So I built Latex Equation Editor. It's free, it runs in your browser, and you don't need an account.

The idea

• Write an equation as LaTeX code, or type it in a visual editor
• See the result right away
• Copy it out in the format you need

No compiling. No installing. No sign up. You open the page and start typing.

The editor

The editor has three parts.

1. The code panel

• Type raw LaTeX here if you know it
• Syntax highlighting is on
• Type \al and it suggests \alpha. Hit enter.

2. The visual editor

• Click into the rendered math and edit it directly
• Type / for a fraction
• Type ^ for a power
• Press enter for a new line
• Every change here updates the code, and every change in the code updates this

3. The preview

• The final equation is drawn with KaTeX
• It updates on every keystroke
• If your code has an error, it tells you what went wrong instead of showing a blank box

Symbol palette

• Search for "integral", "pi" or "matrix" and click to insert
• It remembers the symbols you used recently

Formatting toolbar

Some things are annoying to write by hand. The toolbar does them for you.

• Pick a matrix size from a grid, then add or remove rows and columns
• Add brackets, accents, colors or a different font style
• Line up several lines at the equals sign
• Align lines left, center or right
• Change the space between rows
• Group lines with a curly brace for a system of equations
• Switch between math mode and text mode in the same equation
• Use the on screen math keyboard on a tablet

Custom macros

• Define your own shortcuts for long commands
• They work in the preview and in the exports
• Handy if you write a lot of LaTeX

Copy and export

Getting the equation out of a tool is usually the painful part. So I spent most of my time here. The copy menu gives you:

• Plain LaTeX code
• LaTeX for inline text or a display block
• MathML, which you can paste into Word or Google Docs
• KaTeX HTML for websites
• PNG, with options for scale, background and color
• SVG, which stays sharp at any size

Here is how I use it:

• Paper: copy the code
• Slides or WhatsApp: copy the PNG
• Word: copy the MathML

Save and share

• Press Save (or Ctrl/Cmd + S) to add the equation to your library
• Use the share button to get a link with the equation inside
• Anyone who opens the link sees your equation, ready to edit

The symbols page

I forget symbol names all the time. So I made a page for it. The LaTeX symbols list shows each symbol with:

• What it looks like
• Its name in plain English
• The exact LaTeX command

Click a symbol and the command is copied. That's all you do.

Symbols are grouped into categories:

• Greek letters
• Arrows
• Relations
• Sets and logic
• Calculus
• Matrices
• Geometry
• Probability
• Number theory
• Physics
• Chemistry
• Computer science

You can search by name ("for all"), by command (\forall), or just browse. There is a grid view and a list view. Press / anywhere on the page to jump to the search box.

The examples page

Sometimes it's faster to start from an equation that looks close to yours. The examples page has more than 80 ready made ones. Open one in the editor and change it.

• School math: quadratic formula, Pythagorean theorem, binomial theorem, law of cosines
• Calculus: derivative definition, chain rule, integration by parts, Fourier and Laplace transforms
• Physics: Maxwell's equations, Schrödinger equation, Einstein field equations, Planck's law
• Statistics and ML: Bayes' theorem, normal distribution, softmax, cross entropy loss, gradient descent, Adam, the attention formula from transformers
• Chemistry: combustion of methane, photosynthesis, the Haber process, the Nernst equation
• Finance: compound interest, net present value, Black Scholes

Every example is shown fully rendered. So the page also works as a cheat sheet for aligned equations, piecewise functions and chemical reactions.

The library page

Every equation you save goes into your library. You can:

• Search by title, LaTeX code or tag
• Mark favorites
• Add tags
• Duplicate an equation to make a variation
• Copy, share or delete any of them

The library is stored only in your browser. Nothing is uploaded to a server. You can use Export JSON and Import JSON to back up your equations or move them to another computer.

Your data stays with you

Many online tools send everything you type to their servers. I didn't want that.

• Rendering, saving and exporting all happen in your browser
• Your equations leave your device only if you share or export them
• No tracking cookies
• No login
• It works offline after your first visit, which helps on bad college WiFi or on a train

14 languages

LaTeX is used all over the world, so the site comes in 14 languages:

English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Arabic.

The symbol names are translated too. Someone in Tokyo or Madrid can search for symbols in their own language.

Other pages

• About: what the tool is for, plus keyboard shortcuts
• Contact: send feedback, bug reports or feature ideas
• Privacy Policy and Terms: plain words about how your data is handled

How it's built

For the developers reading this:

• Astro for the content pages, so they load as fast static HTML
• React for the editor, symbol palette and library
• KaTeX to render the math
• MathLive for the visual editing
• CodeMirror for the code panel and autocomplete
• Tailwind CSS for styling
• IndexedDB to store your library in the browser

The editor is the heaviest part, so it loads lazily. The page shows up right away and the editor fills in a moment later. That keeps the first load quick, even on slow phones.

Who it's for

• Students writing homework, lab reports or a thesis
• Teachers making worksheets and slides
• Researchers checking a formula before it goes into a paper
• Developers and technical writers who need math in docs or Markdown
• Anyone who needs one equation in a document without a fight

Try it

If this sounds useful, give Latex Equation Editor a go.

I'm still working on it. If something feels off, or you want a feature, I'd love to hear it. Leave a comment and I'll read every one.

Thanks for reading!