Add optional KaTeX math rendering toggle (usekatex / usemath) for web UI

USAGE.md

@@ -260,6 +260,7 @@ Optional flags when starting the server:
 - `historypath=/tmp/mini-a-history` / `historyretention=600` / `historykeep=true` to manage history storage (see comments in `mini-a-web.yaml`)
 - `historys3bucket=my-bucket historys3prefix=sessions/` to mirror history JSON files to S3 (supports `historys3url`, `historys3accesskey`, `historys3secret`, `historys3region`, `historys3useversion1`, `historys3ignorecertcheck`). History is uploaded at optimized checkpoints: immediately after user prompts and when final answers are provided, rather than on every interaction event
 - `useattach=true` to enable the file attachment button in the browser UI (disabled by default)
+- `usekatex=true` (or `usemath=true`) to render LaTeX math expressions in the browser UI using KaTeX
 
 Endpoints used by the UI (served by `mini-a-web.yaml`): `/prompt`, `/result`, `/clear`, and `/ping`.
 

mini-a-web.yaml

@@ -84,6 +84,16 @@ help:
     example  : "true"
     mandatory: false
     options  : ["true", "false"]
+  - name     : usekatex
+    desc     : "Boolean to enable/disable KaTeX math rendering in the browser UI (default: false)"
+    example  : "true"
+    mandatory: false
+    options  : ["true", "false"]
+  - name     : usemath
+    desc     : "Alias for usekatex (KaTeX math rendering in the browser UI)"
+    example  : "true"
+    mandatory: false
+    options  : ["true", "false"]
   - name     : historys3bucket
     desc     : "S3 bucket to store conversation history objects"
     example  : "mini-a-history"
@@ -168,7 +178,7 @@ todo:
   ((uri          )): /info
   ((execURI      )): | #js
     try {
-      var _res = { status: "ok", usehistory: global.__usehistory, useattach: global.__useattach, historyretention: args.historyretention, showexecs: global.__showexecs, usestream: global.__usestream }
+      var _res = { status: "ok", usehistory: global.__usehistory, useattach: global.__useattach, usekatex: global.__usekatex, historyretention: args.historyretention, showexecs: global.__showexecs, usestream: global.__usestream }
       return ow.server.httpd.reply(_res)
     } catch(e) {
       printErr(e)
@@ -808,6 +818,8 @@ jobs:
       usediagrams     : toBoolean().isBoolean().default(false)
       usecharts       : toBoolean().isBoolean().default(false)
       useascii        : toBoolean().isBoolean().default(false)
+      usekatex        : toBoolean().isBoolean().default(false)
+      usemath         : toBoolean().isBoolean().default(__)
       historys3bucket : isString().default(__)
       historys3prefix : isString().default("")
       historys3url    : isString().default("https://s3.amazonaws.com")
@@ -823,6 +835,10 @@ jobs:
       format         : isString().default(__)
       auditch        : isString().default(__)
   exec : | #js
+    if (isDef(args.usemath)) {
+      if (isUnDef(args.usekatex)) args.usekatex = args.usemath
+      delete args.usemath
+    }
     global.__res = {}
     global.__usehistory = args.usehistory
     global.__historypath = args.historypath
@@ -833,6 +849,7 @@ jobs:
     global.__usestream = args.usestream
     global.__logpromptheaders = args.logpromptheaders.split(",").map(h => h.trim().toLowerCase()).filter(h => h.length > 0)
     global.__useattach = args.useattach
+    global.__usekatex = args.usekatex
     global.__planState = {}
     global.__sseQueues = {}
     if (isUnDef(global.__webMetrics)) {
@@ -881,6 +898,7 @@ jobs:
     }
 
     global.maArgs = merge(args, {})
+    if (isDef(global.maArgs.usekatex)) delete global.maArgs.usekatex
     if (!toBoolean(args.mcplazy)) {
       var _ma = new MiniA()
       _ma.init( merge( global.maArgs, { mcpdynamic: false } ) )

public/index.md

@@ -1528,7 +1528,7 @@
 
 <script>
     /* ========== CONSTANTS & INITIALIZATION ========== */
-    const converter = new showdown.Converter({
+    const MARKDOWN_CONVERTER_OPTIONS = {
         "customizedHeaderId"      : true,
         "parseImgDimensions"      : true,
         "simplifiedAutoLink"      : true,
@@ -1543,7 +1543,93 @@
         "simpleLineBreaks"        : true,
         "ghCompatibleHeaderId"    : true,
         "disableForced4SpacesIndentedSublists": true
-    });
+    };
+    const KATEX_CSS_HREF = 'https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/katex@0.16.9/dist/katex.min.css';
+    const KATEX_EXTENSION_SRC = 'https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/showdown-katex@latest/dist/showdown-katex.min.js';
+    let converter = null;
+    let katexEnabled = false;
+    let katexAssetsReady = false;
+    let katexAssetsPromise = null;
+
+    function buildMarkdownConverter(useKatex) {
+        const options = Object.assign({}, MARKDOWN_CONVERTER_OPTIONS);
+        if (useKatex && typeof window.showdownKatex === 'function') {
+            try {
+                options.extensions = [window.showdownKatex({ throwOnError: false })];
+            } catch (error) {
+                console.warn('KaTeX extension failed to initialize:', error);
+            }
+        }
+        return new showdown.Converter(options);
+    }
+
+    function setMarkdownConverter(useKatex) {
+        converter = buildMarkdownConverter(useKatex);
+        katexEnabled = useKatex === true;
+    }
+
+    function ensureStylesheet(href, dataAttr) {
+        const selector = dataAttr ? `link[${dataAttr}]` : `link[href="${href}"]`;
+        const existing = document.querySelector(selector);
+        if (existing) return;
+        const link = document.createElement('link');
+        link.rel = 'stylesheet';
+        link.href = href;
+        link.crossOrigin = 'anonymous';
+        if (dataAttr) link.setAttribute(dataAttr, 'true');
+        document.head.appendChild(link);
+    }
+
+    function loadScriptOnce(src, dataAttr) {
+        const selector = dataAttr ? `script[${dataAttr}]` : `script[src="${src}"]`;
+        const existing = document.querySelector(selector);
+        if (existing) return Promise.resolve();
+        return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+            const script = document.createElement('script');
+            script.src = src;
+            script.async = true;
+            if (dataAttr) script.setAttribute(dataAttr, 'true');
+            script.onload = resolve;
+            script.onerror = () => reject(new Error('Failed to load ' + src));
+            document.head.appendChild(script);
+        });
+    }
+
+    async function ensureKatexAssets() {
+        if (katexAssetsReady) return;
+        if (katexAssetsPromise) {
+            await katexAssetsPromise;
+            return;
+        }
+        katexAssetsPromise = Promise.resolve()
+            .then(() => {
+                ensureStylesheet(KATEX_CSS_HREF, 'data-katex-style');
+                return loadScriptOnce(KATEX_EXTENSION_SRC, 'data-katex-extension');
+            })
+            .then(() => {
+                katexAssetsReady = true;
+            });
+        await katexAssetsPromise;
+    }
+
+    async function configureKatexAvailability(enabled) {
+        if (!enabled) {
+            if (katexEnabled) setMarkdownConverter(false);
+            return;
+        }
+        try {
+            await ensureKatexAssets();
+            if (typeof window.showdownKatex !== 'function') {
+                throw new Error('showdown-katex extension not available');
+            }
+            setMarkdownConverter(true);
+        } catch (error) {
+            console.warn('KaTeX rendering disabled:', error);
+            setMarkdownConverter(false);
+        }
+    }
+
+    setMarkdownConverter(false);
 
     const PREVIEW_ID = 'anticipationPreview';
     const PING_INTERVAL_MS = 60 * 1000; // 60 seconds
@@ -3664,6 +3750,7 @@
         let shouldEnableHistory = true;
         let shouldEnableAttachments = false;
         let shouldEnableStream = false;
+        let shouldEnableKatex = false;
 
         try {
             const response = await fetch('/info', {
@@ -3684,13 +3771,17 @@
             if (typeof data.usestream === 'boolean') {
                 shouldEnableStream = data.usestream;
             }
+            if (typeof data.usekatex === 'boolean') {
+                shouldEnableKatex = data.usekatex;
+            }
         } catch (error) {
             console.error('Unable to determine feature availability:', error);
         }
 
         applyHistoryAvailability(shouldEnableHistory);
         applyAttachmentAvailability(shouldEnableAttachments);
         streamEnabled = shouldEnableStream;
+        await configureKatexAvailability(shouldEnableKatex);
 
         if (historyEnabled) {
             refreshHistoryPanel();