Slack does not display rendered math. The math-with-slack script allows you to write nice-looking math using familiar TeX syntax by injecting MathJax into Slack's desktop client. This approach has several advantages over the plugin/bot solution:
- You can write both inline- and display-style equations.
- You can edit equations after you've posted them.
- Nothing is sent to external servers for rendering.
The downside is that equations are not rendered for team members without the MathJax injection.
Get and run the script. Restart the Slack client. You're done!
In the following instructions, replace any {repo_name} in commands by the current GitHub username of this repo.
Run the following in a terminal:
curl -OL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/{repo_name}/math-with-slack/master/math-with-slack.py
sudo python math-with-slack.pyYou need to exit your Slack before the installation. Then there are two ways to install math-with-slack on Windows.
-
Ubuntu subsystem
git clone https://github.com/{repo_name}/math-with-slack cd math-with-slack sudo python math-with-slack.py -
Windows PowerShell
Download
math-with-slackas a zip file and unzip it.cd path\to\math-with-slack python math-with-slack.py
If multiple versions of Slack are found on your computer, you will be asked to select one from them.
python math-with-slack.py
Several verisons of Slack were installed.
0: /mnt/c/Users/***/AppData/Local/slack/app-4.9.0/resources/app.asar (default)
1: /mnt/c/Users/***/AppData/Local/slack/app-4.8.0/resources/app.asar
Please select a version (#/Stop): 1
You can either enter the number indicating one of the listed versions or type Enter to select the first one.
Currently, we only support Slack installed from Slack installer.
If your Slack is installed through Microsoft Store, math-with-slack is not able to modifiy files in WindowsApps
folder hence not able to embedded our script.
The script needs write permissions in the Slack directory in order to inject the MathJax code.
Some package and software managers write protect their directories, and math-with-slack cannot be installed
if Slack is installed through such a manager. This is the case for both the Windows Store and Snap versions of Slack.
You should use the version downloaded from Slack's website if you want to use
math-with-slack. The script should, however, work with most package managers if
you manage to grant the script write permission.
The default MathJax is of version 3.0.5 and downloaded from https://registry.npmjs.org/mathjax/-/mathjax-3.0.5.tgz, which is a registry of npmjs.
The script also works with other versions of MathJax 3 and we list a table of versions that we have tested and the corresponding URLs.
Some URLs works better for certain areas. You can use any URL in the
table to install math-with-slack.
cd path\to\math-with-slack
python math-with-slack.py --mathjax-url=https://r.cnpmjs.org/mathjax/-/mathjax-3.0.5.tgzTo uninstall, run the script again with the -u flag:
python math-with-slack.py -uThe code injected by the script might be overwritten when you update the Slack app. If your client stops rendering math after an update, re-run the script as above and it should work again.
If you've installed Slack in some exotic place, the script might not find the installation by itself or it
might find the wrong installation. In such cases, you need to specify the location of Slack's
app.asar file as a parameter:
python math-with-slack.py --app-file=/My_Apps/Slack.app/Contents/Resources/app.asarpython math-with-slack.py --app-file=c:/Users/yourusername/AppData/Local/slack/app-4.7.0/resources/app.asarAs you do in TeX, use $ ... $ for inline math and $$ ... $$ for display-style math.
If you need to write a lot of dollar-signs in a message and want to prevent rendering,
use backslash to escape them: \$.
Note that only users with MathJax injected in their client will see the rendered version of your math. Users with the standard client will see the equations just as you wrote them (i.e., unrendered including the dollar signs).
The script alters how Slack is loaded. Under the hood, the desktop client is based on ordinary web technology. The modified client loads the MathJax library after start-up and adds a listener for messages. As soon as it detects a new message, it looks for TeX-styled math and tries to render. Everything is done in the client. Messages are never sent to servers for rendering.
Yes, please. Just add an issue or a pull request.
Thanks to past contributors:
- Caster
- chrispanag
- crstnbr
- gauss256
- jeanluct
- LaurentHayez
- NKudryavka
- peroxyacyl
- Spenhouet
- Xyene
- thisiscam
- YingzhouLi
Inspiration
This comment by jouni was extremely helpful. So was this snippet by etihwnad.