.

This is a community plugin.