latex-tools.nvim

LuaSnip-powered LaTeX math snippets, visual wrappers, and matrix editing for Neovim.

Designed for writing math in Markdown (Obsidian-style) and .tex files.

Note: This plugin was largely written with the assistance of AI (Claude). It works well for its author's use case, but may have rough edges. Use at your own discretion and feel free to open issues.

Requirements

• Neovim 0.10+
• LuaSnip
• Treesitter markdown parser (optional — improves math zone detection, falls back to a line scanner)
• After install, run :checkhealth latex-tools to verify Neovim, LuaSnip (including autosnippets), Treesitter parsers, and that setup() has run.

Installation

vim.pack (Neovim 0.12+)

-- In your pack declaration file:
vim.pack.add('https://github.com/gsmith-alvarez/latex-tools.nvim')

For deferred loading (recommended — keeps startup fast):

vim.pack.add(
  { 'https://github.com/gsmith-alvarez/latex-tools.nvim' },
  { load = function() end }
)

Then call packadd before your LuaSnip setup runs:

vim.cmd.packadd 'latex-tools.nvim'

lazy.nvim

{
  'gsmith-alvarez/latex-tools.nvim',
  dependencies = { 'L3MON4D3/LuaSnip' },
  config = function()
    require('latex-tools').setup()
  end,
}

Manual

git clone https://github.com/gsmith-alvarez/latex-tools.nvim \
  ~/.config/nvim/pack/plugins/start/latex-tools.nvim

Calling setup()

Call setup() after LuaSnip has loaded:

require('latex-tools').setup()

Quick Start

With default config, these snippets fire automatically:

In	Type	Result
Plain text	mk	$·$ (inline math)
Plain text	dm	$$\n·\n$$ (display math)
Math zone	beg	\begin{·}\n\n\end{·}
Math zone	@a	\alpha
Math zone	/	\frac{expr}{·} (smart fraction — wraps preceding expr; inside {…} e.g. x^{1/4} captures only the in-group prefix → \frac{1}{4})
Math zone	xhat	\hat{x} (smart postfix)
Math zone	3*3pmat	3×3 pmatrix with a tab stop in every cell (dynamic matrix)
Matrix env	,,	& (column separator)

Configuration

Full config with defaults:

require('latex-tools').setup({
  snippets = {
    enabled = true,

    -- When LuaSnip snippets are built and registered (default moves work off `setup()` for faster startup):
    --   "schedule" — next main-loop tick (safe with lazy.nvim; snippets appear almost immediately).
    --   "immediate" — same as older versions; all snippets built inside `setup()`.
    --   "filetype" — first time you open a buffer whose &filetype is in `filetypes` below.
    register_timing = 'schedule',

    -- Filetypes to register snippets into.
    -- For a Markdown-first workflow, set { 'markdown' }.
    filetypes = { 'markdown', 'tex' },

    -- Trigger strings for the four named entry points.
    triggers = {
      inline_math   = 'mk',   -- plain text → $...$
      display_math  = 'dm',   -- plain text → $$...$$
      begin_env     = 'beg',  -- math zone → \begin{...}
      matrix_column = ',,',   -- matrix env → ' & '
    },

    -- Built-in snippet buckets: set a key to false to drop that whole group (see "Snippet categories" below).
    categories = {
      greek_letters = true,
      operators = true,
      symbols = true,
      arrows = true,
      sets_logic = true,
      decorators = true,
      integrals_derivatives = true,
      physics = true,
      chemistry = true,
      matrices = true,
      environments = true,
      brackets = true,
      sequences_series = true,
      trig_functions = true,
    },

    -- Remap trigger strings for any built-in snippet.
    -- Key: existing trigger (exact string for plain triggers,
    --      raw Lua pattern for regTrig snippets — see below).
    -- Value: fields to replace. Only trig/wordTrig/regTrig can change;
    --        snippet body and nodes cannot be patched.
    -- Does not apply to snippets in `extra`.
    overrides = {},

    -- Remove built-in snippets by trigger string.
    -- Does not apply to snippets in `extra`.
    disable = {},

    -- Raw LuaSnip snippet objects appended after all built-in snippets.
    extra = {},
  },

  visual_wrappers = {
    enabled = true,
    keymaps = {
      underbrace = '<leader>lu',
      overbrace  = '<leader>lo',
      cancel     = '<leader>lc',
      cancelto   = '<leader>lk',
      underset   = '<leader>lb',
    },
  },

  matrix = {
    enabled = true,
    enter_inserts_row_sep = true,
    envs = {
      'matrix', 'pmatrix', 'bmatrix', 'Bmatrix',
      'vmatrix', 'Vmatrix', 'smallmatrix',
      'array', 'align', 'align*', 'aligned',
      'cases', 'split', 'gather', 'gather*',
      'gathered', 'eqnarray', 'eqnarray*',
      'multline', 'multline*',
    },
  },

  context = {
    -- Improves math-zone detection; also used for \text{} escape detection (with line fallback).
    use_treesitter = true,
  },
})

Snippet categories

snippets.categories groups triggers into buckets. Set a key to false to omit every snippet in that bucket (see category_for_trigger() in lua/latex-tools/snippets.lua). Omitting a key keeps the default (enabled).

Notable matrices snippets: the dynamic matrix pattern (%d+)%*(%d+)([bBpvV])mat, the matrix-column trigger (default ,,), and &= (align row operator). environments is separate: bare pmat, bmat, matrix, etc.

Snippet Reference

Snippets fire in math zones (inside $...$, $$...$$, or any .tex file) unless marked text (plain text only). Inside \text{...} / \textbf{...} bodies, math autosnippets are suppressed so you can type normal words; text and " still insert \text{} from math mode.

· in expansion output marks one LuaSnip insert / tab stop in left-to-right order. When you see · · in a row (two dots with only spaces or punctuation between them), that is two different stops, not one stop drawn twice: you tab through the first, then the second. For many big snippets the last stop is a deliberate “jump out” past the closing brace or past the main symbol so you can keep typing without the snippet feeling boxed in.

Many enclosing snippets (environments, fractions, \mathbf, smart postfix decorators, dynamic matrices, and similar) also include that final jump-out stop after the closing delimiter or outside the fence.

Visual selection defaults

Some snippets will use the current visual selection as their default content (via LS_SELECT_RAW) when expanded from a visual-mode snippet workflow. This currently applies to:

• text / " (\text{...})
• box (\boxed{...})
• fallback decorator forms (hat, bar, dot, ddot, tilde, und, vec, mfr)

Math Entry (text zone)

Trigger	Expands to	Notes
mk	$·$·	Inline math
dm	$$\n·\n$$ ·	Display math

Environments (math zone)

Trigger	Expands to
beg	\begin{·}\n·\n\end{·}·
pmat	\begin{pmatrix}\n·\n\end{pmatrix}·
bmat	\begin{bmatrix}\n·\n\end{bmatrix}·
Bmat	\begin{Bmatrix}\n·\n\end{Bmatrix}·
vmat	\begin{vmatrix}\n·\n\end{vmatrix}·
Vmat	\begin{Vmatrix}\n·\n\end{Vmatrix}·
matrix	\begin{matrix}\n·\n\end{matrix}·
cases	\begin{cases}\n·\n\end{cases}·
align	\begin{align}\n·\n\end{align}·
array	\begin{array}\n·\n\end{array}·
box	\boxed{·}·
subst	\substack{·}·
text	\text{·}·
"	\text{·}· (shorthand for text)

Prefilled b / B / p / v / V matrices with a tab stop in every cell use the separate dynamic matrix autosnippet (N*M + type + mat, e.g. 3*3pmat); see Matrix Editing.

Greek Letters (math zone)

Trigger	Output	Trigger	Output
@a	\alpha	@b	\beta
@g	\gamma	@G	\Gamma
@d	\delta	@D	\Delta
@e	\epsilon	:e	\varepsilon
@z	\zeta	@h	\eta
@t	\theta	@T	\Theta
:t	\vartheta	@i	\iota
@k	\kappa	@l	\lambda
@L	\Lambda	@m	\mu
@n	\nu	@x	\xi
@X	\Xi	@p	\pi
@r	\rho	@s	\sigma
@S	\Sigma	@u	\upsilon
@U	\Upsilon	@f	\phi
@F	\Phi	:f	\varphi
@y	\psi	@Y	\Psi
@o	\omega	@O	\Omega
ome	\omega	Ome	\Omega

Full Greek names also auto-expand (word boundary required):

Trigger	Output	Trigger	Output
alpha	\alpha	beta	\beta
gamma	\gamma	Gamma	\Gamma
delta	\delta	Delta	\Delta
epsilon	\epsilon	varepsilon	\varepsilon
zeta	\zeta	eta	\eta
theta	\theta	Theta	\Theta
vartheta	\vartheta	iota	\iota
kappa	\kappa	lambda	\lambda
Lambda	\Lambda	mu	\mu
nu	\nu	xi	\xi
Xi	\Xi	pi	\pi
rho	\rho	sigma	\sigma
Sigma	\Sigma	upsilon	\upsilon
Upsilon	\Upsilon	phi	\phi
varphi	\varphi	Phi	\Phi
psi	\psi	Psi	\Psi
omega	\omega	Omega	\Omega
chi	\chi	tau	\tau

Operators (math zone)

Trigger	Output	Notes
/	\frac{expr}{·}·	Smart: wraps preceding expr as numerator
//	\frac{·}{·}·	Empty-numerator fraction (works where smart / has nothing to capture, e.g. line start)
cfr	\cfrac{·}{·} ·	Continued fraction
dfr	\dfrac{·}{·}·	Display-style fraction
tfr	\tfrac{·}{·}·	Text-style fraction
sr	^{2}	Square
cb	^{3}	Cube
rd	^{·}	General superscript
us	_{·}	Subscript
sts	_\text{·}·	Text subscript
invs	^{-1}	Inverse
conj	^{*}	Conjugate
compl	^{c}	Set complement
trans	^{T}	Transpose
sq	\sqrt{· ·}	Square root
nsq	\sqrt[·]{·}	nth root
ee	e^{ · }	Exponential
bf	\mathbf{·}·	Bold
rm	\mathrm{·}	Roman
Re	\mathrm{Re}	Real part
Im	\mathrm{Im}	Imaginary part
trace	\mathrm{Tr}	Trace

Decorators / Postfix (math zone)

These wrap the preceding token. Type x then the trigger: xhat → \hat{x}. The high-priority postfix variants include a trailing tab stop after the command.

Trigger	Output
hat	\hat{...}·
bar	\bar{...}·
dot	\dot{...}·
ddot	\ddot{...}·
tilde	\tilde{...}·
und	\underline{...}·
vec	\vec{...}·
mfr	\mathfrak{...}·
deco	choice menu: hat/bar/dot/ddot/tilde/vec/underline (then a trailing tab past the brace)

Auto-subscript (math zone)

These are regex autosnippets — they fire automatically as you type.

Pattern	Example	Output
([A-Za-z])(%d)	x2	x_{2}
([A-Za-z])_(%d%d)	x_12	x_{12} (two-digit subscript)

That is why the dynamic matrix trigger uses an asterisk between dimensions (3*3pmat), not 3x3…: a middle x would match as a letter before a digit and expand too early (see Matrix Editing).

Symbols (math zone)

Trigger	Output	Trigger	Output
ooo	\infty	sum	\sum
prod	\prod	xx	\times
+-	\pm	-+	\mp
...	\dots	**	\cdot
nabl	\nabla	del	\nabla
pll	\parallel	===	\equiv
!=	\neq	>=	\geq
<=	\leq	>>	\gg
<<	\ll	simm	\sim
sim=	\simeq	prop	\propto
~~	\approx	-~	\backsimeq
=~	\cong	:=	\coloneqq
dp	\partial	lll	\ell
::	\colon	perp	\perp
upar	\uparrow	dnar	\downarrow
norm	\lvert...\rvert	Norm	\lVert...\rVert
avg	\langle...\rangle	ceil	\lceil...\rceil
floor	\lfloor...\rfloor	mod	`
inn	\in	notin	\not\in
dag	^\dagger	o+	\oplus
ox	\otimes	cdot	\cdot

Sets / Logic (math zone)

Trigger	Output	Trigger	Output
NN	\mathbb{N}	ZZ	\mathbb{Z}
QQ	\mathbb{Q}	RR	\mathbb{R}
CC	\mathbb{C}	PP	\mathbb{P}
HH	\mathbb{H}	II	\mathbb{·}·
LL	\mathcal{L}	eset	\emptyset
and	\cap	orr	\cup
cc	\subset	qq	\supset
sub=	\subseteq	sup=	\supseteq
AND	\bigcap	CUP	\bigcup
setm	\setminus	inn	\in
notin	\not\in	VV	\lor
WW	\land	!W	\bigwedge
&&	\quad \land \quad	neg	\neg
iff	\iff	AA	\forall
EE	\exists	?fa	\forall ·
?ex	\exists ·	?ue	\exists! ·
?tf	\therefore ·	?be	\because ·
?qed	\square	?st	\text{ s.t. }

set — choice node with three forms:

Choice	Output
1 (default)	\{x\}
2	\{x \mid y\}
3	\{x \colon y\}

Brackets (math zone)

Trigger	Output
lr(	\left( · \right)
lr[	\left[ · \right]
lr{	\left\{ · \right\}
lr|	\left| · \right|
lra	\left< · \right>
binom	\binom{·}{·}
brack	choice menu: (), [], {}, <>, |, || (then a trailing tab past the pair)

Arrows (math zone)

Trigger	Output	Trigger	Output
->	\to	!>	\mapsto
<-	\gets	-->	\longrightarrow
=>	\implies	=<	\impliedby

Note: <- and <-> are mutually exclusive as autosnippets (<- fires before > can be typed), so \leftrightarrow has no built-in trigger. Re-add one via snippets.extra if you want it.

Extensible arrows:

Trigger	Output
xra	\xrightarrow{·}{·} · (choice: optional [bottom], then trailing tab)
xla	\xleftarrow{·}{·} · (choice: optional [bottom], then trailing tab)

Integrals / Derivatives (math zone)

Trigger	Output	Notes
dint	\int_{·}^{·} · \, d· ·	Definite integral (auto)
oint	\oint	Contour integral (auto)
oinf	\int_{0}^{\infty} · \, d· ·	Zero to infinity (auto)
infi	\int_{-\infty}^{\infty} · \, d· ·	Improper integral (auto)
iint	\iint	Double integral (auto)
iiint	\iiint	Triple integral (auto)
ddt	\frac{d}{dt} ·	Time derivative (auto)
par	\frac{ \partial · }{ \partial · } · ·	Partial derivative (auto in math; wordTrig + skips \par… for \partial)
paXY	\frac{ \partial X }{ \partial Y } ·	Regex auto: two letters, e.g. paxy → ∂x/∂y (par… is taken by par above)
\int	\int · \, d· · ·	Integral with measure (tab)
\lim	\lim_{· \to ·} · ·	After typing \lim, Tab for limits (defaults n, \infty)
\sum	\sum_{·=·}^{·} · ·	Sum with limits (tab)
\prod	\prod_{·=·}^{·} · ·	Product with limits (tab)

par expands as soon as you finish the three letters. That means identifiers that start with par (e.g. parent, parity) will expand after par unless you split typing (e.g. insert a space and delete it). The old \parallel trigger para was renamed to pll so it does not collide with par.

Align helpers (align/aligned/eqnarray only)

Trigger	Output
itr	\intertext{...}
tag	\tag{...}
ntg	\notag
br	\\ followed by a newline

Physics (math zone)

Trigger	Output	Trigger	Output
kbt	k_{B}T	msun	M_{\odot}
bra	\bra{·} ·	ket	\ket{·} ·
brk	\braket{ · | · } ·	outer	\ket{·} \bra{·} · ·
lrhar	\leftrightharpoons

Chemistry (math zone)

Trigger	Output	Notes
pu	\pu{ · }·	Physical units (physics package)
cee	\ce{ · }·	Chemical equation (mhchem package)
he4	{}^{4}_{2}He	Helium-4 isotope shorthand
he3	{}^{3}_{2}He	Helium-3 isotope shorthand
iso	{}^{·}_{·}· ·	Generic isotope template

Trig Functions (math zone)

These use regex patterns ((.-)(sin) etc.) so they expand when you type the bare function name — they also prevent double-prefixing if a \ is already present.

Trigger	Output	Trigger	Output
sin	\sin	cos	\cos
tan	\tan	csc	\csc
sec	\sec	cot	\cot
arcsin	\arcsin	arccos	\arccos
arctan	\arctan	ln	\ln
log	\log	exp	\exp
det	\det	int	\int
max	\max	min	\min
sup	\sup	inf	\inf
deg	\deg	argmax	\argmax
argmin	\argmin

Note: sinh, cosh, and tanh now expand (e.g. sinh → \sinh). The sin/cos/tan regex is blocked by the no_prefix guard once \sinh is produced, so no double trigger occurs.

Sequences / Series (math zone)

Trigger	Output
seq	\{a_n\}_{n=1}^{\infty} · (customisable)
sumn	sum_{n=1}^{\infty} ·
sumk	sum_{k=1}^{n} ·
lim	\lim
limn	\lim_{n \to \infty} ·
limsup	\limsup_{n \to \infty} ·
liminf	\liminf_{n \to \infty} ·
geom	a \cdot r^{n-1} · (geometric term)
arith	a + (n - 1)d · (arithmetic term)

Limit (two steps, like integral): lim (auto) inserts plain \lim (no inner tab stops). For _{n \to \infty} (editable), press Tab with the cursor on \lim to expand the regular snippet \lim_{· \to ·} · · (same idea as \int then Tab for \int … \, d· …).

If you type \lim yourself (backslash then lim), the lim autosnippet does not run on the lim suffix, so you never get \\lim from that overlap.

Chained limits: limn, limsup, and liminf build on the bare lim auto. As you type, lim first becomes \lim; the remaining letters then match the limn / limsup / liminf suffix and expand to \lim_{n \to \infty} · etc. — the same trick sumn / sumk use after sum → \sum. (The sup / inf trig-function regexes are blocked mid-word, so they don't interfere.)

Misc subscript shorthands:

Trigger	Output	Trigger	Output
xnn	x_{n}	xjj	x_{j}
xp1	x_{n+1}	ynn	y_{n}
yii	y_{i}	yjj	y_{j}

Matrix Editing (matrix env)

Trigger	Output	Condition
,,	&	Any matrix/tabular env
&=	&= · \\ (choice: &= / &\leq / &\geq)	align/aligned/eqnarray only

Dynamic matrix (autosnippet in math):

Type <rows>*<cols><type>mat (asterisk between the numbers). An x separator would collide with letter+digit auto-subscript (x3 → x_{3}) while you type something like 3x3pmat.

This order keeps a bare <type>mat from winning first (e.g. pmat still expands to an empty pmatrix shell).

Example trigger	Result
3*3pmat	3×3 pmatrix
2*4bmat	2×4 bmatrix
4*4Vmat	4×4 Vmatrix

Valid type letters: b, B, p, v, V (maps to b/B/p/v/Vmatrix).

The snippet expands automatically when the pattern is complete. Tab visits every cell in row-major order. The last cell has no trailing \\. One more tab after \end{…matrix} jumps past the environment.

Customizing Triggers

Remap a built-in trigger

require('latex-tools').setup({
  snippets = {
    overrides = {
      ['@a'] = { trig = 'ga' },   -- remap alpha: type 'ga' instead of '@a'
      ['/'] = { trig = 'sf' },    -- remap smart fraction (/ → sf)
    },
  },
})

Only trig, wordTrig, and regTrig can be changed. Snippet body and nodes are fixed. The \parallel trigger is pll so it does not collide with autosnippet par (partial derivative).

Disable a built-in snippet

require('latex-tools').setup({
  snippets = {
    -- Plain triggers by exact string:
    disable = { 'sr', 'cb' }, -- 'square' and 'cube' autosnippets
    -- Regex / regTrig snippets by their raw Lua pattern string:
    -- disable = { '(%d+)%*(%d+)([bBpvV])mat' }, -- dynamic matrix only
  },
})

Regex trigger keys

Snippets that use regTrig = true are keyed by their raw Lua pattern string. Check the snippet source to find the exact pattern. Examples:

• Auto-subscript: '([A-Za-z])(%d)'
• Dynamic matrix: '(%d+)%*(%d+)([bBpvV])mat'
• Partial derivative pair: 'pa([A-Za-z])([A-Za-z])'

overrides = {
  ['([A-Za-z])(%d)'] = { trig = '([A-Za-z])_(%d)', regTrig = true },
},

Add custom snippets

local ls = require 'luasnip'
local s, i, t = ls.snippet, ls.insert_node, ls.text_node

require('latex-tools').setup({
  snippets = {
    extra = {
      s({ trig = 'myv', wordTrig = false }, t [[\mathbf{v}]]),
    },
  },
})

extra snippets are appended after all built-ins and are not affected by overrides or disable.

Auto-Enlarge Brackets

When a snippet that produces \frac, \int, or \sum is triggered inside an existing (...) or [...] pair on the same line, the brackets are automatically enlarged with \left / \right.

Example:

(x + y/  →  \left(x + \frac{x+y}{·}\right)

The enlargement fires for: / (smart fraction), ddt, dint, oinf, infi, \int, \lim, \sum, \prod, par, lim (bare lim → \lim).

Conditions:

• Both the opening and matching closing bracket must already exist on the same line.
• Does nothing if the bracket is already preceded by \left.
• Only ( and [ are enlarged ({ is not, since it is a LaTeX grouping character).

Visual Wrappers

Five keymaps wrap a visual selection with a LaTeX annotation command. They only fire when the selection is inside a math zone.

Default keymap	Wraps selection with
<leader>lu	\underbrace{...}_{}
<leader>lo	\overbrace{...}^{}
<leader>lc	\cancel{...}
<leader>lk	\cancelto{}{...}
<leader>lb	\underset{}{...}

Use visual mode (v or V), select the expression, then press the keymap.

To reconfigure:

require('latex-tools').setup({
  visual_wrappers = {
    keymaps = {
      underbrace = '<leader>wu',
      overbrace  = '<leader>wo',
      cancel     = '<leader>wc',
      cancelto   = '<leader>wk',
      underset   = '<leader>wb',
    },
  },
})

Matrix Editing

Inside any matrix-like environment (pmatrix, bmatrix, align, cases, etc.):

• Press Enter to insert \\ (row separator) and start a new line
• Type ,, to insert & (column separator)

The Enter behavior integrates with autolist.nvim if present; otherwise it sets a standalone <CR> keymap inside matrix environments.

Supported environments: matrix, pmatrix, bmatrix, Bmatrix, vmatrix, Vmatrix, smallmatrix, array, align, align*, aligned, cases, split, gather, gather*, gathered, eqnarray, eqnarray*, multline, multline*.

To add environments:

require('latex-tools').setup({
  matrix = {
    envs = {
      -- (replaces the default list entirely — include defaults if needed)
      'matrix', 'pmatrix', 'bmatrix',
      'myenv',   -- custom environment
    },
  },
})