Math Chords: Customizable LaTeX Math Shortcuts for Obsidian

Jun 19, 2026 ·

Last updated on Jun 19, 2026

When taking academic or teaching notes in Obsidian, I often need to enter a lot of math. Typing \frac, Greek letters, and delimiters by hand is slow and error-prone. I wanted something closer to LyX’s shortcut-driven math input, so I vibe-coded an Obsidian plugin called Math Chords with Cursor.

Source and releases: github.com/ichenh/obsidian-math-chords

$CI$

Math Chords lets you insert LaTeX formulas in Obsidian with keyboard shortcuts: press a configurable leader key, then a short key sequence to insert snippets—without typing complex LaTeX by hand. Also includes inline MathJax preview and display-math environment wrapping.

Default shortcuts are inspired by LyX math-mode bindings.

Current release: v0.1.0. See CHANGELOG.

Table of contents
Features
Installation
- Manual
- From source
Quick start
Shortcut reference
Display-math environment wrap
Configuration
- shortcuts.yaml
- Key normalization
Settings
Updating shortcuts
Project structure
Development
- Releasing
AI assistance
License

Features

Feature	Description
Shortcuts	Press a configurable leader key, then a key sequence to insert LaTeX snippets.
Caret placeholder	`$$` in a command template marks where the cursor (or selection) is placed, e.g. `\frac{$$}{}`.
Auto $…$ wrap	Optional: when inserting outside math, wrap the snippet in inline math delimiters.
Inline live preview	While the caret is inside $…$ , a floating panel above the formula renders with Obsidian’s native MathJax.
Display-math environments	Inside `$$…$$`, wrap existing content with `\begin{…}…\end{…}` via a fuzzy-search picker.
Built-in math commands	`Ctrl+M` inline math, `Ctrl+Shift+M` display math (Obsidian commands, registered by this plugin).
YAML + UI config	Edit `shortcuts.yaml` or use the settings tab; changes rebuild the shortcut trie immediately.
Non-destructive merge	On load, missing default shortcuts are merged in; your custom key bindings are never overwritten.

Installation

Manual

Download or build main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css.
Copy them into <vault>/.obsidian/plugins/obsidian-math-chords/.
Optionally copy shortcuts.yaml (defaults are created automatically if the file is missing).
Enable Math Chords under Settings → Community plugins and reload Obsidian.

From source

git clone https://github.com/ichenh/obsidian-math-chords.git
cd obsidian-math-chords
npm install
npm run build

Copy main.js, manifest.json, styles.css, and shortcuts.yaml into your vault plugin folder.

Quick start

Place the caret in a Markdown note.
Press the leader key (default Alt+M; configurable in settings) — optionally enable the which-key popup.
Press a shortcut, e.g. F → \frac{}{} with the cursor in the numerator.
For Greek letters: G A → \alpha (after the leader).
For display math: D → $$\n\n$$.
Inside $$…$$, press Shift+E (default, after the leader) to pick an environment and wrap the block content.

Note: Shortcut tables list keys after the leader. The default leader is Alt+M.

Shortcut reference

Structures & display math

Keys	Inserts	Description
`F`	`\frac{}{}`	Fraction
`S`	`\sqrt{}`	Square root
`Shift+R`	`\sqrt[]{}`	Nth root
`^`	`^{}`	Superscript
`Shift+_`	`_{}`	Subscript
`D`	`$$…$$`	Display math block

Operators & symbols

Keys	Inserts	Description
`U`	`\sum`	Sum
`I`	`\int`	Integral
`Shift+I`	`\int_{}^{}`	Integral with limits
`Y`	`\oint`	Contour integral
`P`	`\partial`	Partial derivative
`Shift+P`	`\prod_{}^{}`	Product
`L`	`\lim_{}`	Limit
`8`	`\infty`	Infinity
`'`	`'`	Prime
`+`	`\pm`	Plus-minus
`= \|`	`\neq`	Not equal

Accents

Keys	Inserts	Description
`"`	`\ddot{}`	Double dot
`H`	`\hat{}`	Hat
`\`	`\grave{}`	Grave
`/`	`\acute{}`	Acute
`&`	`\tilde{}`	Tilde
`-`	`\bar{}`	Bar
`.`	`\dot{}`	Dot
`Shift+V`	`\breve{}`	Breve
`Shift+U`	`\check{}`	Check
`V`	`\vec{}`	Vector arrow
`_`	`\underline{}`	Underline
`B`	`\overline{}`	Overline
`A W`	`\widehat{}`	Wide hat

Delimiters

Keys	Inserts	Description
`(`	`\left(\right)`	Parentheses
`[`	`\left[\right]`	Square brackets
`{`	`\left\{\right\}`	Curly brackets
`<`	`\left\langle\right\rangle`	Angle brackets
`>`	`\left)\right(`	Reverse parentheses
`\|`	`\left\|\right\|`	Vertical bars
`B N`	`\left\|\right\|`	Norm
`B F`	`\left\lfloor\right\rfloor`	Floor
`B E`	`\left\lceil\right\rceil`	Ceiling

Greek letters — lowercase (`G` + key)

Keys	Inserts	Keys	Inserts
`G A`	`\alpha`	`G N`	`\nu`
`G B`	`\beta`	`G O`	`\omega`
`G C`	`\chi`	`G P`	`\pi`
`G D`	`\delta`	`G Q`	`\vartheta`
`G E`	`\epsilon`	`G R`	`\rho`
`G F`	`\phi`	`G S`	`\sigma`
`G G`	`\gamma`	`G T`	`\tau`
`G H`	`\eta`	`G U`	`\upsilon`
`G I`	`\iota`	`G V`	`\theta`
`G J`	`\varphi`	`G X`	`\xi`
`G K`	`\kappa`	`G Y`	`\psi`
`G L`	`\lambda`	`G Z`	`\zeta`
`G M`	`\mu`

Greek letters — uppercase & variants (`G Shift+` + key)

Keys	Inserts	Keys	Inserts
`G Shift+D`	`\Delta`	`G Shift+S`	`\Sigma`
`G Shift+E`	`\varepsilon`	`G Shift+T`	`\varsigma`
`G Shift+F`	`\Phi`	`G Shift+U`	`\Upsilon`
`G Shift+G`	`\Gamma`	`G Shift+V`	`\Theta`
`G Shift+L`	`\Lambda`	`G Shift+O`	`\Omega`
`G Shift+P`	`\Pi`	`G Shift+X`	`\Xi`
		`G Shift+Y`	`\Psi`

Extensions

Arrows (W prefix): W R \rightarrow, W L \leftarrow, W Shift+R \Rightarrow, W Shift+L \Leftarrow, W M \mapsto

Operators (O prefix): O T \times, O C \cdot, O D \div, O E \equiv, O L \leq, O G \geq, O A \approx, O I \in, O U \cup, O Shift+U \cap, O Shift+N \nabla

Fonts (T prefix): T B \mathbf{}, T C \mathcal{}, T R \mathrm{}, T Shift+R \mathbb{}, T T \text{}

Matrices (M prefix): M P pmatrix, M B bmatrix, M C cases

The full list lives in shortcuts.yaml (101 default shortcuts).

Display-math environment wrap

Inside a display-math block $$…$$:

Press the configured shortcut after the leader (default Shift+E).
Choose an environment from the fuzzy-search list.
The plugin wraps the entire block content (not only the selection), e.g.
$$\alpha+\beta$$ → $$\begin{aligned}\alpha+\beta\end{aligned}$$

Configure environments (name / \begin{…} / \end{…}) and the trigger keys under 行间公式环境包裹 in settings, or run the command Wrap display math with environment from the palette.

Default environments: aligned, matrix, cases, gathered.

Configuration

`shortcuts.yaml`

Shortcuts are a YAML array. The leader key is global (settings), not per entry.

- keys: "F"
  command: "\\frac{$$}{}"
  name: "Fraction"
  group: "Structures"

- keys: "G A"
  command: "\\alpha"
  name: "alpha"
  group: "Greek"

Field	Required	Description
`keys`	yes	Key sequence after the leader. Space-separated tokens; modifiers use `+` (`Shift+S`, `G A`).
`command`	yes	LaTeX snippet. Use `$$` once for the caret/selection position. Write `\frac` not `\\frac` in the settings UI (auto-normalized).
`name`	no	Label in the settings table and which-key popup.
`group`	no	Grouping label in the settings table.

Special command __DISPLAY_MATH__ inserts a $$…$$ block (used by D).

Key normalization

Keys are canonicalized to lowercase mod+base order: ctrl → alt → shift → meta.
Letters are lowercase unless Shift is explicit (Shift+A).

Settings

Open Settings → Math Chords.

Setting	Default	Description
Enable plugin	on	Master switch for leader shortcuts.
Show hint popup	off	Which-key panel after the leader.
Inline math preview	on	MathJax preview above $…$ .
Leader key	`Alt+M`	Global prefix before shortcut keys; `keys` in YAML are what follows it.
Wrap outside math	on	Auto-insert $…$ around snippets when not in math.
Display-math env wrap	on	Environment picker inside `$$…$$`.
Env wrap keys	`Shift+E`	Keys after the leader for the picker.
Math environments	4 built-ins	Editable list for the picker.

Shortcut management: search, add, edit, delete entries; Reload re-reads YAML; Merge defaults appends any missing built-in shortcuts without overwriting yours.

Updating shortcuts

When the plugin loads (or you click Reload / 合并默认):

Your existing YAML entries are kept as-is (same keys → same binding).
Any default shortcut whose key sequence is not yet present is appended.
The updated file is written back to shortcuts.yaml.

To reset completely, delete shortcuts.yaml and reload the plugin (a fresh default file will be seeded).

Regenerate the repo’s default YAML from TypeScript:

npm run seed

Project structure

obsidian-math-chords/
├── src/                    # TypeScript source
│   ├── main.ts             # Plugin entry
│   ├── leader.ts           # Leader shortcut state machine
│   ├── defaults.ts         # Default shortcut catalog
│   ├── config.ts           # YAML load/save/merge
│   └── …                   # math, preview, settings UI, etc.
├── shortcuts.yaml          # Shipped default shortcuts (101 entries)
├── styles.css              # Preview & settings styles
├── manifest.json           # Obsidian plugin manifest
├── esbuild.config.mjs      # Build config
└── scripts/seed-yaml.cjs   # Regenerate YAML from defaults.ts

Development

npm install
npm run dev    # watch build
npm run build  # typecheck + production bundle
npm run seed   # rewrite shortcuts.yaml from src/defaults.ts

Module layout and constraints: .cursorrules.

Pull requests welcome. Run npm run build before submitting.

Releasing

Bump version in manifest.json and package.json; add the mapping to versions.json.
Update CHANGELOG.md.
Commit, then tag with the exact version (no v prefix), e.g. git tag 0.1.0 && git push origin 0.1.0.
The release workflow builds and attaches main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css.

AI assistance

This repository was bootstrapped and maintained with AI-assisted coding tools (Cursor IDE and large language models) under human review.

Full disclosure: AI-ASSISTANCE.md
Contributors using AI should review all output and mention it in PR descriptions.