Showcase: A 3.5KB zero-dependency TeX-to-MathML compiler for supercharging math rendering in Marked

[x-at-01]

Markdown parsers like Marked are built on speed, simplicity, and extensibility. However, integrating math formulas in markdown has always been challenging because traditional engines (like KaTeX/MathJax) are huge (75KB to 300KB+ JS) and require complex layout calculators that run on the client's main thread.

Why not leverage Native Browser MathML?
Since January 2023 (Chrome 109), all major layout engines (Chromium/Blink, Gecko/Firefox, and WebKit/Safari) natively support MathML Core. Thus, we no longer need heavy client-side layout engines. The parser only needs to translate TeX commands to native <math> tags, letting the browser's C++ layout engine handle typography.

We've built @webc.site/math, an ultra-lightweight math compiler tailored for markdown rendering:

• Footprint: Only 3.58 KB (Gzip) with zero dependencies.
• Performance: Compiles at ~329,000 ops/s (3.6x faster than KaTeX, 48x faster than MathJax).
• Marked Integration: It works synchronously and is incredibly easy to register as a custom inline/block renderer extension in Marked.

Here's an integration example:

import { marked } from 'marked';
import mdMath from '@webc.site/math/md';

// One-liner translation of markdown text with embedded LaTeX formulas into native MathML HTML
const html = mdMath(markdownText);

We hope this provides the Marked community with a modern, high-performance option for math equation rendering!

[UziTech]

If you can create an extension we can add it to our known extensions

[x-at-01]

Hi @UziTech, I have created and published the Marked extension @webc.site/math-marked! Here is the npm link: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@webc.site/math-marked. We would love to have it listed under the known extensions. Thank you!