LaTeX Cheat Sheet

The essentials: a document is \documentclass{article} plus \begin{document} … \end{document}; \section{} makes headings; \textbf{} and \textit{} style text; math goes between $ … $ inline or \[ … \] on its own line; ^ and _ make superscripts and subscripts; \frac{a}{b} is a fraction. The table below has the rest.

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Most-used commands

\documentclass{article}
Text mode, no math preview
First line of every document (article, report, book, beamer).
\usepackage{amsmath}
Text mode, no math preview
Load a package in the preamble; amsmath for most math.
\section{Title} \subsection{Title}
Text mode, no math preview
Numbered headings; \section* without a number.
\textbf{bold} \textit{italic} \underline{text}
Text mode, no math preview
Bold, italic, underlined text.
\begin{itemize} \item ... \end{itemize}
Text mode, no math preview
Bullet list; enumerate for numbers.
\\ and a blank line
Text mode, no math preview
Line break; new paragraph.
$x^2$ and \[ x^2 \]
Text mode, no math preview
Inline and display math.
x^{2}\ x_{i}
$x^{2} x_{i}$
Superscript and subscript.
\frac{a}{b}
$\frac{a}{b}$
Fraction.
\sqrt{x}\ \sqrt[3]{x}
$\sqrt{x} \sqrt[3]{x}$
Square and nth root.
\sum_{i=1}^{n}\ \prod_{i=1}^{n}
$\sum_{i = 1}^{n} \prod_{i = 1}^{n}$
Sum and product with limits.
\int_{a}^{b} f(x)\,dx
$\int_{a}^{b} f (x) d x$
Integral with a thin space before dx.
\lim_{x \to 0}
$lim_{x \to 0}$
Limit.
\alpha\ \beta\ \pi\ \theta\ \Omega
$α β π θ Ω$
Greek letters; capitalize the name for capitals.
\le\ \ge\ \neq\ \approx\ \equiv
$\leq \geq \neq \approx \equiv$
Relations.
\in\ \subset\ \cup\ \cap\ \emptyset
$\in \subset \cup \cap \emptyset$
Set symbols.
\to\ \Rightarrow\ \iff
$\to \Rightarrow ⟺$
Arrows and logic.
\infty\ \partial\ \nabla\ \pm
$\infty \partial \nabla \pm$
Common symbols.
\begin{pmatrix} a & b \\ c & d \end{pmatrix}
$(\begin{matrix} a & b \\ c & d \end{matrix})$
Matrix with parentheses (bmatrix for brackets).
\left( \frac{a}{b} \right)
$(\frac{a}{b})$
Brackets sized to the content.
\mathbb{R}\ \mathcal{F}\ \mathbf{v}
$R F v$
Blackboard, calligraphic, bold letters.
\text{if } x > 0
$if x > 0$
Normal text inside math.

Try it live

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LaTeX

Templates

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LaTeX cheat sheet examples

Each result below is drawn from the LaTeX under it. Copy the code, edit it on this page, or open it in the full editor.

Quadratic formula
$x = \frac{- b \pm \sqrt{b^{2} - 4 a c}}{2 a}$
LaTeX
```
x = \frac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 - 4ac}}{2a}
```
Edit here Open in editor
Gaussian integral
$\int_{- \infty}^{\infty} e^{- x^{2}} d x = \sqrt{π}$
LaTeX
```
\int_{-\infty}^{\infty} e^{-x^2}\,dx = \sqrt{\pi}
```
Edit here Open in editor
Sum of a series
$\sum_{n = 1}^{\infty} \frac{1}{n^{2}} = \frac{π^{2}}{6}$
LaTeX
```
\sum_{n=1}^{\infty} \frac{1}{n^2} = \frac{\pi^2}{6}
```
Edit here Open in editor
Piecewise function
$f (x) = {\begin{cases} x^{2} & x \geq 0 \\ - x & x < 0 \end{cases}$
LaTeX
```
f(x) = \begin{cases} x^2 & x \ge 0 \\ -x & x < 0 \end{cases}
```
Edit here Open in editor

Matrix

A = [\begin{matrix} 1 & 0 \\ 0 & 1 \end{matrix}]

LaTeX

A = \begin{bmatrix} 1 & 0 \\ 0 & 1 \end{bmatrix}

Edit here Open in editor

Aligned steps

\begin{aligned} (a + b)^{2} & = a^{2} + 2 a b + b^{2} \\ (a - b)^{2} & = a^{2} - 2 a b + b^{2} \end{aligned}

LaTeX

\begin{aligned} (a+b)^2 &= a^2 + 2ab + b^2 \\ (a-b)^2 &= a^2 - 2ab + b^2 \end{aligned}

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In a LaTeX document

These commands work in the text of a .tex document (Overleaf, TeX Live, MiKTeX), not inside math. The box on the right shows what the compiled PDF looks like.

Minimal document

LaTeX

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\title{My Notes}
\author{Your Name}
\begin{document}
\maketitle
\section{Introduction}
Inline math $a^2 + b^2 = c^2$ and a display:
\[ E = mc^2 \]
\end{document}

How to use this sheet

Each line of the table is the short form; every topic has its own page in the LaTeX reference with variants, mistakes and how it behaves in Overleaf, MathJax and Word. Paste any formula from the table into the editor on this page to see it rendered.

To print the sheet, use your browser's print command; the table and examples print in order.

The five rules that prevent most errors

Math commands only work in math mode. Braces group: x^{10}, not x^10. Special characters # $ % & _ { } ~ ^ \ must be escaped in text. Every \begin{…} needs its \end{…}. Packages go in the preamble, before \begin{document}.

Common mistakes

Without braces only the first character is raised.
Instead of
```
x^10
```
Write
```
x^{10}
```
% starts a comment; the rest of the line disappears.
Instead of
```
50% of cases
```
Write
```
50\% of cases
```
Math commands outside math mode stop with "Missing $ inserted".
Instead of
```
\alpha + \beta  (in text)
```
Write
```
$\alpha + \beta$
```

In Overleaf, MathJax and Word

Overleaf and pdfLaTeX
Everything on this sheet compiles in Overleaf with \usepackage{amsmath} and \usepackage{amssymb} in the preamble.
MathJax and KaTeX
The math rows work in MathJax and KaTeX (Notion, Obsidian, Jupyter, GitHub). Document commands such as \section and lists do not.
Microsoft Word
Word for Microsoft 365 accepts most math rows in LaTeX input mode (Equation › LaTeX). Copy for Word in the editor here pastes them as editable equations.

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LaTeX cheat sheet in LaTeX: questions

What are the most important LaTeX commands?: \documentclass, \usepackage, \section, \textbf, itemize, and in math ^, _, \frac, \sqrt, \sum and \int.
Is there a printable LaTeX cheat sheet?: Print this page from your browser; the table and examples print in order.
Where can I find all LaTeX symbols?: The LaTeX symbols page lists relations, operators, arrows, Greek letters and more with their commands.

Related LaTeX reference

Have the formula as a picture?

Paste a screenshot or photo of the equation and get its LaTeX, ready to copy or open in the editor.

Convert an image to LaTeX

LaTeX Cheat Sheet

Most-used commands

Try it live

LaTeX cheat sheet examples

Quadratic formula

Gaussian integral

Sum of a series

Piecewise function

Matrix

Aligned steps

In a LaTeX document

Minimal document

How to use this sheet

The five rules that prevent most errors

Common mistakes

In Overleaf, MathJax and Word

Overleaf and pdfLaTeX

MathJax and KaTeX

Microsoft Word

Already have the whole document?

LaTeX cheat sheet in LaTeX: questions

Related LaTeX reference

Have the formula as a picture?