Instant LaTeX Previewer

Instant LaTeX Previewer is a VS Code extension for fast, backend-free preview of LaTeX files. It does not require TeX Live, latexmk, or Docker. Instead, it converts LaTeX into readable Markdown-like content and renders it in a webview inside VS Code.

⚠ This extension aims for speedy preview instead of strictly-formatted pdf generation, so the document structure may look different from rendered pdf.

It also ships with zero runtime dependencies, which keeps VSIX packaging and local debugging stable in pnpm-based workflows.

Why this extension exists

For many writing and review tasks, you do not need publication-grade TeX rendering. You mainly need:

• A quick visual structure of sections and paragraphs
• Inserted figures shown inline when possible
• A readable approximation of equations and lists

This extension targets exactly that workflow.

Features

• Open instant preview directly from a .tex editor
• Built-in Contents sidebar in preview; click an item to jump to the source line in .tex
• Convert common structure:
• \\section, \\subsection, \\subsubsection
• \\begin{abstract} ... \\end{abstract}
• \\begin{itemize} / \\begin{enumerate}
• \\textbf, \\textit, \\emph, \\underline
• Convert figures:
• \\includegraphics{...} becomes inline visual blocks
• Raster images (png/jpg/jpeg/webp/gif/svg) are displayed as images
• PDF assets are embedded with object fallback and clickable link
• Dedicated rendering for scientific environments:
• table / tabular converted into styled table preview
• algorithm converted into structured pseudocode block
• Preserve display math blocks as readable $$ ... $$
• Expand \\input{...} recursively (relative to current source file, with cycle/depth safeguards)
• Optional conversion diagnostics for unsupported environments
• Live refresh while editing (configurable)

Quick start

1. Open a LaTeX file in VS Code.
2. Run command: Instant LaTeX Previewer: Open Preview.
3. The preview panel opens beside your editor.

Settings

• instantLatexPreviewer.autoRefresh (default: true)
• Auto refresh preview when the source .tex file changes.
• instantLatexPreviewer.showConversionDiagnostics (default: true)
• Show unsupported-environment notes in preview.

Commands

• Instant LaTeX Previewer: Open Preview
• Instant LaTeX Previewer: Refresh Preview
• Instant LaTeX Previewer: Reveal Source Line (internal command used by TOC links)

What this extension is not

• Not a full TeX engine
• Not guaranteed typographic parity with PDF output from journal templates
• Not intended to replace production compilation for final submission

Supported workflow for this repository

The included sample project in test_project can be previewed without any TeX backend. Open test_project/main.tex, then run the preview command.

Architecture

See docs/architecture.md and docs/conversion-rules.md.

Development

pnpm install
pnpm run lint
pnpm run test
pnpm run build
pnpm run package

Press F5 in VS Code to run the extension development host.

License

MIT