Math & LaTeX

Kiln renders mathematical notation directly from your Obsidian vault using LaTeX syntax and MathJax 4. Inline formulas, block equations, and complex notation all work out of the box with zero configuration — write math in Obsidian, and Kiln publishes it to the web.

This is part of Kiln's support for [Obsidian Markdown](./Obsidian Markdown.md), which targets full parity with how your notes look in the Obsidian editor.

Supported Syntax

Kiln recognizes four delimiter styles for LaTeX math, matching the syntax Obsidian uses.

Inline Equations

Use single dollar signs $...$ or escaped parentheses \(...\) to embed math within a sentence.

The quadratic formula is $x = \frac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 - 4ac}}{2a}$ and applies to any second-degree polynomial.

Result: The quadratic formula is $x = \frac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 - 4ac}}{2a}$ and applies to any second-degree polynomial.

Block Equations

Use double dollar signs $$...$$ or escaped brackets \[...\] to create centered, standalone equations.

$$
\int_0^\infty e^{-x^2} dx = \frac{\sqrt{\pi}}{2}
$$

Result:

$$\int_0^\infty e^{-x^2} dx = \frac{\sqrt{\pi}}{2} $$

Block equations are ideal for complex formulas, proofs, or any expression that benefits from its own line.

Common LaTeX Examples

Below are copy-pasteable examples for frequently used notation.

Fractions and Roots

$$
\frac{a}{b} \quad \sqrt{x^2 + y^2} \quad \sqrt[3]{27}
$$

Result:

$$\frac{a}{b} \quad \sqrt{x^2 + y^2} \quad \sqrt[3]{27} $$

Summations and Products

$$
\sum_{i=1}^{n} i = \frac{n(n+1)}{2} \qquad \prod_{k=1}^{n} k = n!
$$

Result:

$$\sum_{i=1}^{n} i = \frac{n(n+1)}{2} \qquad \prod_{k=1}^{n} k = n! $$

Matrices

$$
\begin{pmatrix} a & b \\ c & d \end{pmatrix}
\begin{bmatrix} 1 & 0 \\ 0 & 1 \end{bmatrix}
$$

Result:

$$\begin{pmatrix} a & b \\ c & d \end{pmatrix} \begin{bmatrix} 1 & 0 \\ 0 & 1 \end{bmatrix} $$

Greek Letters and Symbols

Inline symbols work naturally: $\alpha$, $\beta$, $\gamma$, $\Delta$, $\Omega$, $\nabla$, $\partial$, $\infty$.

Result: Inline symbols work naturally: $\alpha$, $\beta$, $\gamma$, $\Delta$, $\Omega$, $\nabla$, $\partial$, $\infty$.

Escaping Dollar Signs

Because $ triggers math rendering, you need to escape literal dollar signs with a backslash when you don't want math mode.

The price is \$9.99, not $9.99$ (which would render as math).

The processEscapes option is enabled by default, so \$ always produces a plain dollar sign.

Performance

Rendering high-quality math on the web requires a powerful library, which can slow down pages that don't need it. Kiln solves this with a lazy loading strategy, similar to how it handles [Mermaid Graphs](./Mermaid Graphs.md).

• Smart detection: Before loading anything, Kiln scans the page content for math delimiters ($$, \(, \[). If none are found, the MathJax library is never downloaded.
• On-demand loading: When math is detected, MathJax 4 is fetched asynchronously from a CDN and renders equations as crisp SVGs with a global font cache.
• Navigation aware: With [client-side navigation](../Navigation/Client Side Navigation.md) enabled, MathJax re-renders automatically when you navigate to a new page containing equations — no full page reload needed.

This means blog posts, simple text notes, and pages without math have zero overhead from the math engine.

How It Works

Kiln uses Goldmark with the goldmark-mathjax extension to parse LaTeX delimiters during the Markdown-to-HTML conversion. The parsed math expressions are preserved in the HTML output, and MathJax 4 picks them up on the client side to render SVG output.

The SVG renderer produces resolution-independent equations that look sharp on any screen, and the global font cache ensures that repeated symbols don't increase page weight.