Make typesetting LaTeX as fast as handwriting through snippets, text expansion, and editor enhancements
A plugin for Obsidian that aims to make typesetting LaTeX math as fast as handwriting.
Inspired by Gilles Castel's setup using UltiSnips.
The plugin's main feature is snippets, which help you write LaTeX quicker through shortcuts and text expansion! For example, type
See Gilles Castel's writeup for more information.
The plugin comes with a set of default snippets, loosely based on Gilles Castel's. You can modify them, remove them, and write your own.
To get started, type "dm" to enter display math mode. Try typing the following:
"xsr" → "x^{2}".
"x/y Tab" → "\frac{x}{y}".
"sin @t" → "\sin \theta".
Have a look at the cheatsheet for a list of commonly used default snippets.
Once these feel familiar, you can check out the default snippets for more commands. e.g.
"par Tab f Tab x Tab" → "\frac{\partial f}{\partial x}".
"dint Tab 2pi Tab sin @t Tab @t Tab" → "\int_{0}^{2\pi} \sin \theta \, d\theta".
You can also add your own snippets! See here for more info on writing snippets. You can view snippets written by others and share your own snippets here.
Lets you type "1/x" instead of "\frac{1}{x}".
For example, it makes the following expansions:
x/
→ \frac{x}{}
(a + b(c + d))/
→ \frac{a + b(c + d)}{}
and moves the cursor inside the brackets.
Once done typing the denominator, press Tab to exit the fraction.
While inside a matrix, array, align, or cases environment,
This feature must be enabled in settings!
Make your equations more readable by hiding LaTeX code, instead rendering it in a pretty format.
For example, "\dot{x}^{2} + \dot{y}^{2}" will be displayed as "ẋ² + ẏ²".
To reveal the LaTeX code, move the cursor over it.
When the cursor is inside inline math, a popup window showing the rendered math will be displayed.
Sometimes you want to annotate math, or cancel or cross out terms. Selecting some math with the cursor and typing
When a snippet containing "\sum", "\int" or "\frac" is triggered, any enclosing brackets will be enlarged with "\left" and "\right".
Snippets are formatted as follows:
{
trigger: string | RegExp,
replacement: string,
options: string,
priority?: number,
description?: string,
flags?: string,
}
trigger
: The text that triggers this snippet.
replacement
: The text to replace the trigger
with.
options
: See below.priority
(optional): This snippet's priority. Snippets with higher priority are run first. Can be negative. Defaults to 0.description
(optional): A description for this snippet.flags
(optional): Flags for regex snippets.t
: Text mode. Only run this snippet outside mathm
: Math mode. Only run this snippet inside math. Shorthand for both M
and n
M
: Block math mode. Only run this snippet inside a $$ ... $$
blockn
: Inline math mode. Only run this snippet inside a $ ... $
blockA
: Auto. Expand this snippet as soon as the trigger is typed. If omitted, the Tab key must be pressed to expand the snippetr
: Regex. The trigger
will be treated as a regular expressionv
: Visual. Only run this snippet on a selection. The trigger should be a single characterw
: Word boundary. Only run this snippet when the trigger is preceded (and followed by) a word delimiter, such as .
, ,
, or -
.c
: Code mode. Only run this snippet inside a ``` ... ```
blockInsert tabstops for the cursor to jump to by writing "$0", "$1", etc. in the replacement
.
For more details on writing snippets, including regex snippets and function snippets, see the documentation here. You can view snippets written by others and share your own snippets here.
[!WARNING] Snippet files are interpreted as JavaScript and can execute arbitrary code. Always be careful with snippets shared from others to avoid running malicious code.
Trigger | Replacement |
---|---|
mk | $ $ |
dm | $$ $$ |
sr | ^{2} |
cb | ^{3} |
rd | ^{ } |
_ | _{ } |
sq | \sqrt{ } |
x/y Tab | \frac{x}{y} |
// | \frac{ }{ } |
" | \text{ } |
text | \text{ } |
x1 | x_{1} |
x,. | \mathbf{x} |
x., | \mathbf{x} |
xdot | \dot{x} |
xhat | \hat{x} |
xbar | \bar{x} |
xvec | \vec{x} |
xtilde | \tilde{x} |
xund | \underline{x} |
ee | e^{ } |
invs | ^{-1} |
When running a snippet that moves the cursor inside brackets {}, press Tab to exit the brackets.
Trigger | Replacement | Trigger | Replacement |
---|---|---|---|
@a | \alpha | eta | \eta |
@b | \beta | mu | \mu |
@g | \gamma | nu | \nu |
@G | \Gamma | xi | \xi |
@d | \delta | Xi | \Xi |
@D | \Delta | pi | \pi |
@e | \epsilon | Pi | \Pi |
:e | \varepsilon | rho | \rho |
@z | \zeta | tau | \tau |
@t | \theta | phi | \phi |
@T | \Theta | Phi | \Phi |
@k | \kappa | chi | \chi |
@l | \lambda | psi | \psi |
@L | \Lambda | Psi | \Psi |
@s | \sigma | ||
@S | \Sigma | ||
@o | \omega | ||
ome | \omega |
For greek letters with short names (2-3 characters), just type their name, e.g. "pi" → "\pi"
Any contributions and PRs are welcome!
If you like this plugin and want to say thanks, you can buy me a coffee here!