Introducing Math Chords: Speed up your LaTeX workflow with LyX-inspired key sequences and live preview

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Disclaimer

Is this project open source? Yes
Is this project completely free? Yes
Is this project vibe-coded beyond the author’s ability to comprehend how it works? No
Community Directory: Math Chords - Obsidian Plugin

Title: [Plugin] Math Chords - Insert LaTeX formulas with LyX-inspired keyboard shortcuts

Hi everyone,

I’m excited to share a new plugin I built via Vibe coding: Math Chords (v0.1.6).

If you frequently type LaTeX in Obsidian, you know that writing complex formulas by hand can significantly slow down your note-taking flow. Math Chords solves this by letting you insert LaTeX snippets via rapid, configurable key sequences—inspired by the math-mode bindings of LyX.

math-chords

Key Features

  • Leader-Key Shortcuts: Press a global prefix (default Alt+M), followed by a short key sequence to immediately output LaTeX commands.
  • Caret Placeholder: Command templates place your cursor exactly where it needs to be (e.g., F outputs a fraction with the cursor ready in the numerator).
  • Auto $…$ Wrapping: Automatically detects if you are outside a math environment and wraps the inserted snippet in inline math delimiters.
  • Inline Live Preview: Renders a floating MathJax preview directly above your cursor while editing inside $…$.
  • Display-Math Environment Wrap: Wrap block content with environments like aligned, matrix, or cases via a fuzzy-search picker (triggered by Shift+E after the leader).
  • YAML-Based Configuration: Edit your custom shortcuts seamlessly through the settings UI or directly within the shortcuts配置文件. Your custom keybindings will never be overwritten during updates.

Show, Don’t Tell (Quick Start Examples)

  1. Put your cursor in a note and press Alt+M (Leader key).
  2. Fractions: Press F $\rightarrow$ \frac{}{} (cursor auto-placed in the numerator).
  3. Greek Letters: Press G then A $\rightarrow$ \alpha.
  4. Display Math: Press D $\rightarrow$ $$\n\n$$.
  5. Environment Wrap: Press Shift+E inside or outside a block to trigger the fuzzy-search picker for environments like aligned.

(Note: 101 built-in default shortcuts are ready out of the box.)

Shortcut Reference (Short Summary)

Here is a quick glance at some default sequences (triggered after pressing Alt+M):

Category Keys Inserts Description
Structures F S D
Operators U I P
Accents H V \hat{}
Delimiters ( [ `
Greek (Lower) G A G B G L
Extensions W R O T T B

How to Install

  • From Community Directory: Go to Settings $\rightarrow$ Community plugins $\rightarrow$ Browse, search for Math Chords, and click Install / Activate.
  • Manual Installation: Download main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css from the official releases page on GitHub (search for ichenh/obsidian-math-chords). Place them into your vault’s .obsidian/plugins/math-chords/ directory.

Requirements & Compatibility

  • Requires Obsidian 1.5.0+.
  • This plugin is highly keyboard-heavy, so a desktop environment is highly recommended.

Feedback & Contributions

The plugin currently stands at v0.1.6. If you find any edge cases, have feature requests, or want to contribute to the shortcut catalog, please feel free to open an issue or submit a pull request on the GitHub repository.