[BUG] Inline $...$ LaTeX does not render in Claude Code desktop tab (macOS/Windows) — display $$...$$ works

Summary

Inline LaTeX with single-dollar delimiters ($…$) does not render in the Claude Code tab of the Claude desktop app — it shows as literal text — while display math ($$…$$) renders correctly.

This is a fresh report of a still-reproducing bug previously tracked in #36742 and #36576, both of which were auto-closed as not planned by the stale-bot (#36576 is now locked). Per the bot's own instruction to "file a new issue and reference this one if it's relevant," here it is.

Steps to reproduce

1. Open the Claude desktop app → Claude Code tab
2. Have Claude output inline math, e.g. the value $n = 3$ satisfies the constraint
3. For contrast, have it output display math on its own line, e.g. $$n = 3$$

Expected

Inline $…$ renders as formatted math, consistent with how display $$…$$ renders.

Actual

• $$…$$ and \[…\] (display math) → render correctly ✅
• $…$ and \(…\) (inline math) → show as literal text ❌

Environment

• Claude desktop app → Claude Code tab
• macOS (Darwin 25.5); also reported on Windows in #36742
• claude-code 2.1.165; bundled app.asar rebuilt 2026-06-05
• Reproduces on the current build as of 2026-06-06

Where the bug lives (desktop renderer, not the CLI)

The Claude Code tab renders the CLI's --output-format stream-json output inside the desktop app's Chromium webview — the CLI only emits markdown, so this is purely a desktop-renderer issue (as the original reporter noted in #36742).

Inspecting the shipped app.asar: there is no KaTeX / MathJax / temml bundled, and display math appears to be emitted as native MathML (Chromium-rendered). The "block renders, inline doesn't" split is the classic signature of the markdown→math pass having inline single-$ math disabled while block math is enabled — e.g. remark-math configured with singleDollarTextMath: false, or the inline single-$ rule simply not wired into the renderer.

Suggested fix

Enable inline math in the renderer's markdown-math configuration:

• If using remark-math: ensure singleDollarTextMath: true (it is true by default, so something is overriding it), or
• register the inline single-$ delimiter rule alongside the existing block $$ rule.

Apply the standard remark-math/GitHub heuristic so prose dollar amounts (e.g. "it costs $5 and $10 total") aren't mis-parsed as math — that guard is what makes single-$ inline math safe to enable.

References

• #36742 — this exact bug (closed not planned/stale; 9 👍, 10 comments)
• #36576 — duplicate, was triaged bug / area:desktop / platform:macos before being auto-closed and locked