MathBox

JiangYan38 downloads

A visual LaTeX formula editor: live preview, symbol palette, templates, favorites, and multi-format export.

Overview
Scorecard
Updates5

v3.4.2 — A visual LaTeX formula editor for Obsidian: live preview on top, LaTeX source below, an option bar in between, and a collapsible side pane holding symbols, templates and favorites.

一个显式的上下分栏公式编辑器：上方实时渲染、下方编辑 LaTeX 源码，中间选项栏控制字号 / 字体 / 颜色并提供行内、行间两种插入方式；右侧可展开侧边栏承载常用符号、公式模板与收藏夹。

侧边栏三页（快捷工具 / 公式模板 / 收藏夹）中的公式与符号均由宿主 MathJax 渲染，字体与笔记正文里的公式完全一致（Computer Modern / TeX）。

图像导出（SVG / PNG）走 MathJax 原生 SVG 输出：字形是内嵌的矢量路径，不依赖任何字体文件，导出的图在任何查看器里都与预览逐像素一致，且可无限缩放。

Features / 功能


Three entry points	ribbon icon, editor right-click menu (Insert formula with MathBox), command `MathBox: Open MathBox formula editor` (no default hotkey — bind your own in Settings → Hotkeys)
Live preview	rendered through the host MathJax (`renderMath`), 200 ms debounce, errors reported without blanking the last good render
Option bar	font size / font family / color / environment on the left; Insert inline · Insert display on the right
Display font size	the preview and the source pane each have their own `− value ＋` stepper, left of Favorite / Copy: 1 px steps, or click the number and type a value (Enter or blur applies, Esc cancels, clearing it resets); preview 12–30 px, source 11–30 px, persisted across restarts
Source pane	monospace editor with copy / clear; pasting strips `$`, `$$`, ``, `\[\]` delimiters automatically
Symbol palette	13 groups / 370 items, every button rendered as a real formula (Computer Modern / TeX); lazy-rendered with a per-formula cache so the pane opens instantly
Formula templates	9 groups / 66 items, each entry previewed as a rendered formula instead of raw LaTeX
Favorites	search / pin / rename / regroup / delete; stored in the plugin's `data.json`, JSON import & export
Hover hints	two-line tooltip: line 1 the LaTeX source, line 2 a Chinese / English description (all 370 symbols covered)
Matrix entries	buttons preview a 2×2 case (`a₁₁ … a₂₂`) and insert a 2×2 skeleton with `&` / `\\` already in place; arbitrary sizes via the custom matrix dialog
Export	LaTeX, MathML, SVG (native vector — glyphs as paths, no font dependency), PNG at 3×; white or transparent background, switchable right in the export menu
i18n	简体中文 / English, `auto` follows the app language
Theme	every color comes from Obsidian CSS variables; icons are Lucide via `setIcon`

Usage / 使用

Open the panel from any of the three entry points.
Type LaTeX below (or click symbols/templates in the side pane).
Watch the preview; use the − / ＋ stepper above to scale the preview (and the one above the source pane to scale the code), or apply font size / font / color to the formula itself.
Click Inline formula or Display formula — the panel closes and the formula is written into the note in a single editor operation, so one Ctrl+Z undoes it.

If a selection that looks like LaTeX (starts with \, or is wrapped in $…$ ) is present when the panel is opened from the menu or the hotkey, it is pre-filled into the source pane.

Side-pane symbol order: Common → Greek → Relations → Arrows → Sets & Logic → Fractions → Radicals → Limits → Trigonometry → Integrals → Large operators → Brackets → Arrays & matrices.

Settings / 设置

Interface language — follow app language / 简体中文 / English
Default font size — preview (12–30 px) and source (11–30 px). The −/+ steppers inside the panel write back to these two values; a ↺ button in front of each field restores that row only to the software default (preview 18 px, source 13 px — the measured v3.4.0 baseline)
Expand non-standard macros on insert — rewrites physics-style commands (\vb{}, \abs{}, \dv{}{}, …) as standard LaTeX so the formula stays portable outside Obsidian
Use compact display math — $$x$$ on one line vs. a fenced block on its own lines
Export image background — white (best for pasting into documents) or transparent (blends into any page). The same switch also sits at the top of the export menu, so you needn't leave the panel. With a transparent background the glyphs take the current theme's foreground colour.
Favorites — export / import JSON, clear all

Version history

Version	Highlights
3.4.2	Plugin id renamed to `math-box` — rename the plugin folder to `math-box` when upgrading (settings/favorites are preserved with the folder, then re-enable the plugin); settings searchable via declarative `getSettingDefinitions()` (Obsidian 1.13+); no default hotkey anymore (bind your own in Settings → Hotkeys); host `requestUrl` instead of `fetch`; removed deprecated `execCommand` fallback; CSS lint cleanup (zero `!important`, dropped partially-supported CSS); release assets now ship build-provenance attestations
3.4.1	Display font size for the preview and the source pane: `− value ＋` steppers left of Favorite / Copy, buttons sized like the neighbouring icon buttons, click the value to type (Enter/blur applies, Esc cancels without closing the panel, clearing resets), 1 px steps, preview 12–30 px / source 11–30 px, persisted; the two sizes are exposed as default sizes in settings with a per-row `↺` reset
3.4.0	Image export switched to native MathJax SVG output (glyphs as `<path>`, no font dependency, ~7 KB vs ~288 KB); white / transparent background switchable in the export menu; size gate raised to 2000 KB
3.3.0	Side pane fully rendered through host MathJax (symbols, templates, favorites); two-line hover hints; matrix previews + 2×2 insertion skeletons; group re-ordering; 370 bilingual remarks
3.2.x	Favorites groups, adaptive option bar, panel/tab/popout entry points
3.0.0	Renamed to MathBox; three-column layout with collapsible side pane; multi-format export
2.0.0	Right-click invoked three-pane editor (render / source / templates)
1.0.0	Inline palette on inserting a formula block

This plugin follows the official Obsidian sample plugin structure (TypeScript + esbuild).

HealthExcellent

ReviewSatisfactory

About

Edit LaTeX visually with a live MathJax preview above and a source editor below, using the option bar to set font, size, color and insert inline or display formulas. Open a collapsible side pane of symbols, templates and favorites rendered in Computer Modern, and export formulas as native SVG/PNG or copy LaTeX/MathML for pixel-perfect, scalable output.

LaTeX Math Export

Details

Current version

3.4.2

Last updated

2 weeks ago

Created

2 months ago

Updates

5 releases

Downloads

Compatible with

Obsidian 1.5.0+

Platforms

Desktop, Mobile

License

0BSD

Author

JiangYanjiangyancoder

jiangyancoder

Features / 功能

Three entry points

ribbon icon, editor right-click menu (Insert formula with MathBox), command MathBox: Open MathBox formula editor (no default hotkey — bind your own in Settings → Hotkeys)

Live preview

rendered through the host MathJax (renderMath), 200 ms debounce, errors reported without blanking the last good render

Option bar

font size / font family / color / environment on the left; Insert inline · Insert display on the right

Display font size

the preview and the source pane each have their own − value ＋ stepper, left of Favorite / Copy: 1 px steps, or click the number and type a value (Enter or blur applies, Esc cancels, clearing it resets); preview 12–30 px, source 11–30 px, persisted across restarts

Source pane

monospace editor with copy / clear; pasting strips $, $$, , \[\] delimiters automatically

Symbol palette

13 groups / 370 items, every button rendered as a real formula (Computer Modern / TeX); lazy-rendered with a per-formula cache so the pane opens instantly

Formula templates

9 groups / 66 items, each entry previewed as a rendered formula instead of raw LaTeX

Favorites

search / pin / rename / regroup / delete; stored in the plugin's data.json, JSON import & export

Hover hints

two-line tooltip: line 1 the LaTeX source, line 2 a Chinese / English description (all 370 symbols covered)

Matrix entries

buttons preview a 2×2 case (a₁₁ … a₂₂) and insert a 2×2 skeleton with & / \\ already in place; arbitrary sizes via the custom matrix dialog

Export

LaTeX, MathML, SVG (native vector — glyphs as paths, no font dependency), PNG at 3×; white or transparent background, switchable right in the export menu

i18n

简体中文 / English, auto follows the app language

Theme

every color comes from Obsidian CSS variables; icons are Lucide via setIcon

Usage / 使用

Open the panel from any of the three entry points.

Type LaTeX below (or click symbols/templates in the side pane).

Watch the preview; use the − / ＋ stepper above to scale the preview (and the one above the source pane to scale the code), or apply font size / font / color to the formula itself.

Click Inline formula or Display formula — the panel closes and the formula is written into the note in a single editor operation, so one Ctrl+Z undoes it.

If a selection that looks like LaTeX (starts with \, or is wrapped in $…$ ) is present when the panel is opened from the menu or the hotkey, it is pre-filled into the source pane.

Settings / 设置

Interface language — follow app language / 简体中文 / English

Default font size — preview (12–30 px) and source (11–30 px). The −/+ steppers inside the panel write back to these two values; a ↺ button in front of each field restores that row only to the software default (preview 18 px, source 13 px — the measured v3.4.0 baseline)

Expand non-standard macros on insert — rewrites physics-style commands (\vb{}, \abs{}, \dv{}{}, …) as standard LaTeX so the formula stays portable outside Obsidian

Use compact display math — $$x$$ on one line vs. a fenced block on its own lines

Export image background — white (best for pasting into documents) or transparent (blends into any page). The same switch also sits at the top of the export menu, so you needn't leave the panel. With a transparent background the glyphs take the current theme's foreground colour.

Favorites — export / import JSON, clear all

Version history

Version

Highlights

3.4.2

Plugin id renamed to math-box — rename the plugin folder to math-box when upgrading (settings/favorites are preserved with the folder, then re-enable the plugin); settings searchable via declarative getSettingDefinitions() (Obsidian 1.13+); no default hotkey anymore (bind your own in Settings → Hotkeys); host requestUrl instead of fetch; removed deprecated execCommand fallback; CSS lint cleanup (zero !important, dropped partially-supported CSS); release assets now ship build-provenance attestations

3.4.1

Display font size for the preview and the source pane: − value ＋ steppers left of Favorite / Copy, buttons sized like the neighbouring icon buttons, click the value to type (Enter/blur applies, Esc cancels without closing the panel, clearing resets), 1 px steps, preview 12–30 px / source 11–30 px, persisted; the two sizes are exposed as default sizes in settings with a per-row ↺ reset

3.4.0

Image export switched to native MathJax SVG output (glyphs as <path>, no font dependency, ~7 KB vs ~288 KB); white / transparent background switchable in the export menu; size gate raised to 2000 KB

3.3.0

Side pane fully rendered through host MathJax (symbols, templates, favorites); two-line hover hints; matrix previews + 2×2 insertion skeletons; group re-ordering; 370 bilingual remarks

3.2.x

Favorites groups, adaptive option bar, panel/tab/popout entry points

3.0.0

Renamed to MathBox; three-column layout with collapsible side pane; multi-format export

2.0.0

Right-click invoked three-pane editor (render / source / templates)

1.0.0

Inline palette on inserting a formula block

This plugin follows the official Obsidian sample plugin structure (TypeScript + esbuild).

MathBox

Features / 功能

Usage / 使用

Settings / 设置

Version history

MathBox

Features / 功能

Usage / 使用

Settings / 设置

Version history

Related plugins

Latex Suite

Fix Math

MathLive

Quick Latex

Calctex

Equation Citator

Typst Mate

Extended MathJax

Formula Library

Auto Math