Introducing LaTeX Math for Confluence
We've launched LaTeX Math for Confluence, a free app that lets you write mathematical equations in LaTeX directly on your Confluence Cloud pages. No screenshots of equations, no external editors, no plain-text approximations.
What the App Does
LaTeX Rendered with KaTeX
You write standard LaTeX math syntax and the app renders it with KaTeX, a fast math typesetting library. That covers what most technical documentation needs:
- Fractions, roots, sums, integrals and limits
- Greek letters, operators and common symbols
- Matrices, cases and aligned multi-line equations
KaTeX handles LaTeX math, not full LaTeX documents. Drawing packages like TikZ, custom packages and non-math LaTeX are not supported. Our LaTeX symbol reference lists the command for each common symbol and flags the few that KaTeX can't render.
Live Preview Editor
The macro editor shows a rendered preview as you type, so you can catch a missing brace or a mistyped command before you insert the equation. It also includes a formula library with common equations to start from.
Inline and Block Macros
There are two macros:
- LaTeX Math for Confluence (Inline) puts an equation inside a sentence, for example a variable or a short formula such as x² + y² = r².
- LaTeX Math for Confluence (Block) displays an equation on its own line, centered by default, with left and right alignment available.
To insert either one, type /latex in the Confluence editor and choose the macro you want.
Dark Mode Support
Equations follow your Confluence theme, so they stay readable in both light and dark mode.
Edit Restrictions
The app runs on Atlassian Forge. By default, anyone who can edit a page can add and edit equations on it. Admins can turn on Restrict edit access so that only users on an allow list (plus Confluence admins) can add or edit LaTeX macros. You add people individually today; group support is planned for a future update.
Viewing is not restricted by the app. Anyone who can view the page sees the rendered equations.
Usage Overview
The Usage tab in the app settings lists the pages that contain LaTeX macros and the space each one belongs to, with a link to open the page. It's useful for finding mathematical content across your site. It does not count equations or show trends over time.
Migration from Other Math Apps
If your pages already use another LaTeX app, a built-in migration tool can move them over. You pick the source app, search a space or your whole site, select the pages and run the migration. Each migrated page gets a new version, so you can roll back from page history. See the migration guide for the supported apps.
Export
According to our documentation, equations are included when you use Confluence's built-in PDF and Word exports, with no extra configuration.
Who It's For
- Education: lecture notes, problem sets and study guides
- Engineering and data science: algorithms, statistical models, loss functions and metrics. See how data science teams document ML models in Confluence
- Science: physics and chemistry notes with proper notation
- Finance: pricing models and risk formulas. See how finance teams document quantitative models
Compared with screenshots, the main benefit is maintenance. When a formula changes, you edit the LaTeX on the page instead of recreating and re-uploading an image, and the change shows up in the page history like any other edit.
Getting Started
- Install the app from the Atlassian Marketplace. It's free.
- Edit a page and type
/latex. - Choose LaTeX Math for Confluence (Inline) or LaTeX Math for Confluence (Block).
- Write your LaTeX and check the live preview.
- Insert the macro and publish the page.
For a longer walkthrough with syntax examples, read how to add math equations to Confluence.
Example LaTeX Snippets to Try
Quadratic formula:
x = \frac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 - 4ac}}{2a}
Pythagorean theorem:
a^2 + b^2 = c^2
Integral:
\int_{a}^{b} f(x) \, dx
Matrix:
\begin{bmatrix}
a & b \\
c & d
\end{bmatrix}
Learn More
Have questions or feedback? Reach us through our support portal.
