claude-math

Make math in Claude Code legible.

Claude Code's terminal does not render LaTeX. Without help, a formula like $f(x) = \sum_{i=1}^n x_i$ appears as raw dollar signs and backslashes, exactly the noise you wanted formatting to remove. This plugin ships a single skill (math-unicode) that instructs Claude to emit math as Unicode glyphs inline, which every terminal already renders.

Before / after

Before:  The qualifying cohort is $Q = \{ (s,r) \in T : n_{s,r} \geq 18 \wedge p^0_{s,r} < 0.9 \}$,
         with $|Q| / |T| \approx 17.3\%$.

After:   The qualifying cohort is Q = { (s,r) ∈ T : n_{s,r} ≥ 18 ∧ p⁰_{s,r} < 0.9 },
         with |Q| / |T| ≈ 17.3 %.

Install

The quickest install is through the plugin marketplace (see below). The npm and manual paths also work.

via npm

npm install -g claude-math
claude-math install

Symlinks the package into ~/.claude/plugins/local/claude-math, registers it in installed_plugins.json, and enables it in settings.json (atomically; both files get a .claude-math.bak backup on first touch). Restart Claude Code and the skill loads.

npx claude-math install also works: the CLI auto-detects an npx-cache install path and copies rather than symlinks (since the cache directory is ephemeral). Prefer the global install if you want updates via npm update -g claude-math to propagate automatically.

Other commands:

claude-math status        # report target, validity, settings state, next-install mode
claude-math uninstall     # remove symlink/dir, deregister, disable
claude-math --help        # full flag list, env overrides

Flags: --force overrides safety checks (foreign symlinks, non-plugin directories at the target). --copy forces a real copy instead of symlink.

Manual install

git clone https://github.com/vladimirrott/claude-math \
  ~/.claude/plugins/local/claude-math

Then add "claude-math@local": true under enabledPlugins in ~/.claude/settings.json and a matching entry in ~/.claude/plugins/installed_plugins.json. The CLI does both; running it once is the easiest path.

Via Claude Code's plugin marketplace (recommended)

/plugin marketplace add vladimirrott/claude-math
/plugin install claude-math@vladimirrott

Codex CLI

The math-unicode skill works in OpenAI Codex CLI too: Codex reads skills from $CODEX_HOME/skills/<name>/SKILL.md using the same name + description frontmatter format, so the exact same skill drops straight in.

npm install -g claude-math
claude-math install --codex

This copies the skill into $CODEX_HOME/skills/math-unicode/ (default ~/.codex/skills/). Codex auto-detects new skills (restart Codex if it does not appear); invoke it with /skills or by mentioning $math-unicode. Use claude-math status --codex to check and claude-math uninstall --codex to remove.

Hacking on this repo

Working from a clone (before or after publish):

git clone https://github.com/vladimirrott/claude-math && cd claude-math
node bin/claude-math.js install     # uses the cloned directory directly
node --test test/                   # run the test suite

CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=/tmp/somewhere claude-math install lets you test against a sandbox without touching your real ~/.claude state, useful for contributing.

The math-unicode skill auto-triggers any time Claude writes or explains math. No configuration required.

Graphical rendering (sixel / kitty): not inside the chat

Rendering math as an actual image (sixel or kitty graphics) is not possible inside the Claude Code chat. The TUI repaints its own screen buffer on every update and overwrites any graphics escape sequences a plugin emits, and its line accounting does not know an image's height. So in-chat output stays Unicode, which is the point of this skill.

Roadmap (not built yet): a standalone claude-math render "<latex>" command that converts LaTeX to an image and prints it via the terminal's graphics protocol in your own graphics-capable terminal (kitty, wezterm, ghostty, foot), outside the Claude Code TUI. It would be a convenience for viewing an equation on demand, not in-chat rendering.

Why Unicode by default?

Path	Works in plain terminal	SSH / tmux	CI logs	Copy-paste	Install cost
Unicode (this skill)	✓	✓	✓	✓	1 file
Sixel / kitty graphics	✗ (not in chat)	partial	✗	✗ images	separate render CLI (roadmap)
Pipe through external viewer	✗ TUI breaks	n/a	✓ if --print	✓	shell wrapper

Unicode is the only path that survives every distribution channel a Claude Code session ends up in. The graphical path is roadmap-only and, even then, would run as a separate terminal command outside the chat.

Related issues & prior art

• anthropics/claude-code#44479: native LaTeX in terminal output (open)
• openai/codex#15865: LaTeX in Codex CLI output (claude-math covers this via claude-math install --codex)
• warpdotdev/warp#9677: same gap on Warp
• markless: terminal Markdown viewer with Typst math and kitty/sixel images
• mdviewer, glowm, mdterm: adjacent viewers

License

MIT.