Common Configurations

MathJax comes with a number of pre-defined configuration files in the MathJax/config directory. The default.js file contains nearly all the possible configuration options together with comments explaining them, so you can use that file to customize MathJax to your needs. Simply load it via

<script type="text/javascript" src="path-to-MathJax/MathJax.js?config=default"></script>

where path-to-MathJax is the URL to the MathJax directory on your server or hard disk. If you are using MathJax from the CDN, you can view the contents of default.js as a reference, but you will not be able to edit the CDN copy. It is possible to use the CDN copy of MathJax with your own configuration file, however; see for details.

The remaining files in the MathJax/config directory are combined configuration files that include not just configuration parameters but also the files that MathJax would need to load for those configurations. This means MathJax will have to load fewer files, and since each file access requires establishing connections over the network, it can be faster to load one larger file than several smaller ones. See for more details about how to load configurations, and how to modify the parameters for a configuration file.

The following sections describe the contents of the combined configuration files. Each comes in two flavors: a standard version and a “full” version. The standard version simply defines the output processor(s) that are part of the configuration, but doesn’t load the code that implements the output processor. The full version loads the complete output processors, so everything that MathJax needs for the page should be loaded up front, and there will be no delay once the page is ready to be processed. To obtain the “full” version, add -full to the end of the configuration file name.

The TeX-MML-AM_HTMLorMML configuration file

This configuration file is the most general of the pre-defined configurations. It loads all the main MathJax components, including the TeX, MathML, and AsciiMath preprocessors and input processors, the AMSmath, AMSsymbols, noErrors, and noUndefined TeX extensions, both the native MathML and HTML-with-CSS output processor definitions, and the MathMenu and MathZoom extensions. It is equivalent to the following configuration:

MathJax.Hub.Config({
  config: ["MMLorHTML.js"],
  jax: ["input/TeX","input/MathML","input/AsciiMath","output/HTML-CSS","output/NativeMML"],
  extensions: ["tex2jax.js","mml2jax.js","asciimath2jax.js","MathMenu.js","MathZoom.js"],
  TeX: {
    extensions: ["AMSmath.js","AMSsymbols.js","noErrors.js","noUndefined.js"]
  }
});

In addition, it loads the mml Element Jax, the TeX, MathML, and AsciiMath input jax main code (not just the definition files), as well as the toMathML extension, which is used by the Show Source option in the MathJax contextual menu. The -full version also loads both the HTML-CSS and NativeMML output jax main code, plus the HTML-CSS mtable extension, which is normally loaded on demand.

See the section for other configuration options for the tex2jax preprocessor, and the section for options that control the TeX input processor. See the section for other configuration options for the mml2jax preprocessor, and the section for options that control the MathML input processor. See the section for other configuration options for the asciimath2jax preprocessor, and the section for options that control the AsciiMath input processor. See for more information on the NativeMML and HTML-CSS output processors. See the section for details on the options that control the MMLorHTML configuration.

The TeX-AMS-MML_HTMLorMML configuration file

This configuration file is the most commonly used of the pre-defined configurations. It loads all the main MathJax components, including the TeX and MathML preprocessors and input processors, the AMSmath, AMSsymbols, noErrors, and noUndefined TeX extensions, both the native MathML and HTML-with-CSS output processor definitions, and the MathMenu and MathZoom extensions. It is equivalent to the following configuration:

MathJax.Hub.Config({
  config: ["MMLorHTML.js"],
  jax: ["input/TeX","input/MathML","output/HTML-CSS","output/NativeMML"],
  extensions: ["tex2jax.js","mml2jax.js","MathMenu.js","MathZoom.js"],
  TeX: {
    extensions: ["AMSmath.js","AMSsymbols.js","noErrors.js","noUndefined.js"]
  }
});

In addition, it loads the mml Element Jax, the TeX and MathML input jax main code (not just the definition files), as well as the toMathML extension, which is used by the Show Source option in the MathJax contextual menu. The -full version also loads both the HTML-CSS and NativeMML output jax main code, plus the HTML-CSS mtable extension, which is normally loaded on demand.

See the section for other configuration options for the tex2jax preprocessor, and the section for options that control the TeX input processor. See the section for other configuration options for the mml2jax preprocessor, and the section for options that control the MathML input processor. See for more information on the NativeMML and HTML-CSS output processors. See the section for details on the options that control the MMLorHTML configuration.

The TeX-AMS_HTML configuration file

This configuration file is for sites that only use TeX format for their mathematics, and that want the output to be as close to TeX output as possible. This uses the HTML-CSS output jax (even when the user’s browser understands MathML). The user can still use the MathJax contextual menu to select the NativeMML output jax if they desire.

This file includes all the important MathJax components for TeX input and output, including the tex2jax preprocessor and TeX input jax, the AMSmath, AMSsymbols, noErrors, and noUndefined TeX extensions, the HTML-with-CSS output processor definition, and the MathMenu and MathZoom extensions. It is equivalent to the following configuration:

MathJax.Hub.Config({
  jax: ["input/TeX","output/HTML-CSS"],
  extensions: ["tex2jax.js","MathMenu.js","MathZoom.js"],
  TeX: {
    extensions: ["AMSmath.js","AMSsymbols.js","noErrors.js","noUndefined.js"]
  }
});

In addition, it loads the mml Element Jax and the TeX input jax main code (not just the definition file), as well as the toMathML extension, which is used by the Show Source option in the MathJax contextual menu. The -full version also loads the HTML-CSS output jax main code, plus the HTML-CSS mtable extension, which is normally loaded on demand.

See the section for other configuration options for the tex2jax preprocessor, and the section for options that control the TeX input processor. See for more information on the HTML-CSS output processor.

The MML_HTMLorMML configuration file

This configuration file is for sites that only use MathML format for their mathematics. It will use MathML output in browsers where that is supported well, and HTML-CSS output otherwise. The user can still use the MathJax contextual menu to select the other output format if they desire.

This file includes all the important MathJax components for MathML input and output, including the mml2jax preprocessor and MathML input jax, the NativeMML and HTML-CSS output processor definition files, and the MathMenu and MathZoom extensions. It is equivalent to the following configuration:

MathJax.Hub.Config({
  config: ["MMLorHTML.js"],
  jax: ["input/MathML","output/HTML-CSS","output/NativeMML"],
  extensions: ["mml2jax.js","MathMenu.js","MathZoom.js"]
});

In addition, it loads the mml Element Jax and the MathML input jax main code (not just the definition file), as well as the toMathML extension, which is used by the Show Source option in the MathJax contextual menu. The -full version also loads both the HTML-CSS and NativeMML output jax main code files, plus the HTML-CSS mtable extension, which is normally loaded on demand.

See the section for other configuration options for the mml2jax preprocessor, and the section for options that control the MathML input processor. See for more information on the NativeMML and HTML-CSS output processors. See the section for details on the options that control the MMLorHTML configuration.

The AM_HTMLorMML configuration file

This configuration file is for sites that only use AsciiMath format for their mathematics. It will use MathML output in browsers where that is supported well, and HTML-CSS output otherwise. The user can still use the MathJax contextual menu to select the other output format if they desire.

This file includes all the important MathJax components for AsciiMath input and output, including the asciimath2jax preprocessor and AsciiMath input jax, the NativeMML and HTML-CSS output processor definition files, and the MathMenu and MathZoom extensions. It is equivalent to the following configuration:

MathJax.Hub.Config({
  config: ["MMLorHTML.js"],
  jax: ["input/AsciiMath","output/HTML-CSS","output/NativeMML"],
  extensions: ["asciimath2jax.js","MathMenu.js","MathZoom.js"]
});

In addition, it loads the mml Element Jax and the TeX input jax main code (not just the definition file), as well as the toMathML extension, which is used by the Show Source option in the MathJax contextual menu. The -full version also loads the HTML-CSS output jax main code, plus the HTML-CSS mtable extension, which is normally loaded on demand.

See the section for other configuration options for the asciimath2jax preprocessor, and the section for options that control the AsciiMath input processor. See for more information on the HTML-CSS and NativeMML output processors. See the section for details on the options that control the MMLorHTML configuration.

The TeX-AMS-MML_SVG configuration file

This configuration file is the same as TeX-AMS-MML_HTMLorMML except that it uses the SVG output renderer rather than the NativeMML or HTML-CSS ones. It loads all the main MathJax components, including the TeX and MathML preprocessors and input processors, the AMSmath, AMSsymbols, noErrors, and noUndefined TeX extensions, the SVG output processor definitions, and the MathMenu and MathZoom extensions. It is equivalent to the following configuration:

MathJax.Hub.Config({
  jax: ["input/TeX","input/MathML","output/SVG"],
  extensions: ["tex2jax.js","mml2jax.js","MathMenu.js","MathZoom.js"],
  TeX: {
    extensions: ["AMSmath.js","AMSsymbols.js","noErrors.js","noUndefined.js"]
  }
});

In addition, it loads the mml Element Jax, the TeX and MathML input jax main code (not just the definition files), as well as the toMathML extension, which is used by the Show Source option in the MathJax contextual menu. The -full version also loads both the SVG output jax main code, plus the SVG mtable extension, which is normally loaded on demand.

See the section for other configuration options for the tex2jax preprocessor, and the section for options that control the TeX input processor. See the section for other configuration options for the mml2jax preprocessor, and the section for options that control the MathML input processor. See for more information on the SVG output processor.

The Accessible configuration file

This configuration file is essentially the same as TeX-AMS-MML_HTMLorMML except that it includes options that are designed for assistive technology, particularly for those with visual challenged. This file is deprecated since the controls that make MathJax work with screen readers are now available in the MathJax contextual menu, and so there is no need to set them in the configuration file any longer. So you can use any of the other pre-defined configurations and readers with special needs should be able to change the MathJax settings themselves to be appropriate for their software.

The Accessible configuration is equivalent to the following:

MathJax.Hub.Config({
  config: ["MMLorHTML.js"],
  jax: ["input/TeX","input/MathML","output/HTML-CSS","output/NativeMML"],
  extensions: ["tex2jax.js","mml2jax.js","MathMenu.js","MathZoom.js"],
  TeX: {
    extensions: ["AMSmath.js","AMSsymbols.js","noErrors.js","noUndefined.js"]
  },
  menuSettings: {
    zoom: "Double-Click",
    mpContext: true,
    mpMouse: true
  },
  errorSettings: { message: ["[Math Error]"] }
});

This turns off the MathJax contextual menu for IE when MathPlayer is active, and passes mouse events on to MathPlayer to allow screen readers full access to MathPlayer. It also sets the zoom trigger to double-click, so that readers can see a larger version of the mathematics but double-clicking on any equation.

In addition, it loads the mml Element Jax, the TeX and MathML input jax main code (not just the definition files), as well as the toMathML extension, which is used by the Show Source option in the MathJax contextual menu. The -full version also loads both the HTML-CSS and NativeMML output jax main code, plus the HTML-CSS mtable extension, which is normally loaded on demand.