Bug: Inline LaTeX math ($...$) not rendering in chat and headings

Ideas Feature Requests
1

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

I noticed an issue with LaTeX rendering in the Cursor chat interface.

Display/Block math ($$…$$): Renders correctly when centered on separate lines.

Inline math ($…$): Does not render and displays as raw text wrapped in dollar signs, both within regular body text and inside markdown titles/headings.

Could you please add support for inline LaTeX parsing (via KaTeX/MathJax) in the chat UI?

Steps to Reproduce

Just ask for inline math formulas.

Operating System

Linux

Version Information

Version: 3.21.9
VS Code Extension API: 1.128.0
Commit: 9998796a6096ce83d83a9332bfe7473b985db750
Date: 2026-09-17T02:16:48.732Z
Layout: IDE
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Default
Electron: 42.10.0
Chromium: 148.0.7778.280
Node.js: 24.18.1
V8: 14.8.178.38-electron.0
xterm.js: 6.1.0-beta.291
OS: Linux x64 7.0.0-31-generic

For AI issues: which model did you use?

Grok 4.7

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No - Cursor works, but with this issue

5

Hey, thanks for the report. There’s an important detail here: single $...$ for inline math is intentionally disabled in chat. It’s not broken. It conflicts with currency amounts since strings like “$5 and $10” would be treated as math and would break replies.

Inline math renders if you use \(...\), and it works inside headings too. Block math works via \[...\] or $$...$$.

If your model keeps using single dollar signs, add a User Rule in Cursor Settings > Rules, for example:

Use \( \) for inline math and \[ \] or $$ $$ for block math. Never use single $ delimiters.

More context and discussion in this thread: LaTeX rendering in chat

Let me know if rendering with \(...\) still doesn’t work.