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.

We need your contribution to make the preview better! Please submit your pull requests!

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