FormulaR
danieldaidai122 downloadsAutomatic Verification and Completion of LaTeX Mathematical Derivations: Detecting Errors in {align} Blocks and Suggesting Next Steps.
- Overview
- Scorecard
- Updates3
An Obsidian plugin that automatically validates and completes LaTeX mathematical derivations inside \begin{align}...\end{align} blocks.
Features
- Real-time validation — detects algebraic errors in each step of a derivation as you type, highlighting incorrect lines with a red wavy underline
- Uncertain-step marking — lines that cannot be verified locally are marked with an orange dashed underline and optionally sent to an AI for a second check
- Hover tooltips — hover over a marked line to see a brief explanation of the error or uncertainty
- AI-powered next-step suggestions — type
\\at the end of a derivation block to get autocomplete suggestions for the next step, powered by any Claude or OpenAI-compatible API - Offline local validation — algebraic equivalence is checked first with mathjs, so basic errors are caught without any API call
Requirements
- Obsidian desktop (v0.15.0 or later)
- An API key for Anthropic Claude or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint (optional — local validation works without one)
Installation
Community Plugin (recommended)
- Open Settings → Community plugins → Browse
- Search for FormulaR
- Click Install, then Enable
Manual
- Download
main.js,manifest.json, andstyles.cssfrom the latest release - Copy them to
<your vault>/.obsidian/plugins/FormulaR/ - Reload Obsidian and enable the plugin under Settings → Community plugins
Configuration
Open Settings → FormulaR to configure the following options:
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| API Base URL | https://api.anthropic.com |
Claude or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint (e.g. Ollama, OpenAI, local models) |
| API Key | (empty) | API key for the above endpoint; leave empty for local-only Ollama |
| Model | claude-3-5-haiku-20241022 |
Model ID to use for validation and suggestions |
| Validation delay (ms) | 1500 |
How long to wait after you stop typing before triggering validation |
| Enable local validation | on | Use mathjs for algebraic equivalence checking (works offline) |
| Enable AI validation | on | Call the AI when local validation is inconclusive |
| Enable autocomplete | on | Suggest next steps when you type \\ at the end of an align block |
Usage
Write a LaTeX derivation inside an align environment in any note:
$$
\begin{align}
(x+1)^2 &= x^2 + 2x + 1 \\
&= x^2 + 3x + 1
\end{align}
$$
FormulaR will automatically:
- Parse each step of the derivation
- Verify algebraic equivalence between consecutive lines using mathjs
- Mark incorrect lines with a red wavy underline
- Optionally ask the configured AI to explain the error on hover
- Offer next-step suggestions when you type
\\at the end of the block
Privacy
When AI validation or autocomplete is enabled, the content of the align block being validated is sent to the configured API endpoint. No other vault content is transmitted. Disable Enable AI validation and Enable autocomplete to keep everything fully local.
License
HealthExcellent
ReviewSatisfactory
About
Validate and complete LaTeX mathematical derivations inside \begin{align}...\end{align} blocks in real time. Highlight incorrect steps with a red wavy underline, mark unverifiable lines with an orange dashed underline and optional AI review, show hover explanations, and offer AI-powered next-step suggestions when you type \\.Details
Current version
1.0.3
Last updated
5 months ago
Created
5 months ago
Updates
3 releases
Downloads
122
Compatible with
Obsidian 0.15.0+
Platforms
Desktop only
License
MIT