latex-to-md

name	latex-to-md
description	Convert LaTeX to Markdown format. Use when the user asks to convert, transform, or change LaTeX files to Markdown, or mentions converting .tex files to .md files.

LaTeX to Markdown Converter

Convert LaTeX documents to Markdown format with support for common LaTeX commands and environments.

Usage

npx tsx plugins/tex/scripts/latex-to-md.ts <text>
npx tsx plugins/tex/scripts/latex-to-md.ts --file <input.tex>
npx tsx plugins/tex/scripts/latex-to-md.ts --file <input.tex> --output <output.md>

Supported Conversions

Sections/Headers

• \chapter{Title} → # Title
• \section{Title} → ## Title
• \subsection{Title} → ### Title
• \subsubsection{Title} → #### Title
• \paragraph{Title} → ##### Title
• \subparagraph{Title} → ###### Title

Text Formatting

• \textbf{bold} → **bold**
• \textit{italic} → *italic*
• \emph{emphasis} → *emphasis*
• \texttt{code} → `code`
• \verb|code| → `code`

Code Blocks

\begin{verbatim}
code here
\end{verbatim}

→

```
code here
```

Also supports lstlisting environment.

Lists

Itemize (unordered):

\begin{itemize}
\item First item
\item Second item
\end{itemize}

→

- First item
- Second item

Enumerate (ordered):

\begin{enumerate}
\item First
\item Second
\end{enumerate}

→

1. First
2. Second

Links

• \href{url}{text} → [text](url)
• \url{url} → <url>

Images

With caption (figure environment):

\begin{figure}
\includegraphics{image.png}
\caption{Description}
\end{figure}

→

![Description](image.png)

Without caption:

• \includegraphics{image.png} → ![](image.png)
• \includegraphics[width=5cm]{image.png} → ![](image.png) (options stripped)

Blockquotes

\begin{quote}
This is a quote
\end{quote}

→

> This is a quote

Horizontal Rules

• \hrulefill → ---
• \hline → ---

Unicode Character Decoding

LaTeX special characters are automatically decoded to Unicode:

• \'{e} → é
• \"{a} → ä
• \c{c} → ç
• \ae → æ
• \oe → œ
• \ss → ß
• And ~100 more LaTeX commands

See tex-decode skill for complete list of supported characters.

Math Preservation

LaTeX math notation is preserved as-is:

• Inline math: $...$ remains $...$
• Display math: $$...$$ remains $$...$$

Many Markdown renderers support this syntax natively.

Arguments

• Positional arguments: Text to convert (if no --file flag)
• --file: Read input from file
• --output <file>: Write output to file (default: stdout)

Examples

Convert inline text

npx tsx plugins/tex/scripts/latex-to-md.ts "\\section{Hello}\n\nThis is \\textbf{bold}."

Convert file

npx tsx plugins/tex/scripts/latex-to-md.ts --file paper.tex --output paper.md

Extract plain text from LaTeX

npx tsx plugins/tex/scripts/latex-to-md.ts --file document.tex | npx tsx plugins/tex/scripts/strip.ts

Limitations

• Does not handle complex LaTeX packages or custom commands
• Tables are not automatically converted (LaTeX tables vary widely in structure)
• Cross-references (\ref, \cite) are not resolved
• Bibliographies require separate handling
• Complex math environments may need manual adjustment
• Nested environments beyond simple cases may not convert perfectly

Related Skills

• md-to-latex: Convert Markdown to LaTeX
• tex-decode: Decode LaTeX commands to Unicode (used internally)
• tex-strip: Remove all LaTeX formatting for plain text
• tex-protect: Protect text from LaTeX interpretation