Support

Getting Started

System Requirements

• macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or later
• Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, M4 or later)
• 8 GB of memory: choose Qwen3.5 Light for clean, typed pages
• 16 GB of memory recommended for the larger Fast and Precise engines
• Light is approximately 2.7 GB to download; Fast is ~5.1 GB and Precise is ~9.9 GB. Allow extra free disk space for downloads, cached files and projects.

First Launch

1. Open GhostTeX and click the AI Engine status chip in the top bar.
2. For an 8 GB Mac, choose Qwen3.5 → Light. This is the smallest engine, with a compact 2B model and an approximately 2.7 GB download. Fast and Precise remain available for Macs with more memory.
3. Download the chosen model. The first download can take several minutes or longer, depending on your connection. Keep GhostTeX open and connected; the saved model is reused later.
4. Wait for the model to finish downloading and loading, then drop a PDF or image into the app.

New in version 3: Light makes local conversion available on 8 GB Apple Silicon Macs. It is best for clean, typed pages; handwriting, slides and mixed content may benefit from Precise and more memory. AI processing stays on your Mac.

Full Document Mode

Convert entire PDF pages to LaTeX or Markdown.

1. Drop a PDF file into the left panel.
2. Choose your Document Type (Scientific Paper, Textbook, Handwriting, etc.).
3. Choose Output Format (Raw Markdown or LaTeX).
4. Optionally set a Page Range (e.g., 1-3, 5, 10-12).
5. Click Start. Each page is processed sequentially and results appear in real time.
6. Use Copy LaTeX, Save as .tex, or continue editing in the built-in editor.

Tips

• Higher Qwen Image Resolution (2048 px) gives better results for dense equations but uses more VRAM and time.
• The Scientific Paper document type works best for physics, math, and engineering papers with heavy equation content.
• Raw Markdown output is saved automatically alongside your .tex file for reference.

Equation Capture Mode

Extract individual equations from a PDF or image by drawing a selection rectangle.

1. Switch to Equation Capture using the tab at the top.
2. Drop a PDF, PNG, or JPEG file into the drop zone.
3. Navigate to the page containing the equation you want.
4. Click and drag to draw a rectangle around the equation.
5. The extracted LaTeX appears in the right panel.
6. Crop additional equations — each one is appended automatically.

Tips

• Include some surrounding text in your crop — it helps the AI identify ambiguous symbols (e.g., distinguishing δ from s).
• Use Clear LaTeX to reset the output without closing the document.
• You can also drop PNG/JPEG images of handwritten equations directly.

Chat with Qwen

After extracting LaTeX, click Chat with Qwen to refine the output. You can ask the AI to:

• Fix specific symbols or notation
• Convert between equation environments (e.g., equation* to align*)
• Add missing labels or equation numbers
• Simplify or restructure the LaTeX

Troubleshooting

Model download stuck or fails

• Ensure you have a stable internet connection.
• Check the selected engine and allow more free disk space than its download size: Light ~2.7 GB, Fast ~5.1 GB or Precise ~9.9 GB.
• On an 8 GB Mac, select Qwen3.5 Light rather than a larger engine.
• Check the AI Engine progress and any error, then retry. A finished model download is saved for later use.

Poor equation quality

• Increase Qwen Image Resolution to 2048 px.
• In Equation Capture mode, include more context around the equation in your crop.
• Use Scientific Paper document type for best equation extraction.
• For handwritten equations, ensure the writing is clear and well-lit.

App is slow or unresponsive during processing

• On an 8 GB Apple Silicon Mac, choose AI Engine → Qwen3.5 → Light. The larger engines are recommended for 16 GB Macs.
• Close other memory-intensive applications.
• Use a smaller page range instead of processing the entire document.
• Lower the image resolution to 1024 px for faster processing.
• M1 Pro/Max/Ultra and newer chips provide significantly faster processing.

Subscription issues

• Subscription is managed by Apple. Go to System Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions to manage or cancel.
• If you're not seeing your subscription, ensure you're signed in with the correct Apple ID.

Keyboard Shortcuts

• ⌘O — Open file
• ⌘S — Save as .tex
• ⌘C — Copy selected text
• ⌘F — Find in LaTeX output
• ⌘Z — Undo
• ⌘⇧Z — Redo