latexnav: Python Tool for LLM and Human Navigation of LaTeX Files

latexnav is a free open source Python tool designed to help LLMs and humans navigate LaTeX files by parsing structural elements and providing summaries with line numbers.

Key Features and Functionality

The tool parses LaTeX files to extract:

• Theorems
• Definitions
• Sections
• Labels
• Cross-references
• Dependencies

It produces structural summaries with authoritative line numbers, which helps save time and tokens while managing context.

Problem It Solves for AI Agents

When AI agents (Claude, GPT, Gemini, etc.) work with large LaTeX manuscripts via CLI tools like Claude Code, Codex, or OpenCode:

• Reading raw .tex files can consume thousands of context tokens
• Agents lack structural awareness of what theorems exist, what depends on what, or where proofs start

latexnav provides agents with structural navigation capabilities:

• View a theorem statement in 3 lines instead of reading a 200-line file
• Check reverse dependencies before modifying a result
• Get a compact overview of an entire chapter
• Know exactly where to start reading via provided line numbers

Development and Integration

The tool was written by Claude inside Claude Code, with Claude playing a significant role in UX testing and feature development. The developer periodically asked agents about the tool to get suggestions for improvements and new features.

Installation is straightforward:

pip install latexnav

To integrate into a CLI tool like Claude Code, tell the agent to read the README file in the git repository and set up its memory/instructions files as suggested in the LLM agent integration section.

The tool is available on GitHub at https://github.com/drwoood/latexnav.