Folio LaTeX Reference: A Complete Guide to Commands, Environments, and Syntax

A single-page overview of Folio's LaTeX syntax. A quick reference covering text formatting, math, theorem environments, code blocks, diagrams, and cross-references, with support status shown as ✅⚠️❌.

Folio Official

March 3, 2026

1. How to Use This Article

This article provides a single-page overview of Folio's LaTeX syntax. The support status of each command and environment is indicated by the following symbols:

✅: Fully supported — works the same as standard LaTeX
⚠️: Partially supported — with restrictions or custom behavior
❌: Not supported — ignored or unavailable

How to use:

Jump to sections from the table of contents to find the commands you need
Follow the links at the end of each section for detailed explanations

Remark 1.

This article is linked to the individual articles in the "Folio Basics" series. Use the links at the end of each section to access detailed guides.

2. Document Structure

Command/Feature	Status	Description
`\documentclass`	⚠️	Can be written but is ignored
`\usepackage`	⚠️	Can be written but is ignored
`\begin{document}`	⚠️	Can be written but is ignored
Preamble	⚠️	`\newcommand` etc. are processed
`\section`, `\subsection` etc.	✅	Six levels of headings
`\section*`	✅	Unnumbered headings
`\tableofcontents`	❌	Auto-generated by Folio
`\title`, `\author`, `\date`	❌	Ignored
`\maketitle`	❌	Ignored

Details → Part 1: Folio LaTeX Basics

3. Text Formatting

Command	Status	Effect
`\textbf{...}`	✅	Bold
`\textit{...}`	✅	Italic
`\emph{...}`	✅	Emphasis
`\underline{...}`	✅	Underline
`\texttt{...}`	✅	`Monospace`
`\textsc{...}`	✅	Small Caps
`\textrm{...}`	✅	Roman
`\textsf{...}`	✅	Sans-serif
`\textsl{...}`	✅	Slanted
`\verb\`...\\|\|	✅	Inline code
`\fbox{...}`	✅	Boxed text

Details → Part 1: Folio LaTeX Basics

4. Special Characters

Input	Status	Output
`\%`, `\$`, `\&`, `\#`, `\_`	✅	Escape characters
`\{`, `\}`	✅	Curly braces
`\textbackslash`	✅	Backslash
`--`, `---`	✅	En/em dashes
`~`	✅	Non-breaking space
Accents (`\'`, `\"`, etc.)	✅	Various accent marks

Details → Part 1: Folio LaTeX Basics

5. Math Environments

Environment/Syntax	Status	Description
$...$	✅	Inline math
`$$...$$`	✅	Display math
`equation` / `equation*`	✅	Numbered/unnumbered single equation
`align` / `align*`	✅	Aligned equations
`gather` / `gather*`	✅	Centered equations
`multline` / `multline*`	✅	Multi-line equations
`split`	✅	Nested alignment
`aligned`	✅	Inline alignment
`cases`	✅	Piecewise definitions
`matrix`, `pmatrix`, `bmatrix`, etc.	✅	Matrices
`smallmatrix`	✅	Inline matrices
`array`	✅	General arrays
`subequations`	✅	Equation grouping

All math commands supported by KaTeX are available: Greek letters, operators, relations, big operators, decorations, fractions, roots, delimiter sizing, math fonts (\mathbb, \mathcal, \mathfrak, etc.).

Details → Part 2: Writing Math

6. Theorem Environments

Environment	Status	Body Style	Numbering
`theorem`	✅	Italic	Yes
`lemma`	✅	Italic	Yes
`proposition`	✅	Italic	Yes
`corollary`	✅	Italic	Yes
`claim`	✅	Italic	Yes
`fact`	✅	Italic	Yes
`hypothesis`	✅	Italic	Yes
`definition`	✅	Roman	Yes
`example`	✅	Roman	Yes
`remark`	✅	Roman	Yes
`note`	✅	Roman	Yes
`exercise`	✅	Roman	Yes
`problem`	✅	Roman	Yes
`assumption`	✅	Roman	Yes
`observation`	✅	Roman	Yes
`question`	✅	Roman	Yes
`solution`	✅	Roman	Yes
`answer`	✅	Roman	Yes
`proof`	✅	Roman	No

All environments support the [name] argument and \label. No \newtheorem required.

Details → Part 3: Mastering Theorem Environments

7. Code Blocks

Environment	Status	Description
`lstlisting`	✅	Specify language with `[language=...]`
`minted`	✅	Specify language with `{language}`
`code`	✅	Simple code block
`verbatim`	✅	Verbatim output (no highlighting)
`\verb\`...\\|\|	✅	Inline code

Supported languages: Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Java, C, C++, Bash, JSON, LaTeX, Markdown, and more.

Details → Part 4: Code Blocks and Algorithms

8. Algorithms

Environment/Command	Status	Description
`algorithm`	✅	Container with caption
`algorithmic`	✅	Pseudocode body
`\Function`, `\EndFunction`	✅	Function definition
`\If`, `\ElsIf`, `\Else`, `\EndIf`	✅	Conditionals
`\For`, `\While`, `\Repeat`	✅	Loops
`\State`, `\Return`	✅	Statements / return
`\Call`	✅	Function calls
`\Require`, `\Ensure`	✅	Pre/postconditions
`\Comment`	✅	Comments

Details → Part 4: Code Blocks and Algorithms

9. Diagrams

Environment	Status	Description
`mermaid`	✅	Flowcharts, sequence diagrams, etc.
`tikzgraph`	✅	Graph theory graph drawing
`tikzcd`	✅	Commutative diagrams (category theory)
`\includegraphics`	⚠️	Works if you specify a URL directly
TikZ (other)	❌	Only tikzgraph and tikzcd are supported

Details → Part 5: Diagrams and Tables

10. Tables

Environment	Status	Description
`tabular`	✅	Basic tables
`tabular*`, `tabularx`	✅	Width-adjusted tables
`longtable`	✅	Long tables
`table`	✅	Float (with caption)
`figure`	✅	Float (with caption)
`\caption`	✅	Caption
`\centering`	✅	Center alignment
`\hline`	✅	Horizontal rule

Details → Part 5: Diagrams and Tables

11. Cross-References and Links

Command	Status	Description
`\label{...}`	✅	Define a label
`\ref{...}`	✅	Reference (number only)
`\eqref{...}`	✅	Equation reference (with parentheses)
`\cref{...}`	✅	Smart reference (with name)
`\url{...}`	✅	Display URL
`\href{URL}{text}`	✅	Hyperlink with text
`\footnote{...}`	✅	Footnote (auto-numbered)
`\cite{...}`	✅	Citation (register references in dashboard)
`\citep{...}`, `\citet{...}`	✅	Parenthetical/textual citation

Details → Part 6: Cross-References, Links, and Custom Commands

12. Custom Commands

Command	Status	Description
`\newcommand`	✅	Macro definition (with arguments)
`\renewcommand`	✅	Macro redefinition
`\DeclareMathOperator`	✅	Math operator definition
`\def`	✅	Simple macro
`\newenvironment`	✅	Environment definition

Details → Part 6: Cross-References, Links, and Custom Commands

13. Lists

Environment	Status	Description
`itemize`	✅	Bullet list
`enumerate`	✅	Numbered list
`description`	✅	Description list
Nested lists	✅	Nesting supported

Details → Part 6: Cross-References, Links, and Custom Commands

14. Unsupported Features

The following features are not available or are ignored in Folio:

Feature	Status	Notes
TikZ (other than tikzgraph, tikzcd)	❌	Use `mermaid` as alternative
Beamer	❌	—
Font size changes	❌	—
Page layout	❌	Folio's layout is applied
`\tableofcontents`	❌	Auto-generated by Folio
`\title`, `\author`, `\date`	❌	Ignored

15. Quick-Start Template

Below is a basic template for writing articles on Folio. Since \newcommand and other macro definitions can be registered in the Settings preamble editor and applied to all articles, you can start writing directly from \section:

\section{Introduction}

In this article, we explain...

\section{Definitions and Basic Properties}

\begin{definition}[...]
...
\end{definition}

\begin{theorem}[...]
\label{thm:main}
...
\end{theorem}

\begin{proof}
...
\end{proof}

By Theorem \ref{thm:main}, ...

\section{Examples}

\begin{example}
For $f(x) = x^2$, ...
\end{example}

\begin{mermaid}
graph TD
    A --> B --> C
\end{mermaid}

\section{Conclusion}

...

Use this template as a starting point, adding environments and commands as needed¹.

Refer to the individual articles in this series for details on each feature. ↩

LaTeX Folio Tutorial Reference Commands

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Mathematics "between the lines" — exploring the intuition textbooks leave out, written in LaTeX on Folio.

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Folio LaTeX Reference: A Complete Guide to Commands, Environments, and Syntax

1. How to Use This Article

2. Document Structure

3. Text Formatting

4. Special Characters

5. Math Environments

6. Theorem Environments

7. Code Blocks

8. Algorithms

9. Diagrams

10. Tables

11. Cross-References and Links

12. Custom Commands

13. Lists

14. Unsupported Features

15. Quick-Start Template

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