herdr-math

Render inline and display LaTeX equations inside Herdr terminal panes using MathJax and Resvg.

Install

Requires Node.js 20+, npm, Herdr 0.8.2+, and a Kitty-graphics-compatible terminal. Tested on Linux with Kitty.

Open Herdr in your compatible terminal, then install the plugin and writing skill:

herdr plugin install liambern/herdr-math
npx skills add liambern/herdr-math --skill herdr-math -g

Select your agents in the skill installer. Switch panes once after installation, and start a fresh agent conversation to load the skill.

The plugin enables Kitty graphics, starts with Herdr, and follows the active pane. If graphics were disabled in an existing session, reattach your terminal or restart the Herdr server.

Use

Ask your agent: “Show me Schrödinger’s equation. Use herdr-math.”

The skill lets agents use ordinary inline and display LaTeX without a fixed template. The plugin renders visible terminal text independently of the agent harness. For example, The energy is $E=mc^2$. renders math within prose; \(E=mc^2\) also works. Code spans, code fences, escaped dollar signs, and ordinary currency amounts stay text.

Display equations share the center of the current pane width, use a full-width background band across their source rows, and recenter when the layout changes. Inline images cover only their original source span; display images cover their source rows. Neither mode reflows surrounding text, so tall equations need enough source lines. Incomplete, invalid, partially visible, or cramped equations remain text. Inline expressions that wrap across terminal rows stay text. The original source remains available for copying.

To quickly reveal the LaTeX source, invoke herdr plugin action invoke herdr-math.toggle. This hides or shows all math overlays in the session while keeping the plugin and its caches running; restarting the renderer restores visibility. Bind it to Ctrl+B, then M (with the default prefix) by adding this to your Herdr config and running herdr server reload-config:

[[keys.command]]
key = "prefix+m"
type = "plugin_action"
command = "herdr-math.toggle"
description = "Show or hide math overlays"

To pause rendering, run herdr plugin disable herdr-math. To resume, run herdr plugin enable herdr-math and switch panes.

Update

herdr plugin disable herdr-math
herdr plugin install liambern/herdr-math
npx skills update herdr-math
herdr plugin enable herdr-math

Switch panes once after updating. See the latest release for changes.

License

MIT.