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I would like to be able to use MathJax offline, so I can develop questions and answers without having to do them online. I would later copy and paste my text.

So, how can I do this?

I have Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS available, although I would prefer Mac.

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  • $\begingroup$ No need to use MathJax (available at mathjax.org). If you do wish to use this, you'll have to write your questions as part of an html file. You can use a TeX package instead. If I recall corectly, "Textures" is a popular mac package. $\endgroup$
    – David Mitra
    Jul 24, 2013 at 18:40
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    $\begingroup$ @DavidMitra: TeXtures pretty much got eclipsed. Now there is the free TeXShop. $\endgroup$
    – Ted Shifrin
    Jul 24, 2013 at 18:48
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    $\begingroup$ See MathJax: better way to prepare a Math.StackExchange question? and Editors for composing posts befor posting on to math.SE. $\endgroup$
    – Martin Sleziak
    Jul 24, 2013 at 19:22
  • $\begingroup$ I am trying Qute right now. It generally works. Thanks. $\endgroup$
    – marty cohen
    Jul 24, 2013 at 21:53
  • $\begingroup$ OP asks how to use MathJax offline. Answers here offer alternatives. For an answer to the question itself, see stackoverflow.com/questions/48867501/… $\endgroup$
    – SJT
    Nov 6, 2019 at 17:45
  • $\begingroup$ I curently prefer Macdown or moeditor on the mac. Macdown does, however, sometimes hang for about 20 to 40 seconds doing something, and then comes back. $\endgroup$
    – marty cohen
    Nov 7, 2019 at 3:41

4 Answers 4

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I am using Qute at http://www.inkcode.net/qute.

It works quite well.

I can create a MathJax document, edit it until it looks fine, and then copy and paste the result into math.stackexchange.

Definitely recommended.

Notes on Qute:

I like the split-screen mode.

Qute formats a paragraph at a time.

Click in a paragraph to edit it, double-click to format it.

Click on the "Q" in the upper left corner to get the menu.

To break a line in a paragraph, use shift-enter.

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This does not mimic the markup features provided by Stack Exchange, but if you use this template in a file with a ".html" extension, and replace the body, then drag the file to your browser, you should see the MathJax rendered.

<html>
<head>
    <title>MathJax</title>
    <script type="text/x-mathjax-config">
        MathJax.Hub.Config({"HTML-CSS": { preferredFont: "TeX", availableFonts: ["STIX","TeX"] },
            tex2jax: { inlineMath: [ ["$", "$"], ["\\\\(","\\\\)"] ], displayMath: [ ["$$","$$"], ["\\[", "\\]"] ], processEscapes: true, ignoreClass: "tex2jax_ignore|dno" },
            TeX: { noUndefined: { attributes: { mathcolor: "red", mathbackground: "#FFEEEE", mathsize: "90%" } } },
            messageStyle: "none"
        });
    </script>    
    <script type="text/javascript" src="http://cdn.mathjax.org/mathjax/2.2-latest/MathJax.js?config=TeX-AMS_HTML"></script>       
</head>
<body>
    The definition of the Euler-Mascheroni constant is
    $$\gamma=\lim_{n\to\infty}\left(\sum_{k=1}^n\frac1k\right)-\frac1n$$
</body>
</html>

I use this method with the Markup > Preview in BBEdit feature of BBEdit to get live updating.

Caveat: I may have misinterpreted "offline". To use the template above, you need to be online so that you can access the server at cdn.mathjax.org, but you can work on MathJax away from MSE. To use MathJax offline, you can download the local version of MathJax as described here. Otherwise, you can get a standalone LaTeX system, many of which are listed here.

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  • $\begingroup$ I tried this and the mathjax was not rendered. $\endgroup$
    – user1527227
    Jul 28, 2013 at 6:28
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    $\begingroup$ @user1527227: my sample MathJax lacked $$s. It should render now. $\endgroup$
    – robjohn Mod
    Jul 28, 2013 at 7:17
  • $\begingroup$ yup. great job! $\endgroup$
    – user1527227
    Jul 28, 2013 at 7:46
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    $\begingroup$ I have a collection of math wiki pages mirrored on my hard drive, that I'd like to look at on a vacation, where I have no internet. I notice the math text won't compile. Will downloading the local version of MathJax allow me to view them in Chrome, for example? $\endgroup$
    – Eric Auld
    Aug 3, 2013 at 12:29
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    $\begingroup$ @EricAuld it's unlikely to work w/o modifying MathJax. When a page using MathJax is rendered, the fonts are downloaded from the MathJax CDN. $\endgroup$
    – Jonathan
    Aug 3, 2013 at 16:40
  • $\begingroup$ @EricAuld: as described here, if the fonts are installed locally, you should be okay. $\endgroup$
    – robjohn Mod
    Aug 3, 2013 at 21:50
  • $\begingroup$ Thanks @robjohn . Does it matter that they don't look like normal Math jax? They look like this when I load the mirrored version. i.imgur.com/NeY6Crp.jpg?1 I notice sometimes they're missing dollar signs, etc. $\endgroup$
    – Eric Auld
    Aug 3, 2013 at 23:12
  • $\begingroup$ Is the LaTeX not being rendered? Some environments, such as array, do not need $$ delimiters to work. For example, \begin{bmatrix}1&0\\0&1\end{bmatrix} was entered without $$s $\endgroup$
    – robjohn Mod
    Aug 4, 2013 at 0:15
  • $\begingroup$ Oh, OK, I guess that's not the problem. Unfortunately it's not rendering...I tried installing the fonts on Windows; also I tried just placing the mathjax folder in the directory where the mirrored pages are. No luck. :( $\endgroup$
    – Eric Auld
    Aug 6, 2013 at 2:34
  • $\begingroup$ @EricAuld: the fonts shouldn't stop MathJax from working; if MathJax cannot find the fonts it wants, it will use image fonts. Things won't look as nice, but they should render. I've not run a local installation, so all I can suggest is to read the sections starting here and following. $\endgroup$
    – robjohn Mod
    Aug 6, 2013 at 10:58
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When a mathematician wants to write a document using, well, maths, they use a $\LaTeX$ compiler program package thing. $\LaTeX$ is a markup language for the $\TeX$ typesetting program, much like MathJax. Therefore, everything which goes between the dollar signs in MathJax code works in $\LaTeX$ (as between the dollar signs is simply $\TeX$ code). The stuff outside the dollar signs is different, as Martin Sleziak has pointed out in the comments. So $\LaTeX$ is well-suited to your needs! I am a mac user, and I use $\TeX$Shop.

To use $\LaTeX$, open a new $\TeX$ file using your favourite program (e.g. $\TeX$shop)and write,

\documentclass[12pt,a4paper]{article}

\usepackage{amssymb, amsmath}

\begin{document}
Hello. This is a test. Also, $e^{\pi i}=-1$.
\end{document}

The document class thing tells the complier what to make it look like (12pt writing, etc). the package bit adds some more power to what you can do. For example, amssymb gives you more symbols to play with, while amsmath allows you to have an improved layout. Compiling this file will produce a pdf file which will contain the stuff you wrote between the \begin and \end document bits rendered as maths.

As you can tell from $\TeX$.SE, $\TeX$ is a pretty popular thing...

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  • $\begingroup$ Of course, it has to be said that on MSE you use MarkDown, which is not interpreted by LaTeX compiler. Similarly, there are many things that work in LaTeX but will \textbf{not} work here. But the parts using only math (no formatting) should work more-or-less the same. (There are still some differences.) $\endgroup$
    – Martin Sleziak
    Jul 25, 2013 at 10:08
  • $\begingroup$ Thanks, didn't think about that. $\endgroup$
    – user1729
    Jul 25, 2013 at 10:15
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There's a MathJax plugin for TiddlyWiki. If you read through the comments of this web page there's a modification for offline usage.

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