tex-render

TeX Render 📐

Renders LaTeX math to PNG, JPEG, WebP, or AVIF (and SVG). Use when you need a viewable image from LaTeX instead of raw code.

Location

The render script lives in the same skill folder as this SKILL.md:

<skill_folder>/
├── SKILL.md
├── package.json
└── scripts/
    └── render.js

Use the directory containing this SKILL.md as the skill path. The script is at scripts/render.js relative to that folder. Invoke: node <skill_folder>/scripts/render.js. The agent loading this skill has the skill path—use it to run the script.

Install

One-time setup. After npm install run npm install` in the skill folder:

cd <skill_folder>
npm install

When to Use

• User or task asks to "render this equation as image" or "show formula as picture"
• Your reply would contain LaTeX — render formulas as images first, then respond with plain text

Workflow: Response Contains LaTeX

Output your reply interleaved: whenever you would output LaTeX, do this instead:

1. Send the preceding plain text — call message with the text written so far (no LaTeX).
2. Render the LaTeX expression with this skill (default PNG; no --output dataurl). Parse the JSON for the PNG path.
3. Send the image — call message with action: "send", path set to the rendered PNG, and message as short caption.
4. Continue outputting the rest of the message. Repeat the cycle (text → render → send image) for each LaTeX block.

Do not output raw LaTeX. Do not ask the user for permission to render — render and send images immediately when LaTeX would appear in your reply. Do not accumulate everything and send at the end — send text and images in order as you go.

Critical: Output in order: plain text → send → LaTeX → render → send image → plain text → send → LaTeX → render → send image → … The user must receive text and images in the natural reading order.

Example: Explaining Lagrangian:
→ Send "The Lagrangian is defined as " → Render L = T - V → Send image with caption "L = T - V" → Send ". The Euler-Lagrange equation is " → Render d/dt(∂L/∂q̇) - ∂L/∂q = 0 → Send image → Send " — this yields the equations of motion."