EqPad: A Calculator-Style Equation Editor for LaTeX, Markdown, and PNG

Published: 3 days ago (February 7, 2026 at 09:29 AM EST)

3 min read

Source: Dev.to

What I Built

I built EqPad, a minimal equation editor for people who don’t want to “learn LaTeX first, write math later.”
The idea is simple: most of the time I’m not trying to typeset a paper—I’m trying to quickly assemble a correct expression and paste it into wherever I’m working (Markdown, a doc, a worksheet, a chat, etc.). So EqPad focuses on a calculator‑like workflow:

Button‑first input for common structures (fractions, powers, roots, brackets, matrices)
Fast navigation with Tab to jump between placeholders (so you can fill the “holes” in order)

Practical exports only: LaTeX, expanded LaTeX, block/inline Markdown, and PNG.

A lightweight “template” area provides common high‑school / university patterns (derivatives, sequences, probability, trig identities, etc.).

No accounts. No documents. No “math notes app.” Just an equation builder that stays out of your way.

Demo

Live app:
Repo:

Quick walkthrough

Click a structure button like fraction / power / root.
Use Tab to jump to the next input slot and type.
In Output, click what you need: LaTeX / LaTeX (expanded) / Markdown / Inline / PNG.

Screenshots

My Experience with GitHub Copilot CLI

How I used it day‑to‑day

1) Planning and scoping before I coded

Instead of starting with a blank editor and guessing the shape of the app, I used Copilot CLI’s planning flow to outline the MVP screens, state model, and edge cases. The CLI supports structured planning commands (e.g., /plan) which are great when you want a concrete checklist before touching code.

2) Fast iteration without context switching

I stayed inside the terminal: run, inspect, tweak, repeat. Copilot CLI’s interactive mode (copilot) plus the built‑in help (/help) made it easy to discover commands and shortcuts as I went.

# Example Copilot CLI session
copilot
# /help
# /cwd
# /clear

That “/clear + /cwd” habit sounds small, but it prevents the agent from drifting when you’re jumping between tasks.

3) Safer “agentic” changes with explicit permissions

When Copilot CLI wants to read/modify files or run tools, it asks you to confirm trust boundaries and approve commands. That made me more comfortable letting it do bigger refactors—because it wasn’t a silent black box touching my repo.

4) Repo‑specific instructions

Copilot CLI can initialize repository instructions (copilot init) so the agent consistently follows project rules (naming, folder structure, etc.).

Where it helped most on EqPad

Turning “I want a calculator‑like equation editor” into concrete UI primitives (buttons, placeholders, tab order).
Speeding up repetitive implementation work (button packs, template lists, export wiring).
Catching edge cases I would have missed (export sizing, placeholder navigation, keyboard shortcuts).
Keeping momentum: I didn’t have to constantly jump between browser docs, editor, and terminal—Copilot CLI stayed in the same loop as my build/test cycle.