How to convert a screenshot to LaTeX on Mac
Turn an equation screenshot into editable LaTeX with SmartSnip on Mac. Follow the free local OCR workflow and paste the result into your LaTeX editor.
By SmartSnip Updated
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SmartSnip turns an equation on your Mac screen into editable LaTeX. Capture a formula from lecture slides, a PDF, a webpage, or an image, review the recognized equation, and copy the code into your document. Local OCR is free and unlimited after model setup.
Step by step
Install SmartSnip and set up Local OCR
Download SmartSnip for macOS 13.5 or later and complete the app setup. In Settings → Models → Local OCR → Get Started, install the OCR assets. Select Math for formulas or Mixed for text and formulas, then enable Local OCR.
Capture the equation
Open the source and make the equation large enough to read. Use the SmartSnip snipping shortcut to select the full formula, including limits, subscripts, and equation boundaries. Shortcuts can be changed in the app settings.
Review the LaTeX preview
Compare the recognized equation with the original image. Check minus signs, Greek letters, fractions, matrix rows, and superscripts before copying the code.
Copy into your LaTeX editor
Paste the output into Overleaf or another LaTeX editor. If the output has no math delimiters, wrap a standalone equation in a display-math environment. Compile the document to check the result.
What the editable output looks like
For example, a quadratic formula can be represented by the LaTeX below. This is an illustrative code example, not an OCR accuracy benchmark. If the copied output already contains math delimiters, avoid adding them twice.
\[
x = \frac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 - 4ac}}{2a}
\]Improve recognition on difficult screenshots
OCR quality depends on the source image and the selected model. A clearer capture is often the easiest improvement.
- Zoom in before capturing small equations; keep the image sharp.
- Select one formula at a time when nearby text confuses recognition.
- Include the entire formula without clipping fractions, limits, or brackets.
- Use Mixed mode when the selection contains prose and equations together.
- For tables, shapes, or complex visual content, try optional cloud OCR and review its output. Cloud usage consumes credits.
Is screenshot-to-LaTeX conversion free?
The Free plan includes unlimited local OCR and 5 cloud usage credits per month, shared across cloud OCR and AI chat. Local OCR does not consume cloud credits. Paid plans provide more cloud credits.
For a single equation inside a PDF, capture it directly from the PDF viewer. For many pages, the File to Text workflow can extract text and formulas together.