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Nunjucks

Template Languages:

Eleventy Short NameFile ExtensionNPM Package
njk.njknunjucks

You can override a .njk file’s template engine. Read more at Changing a Template’s Rendering Engine.

Nunjucks Options #

Optional: Use your Nunjucks Environment New in v0.3.0 #

As an escape mechanism for advanced usage, pass in your own instance of a Nunjucks Environment using the Configuration API.

let Nunjucks = require("nunjucks");

module.exports = function(eleventyConfig) {
let nunjucksEnvironment = new Nunjucks.Environment(
new Nunjucks.FileSystemLoader("_includes")
);

eleventyConfig.setLibrary("njk", nunjucksEnvironment);
};

Supported Features #

FeatureSyntax
✅ Includes{% include 'included.njk' %} looks in _includes/included.njk. Does not process front matter in the include file.
✅ Includes (Relative Path) New in v0.9.0Relative paths use ./ (template’s directory) or ../ (template’s parent directory).

Example: {% include './included.njk' %} looks for included.njk in the template’s current directory. Does not process front matter in the include file.
✅ Extends{% extends 'base.njk' %} looks in _includes/base.njk. Does not process front matter in the include file.
✅ Extends (Relative Path) New in v0.9.0Relative paths use ./ (template’s directory) or ../ (template’s parent directory)

Example: {% extends './base.njk' %} looks for base.njk in the template’s current directory. Does not process front matter in the include file.
✅ Imports{% import 'macros.njk' %} looks in _includes/macros.njk. Does not process front matter in the include file.
✅ Imports (Relative Path) New in v0.9.0Relative paths use ./ (template’s directory) or ../ (template’s parent directory):
{% import './macros.njk' %} looks for macros.njk in the template’s current directory. Does not process front matter in the include file.
✅ Filters{% name | filterName %} Read more about Filters.
Eleventy Universal Filters{% name | filterName %} Read more about Filters.
Custom Tags{% uppercase name %} Read more about Custom Tags. New in v0.5.0
Shortcodes{% uppercase name %} Read more about Shortcodes. New in v0.5.0

Filters #

Filters are used to transform or modify content. You can add Nunjucks specific filters, but you probably want to add a Universal filter instead.

Read more about Nunjucks Filter syntax.

module.exports = function(eleventyConfig) {
// Nunjucks Filter
eleventyConfig.addNunjucksFilter("myNjkFilter", function(value) {});

// Nunjucks Asynchronous Filter (read on below)
eleventyConfig.addNunjucksAsyncFilter("myAsyncNjkFilter", function(value, callback) {});

// Universal filters (Adds to Liquid, Nunjucks, and Handlebars)
eleventyConfig.addFilter("myFilter", function(value) {});
};

Usage #

<h1>{{ myVariable | myFilter }}</h1>

Asynchronous Nunjucks Filters New in v0.2.13 #

By default, almost all templating engines are synchronous. Nunjucks supports some asynchronous behavior, like filters. Here’s how that works:

module.exports = function(eleventyConfig) {
eleventyConfig.addNunjucksAsyncFilter("myAsyncFilter", function(value, callback) {
setTimeout(function() {
callback(null, "My Result");
}, 100);
});
};

The last argument here is the callback function, the first argument of which is the error object and the second is the result data. Use this filter like you would any other: {{ myValue | myAsyncFilter }}.

Here’s a Nunjucks example with 2 arguments:

module.exports = function(eleventyConfig) {
eleventyConfig.addNunjucksAsyncFilter("myAsyncFilter", function(value1, value2, callback) {
setTimeout(function() {
callback(null, "My Result");
}, 100);
});
};

Multi-argument filters in Nunjucks are called like this: {{ myValue1 | myAsyncFilter(myValue2) }}.

Shortcodes #

Shortcodes are basically reusable bits of content. You can add Nunjucks specific shortcodes, but you probably want to add a Universal shortcode instead.

Single Shortcode #

module.exports = function(eleventyConfig) {
// Nunjucks Shortcode
eleventyConfig.addNunjucksShortcode("user", function(name, twitterUsername) {});

// Universal Shortcodes (Adds to Liquid, Nunjucks, Handlebars)
eleventyConfig.addShortcode("user", function(name, twitterUsername) {
return `<div class="user">
<div class="user_name">
${name}</div>
<div class="user_twitter">@
${twitterUsername}</div>
</div>
`
;
});
};

Usage #

{% user "Zach Leatherman", "zachleat" %}

Outputs #

<div class="user">
<div class="user_name">Zach Leatherman</div>
<div class="user_twitter">@zachleat</div>>
</div>

Paired Shortcode #

module.exports = function(eleventyConfig) {
// Nunjucks Shortcode
eleventyConfig.addPairedNunjucksShortcode("user", function(bioContent, name, twitterUsername) {});

// Universal Shortcodes (Adds to Liquid, Nunjucks, Handlebars)
eleventyConfig.addPairedShortcode("user", function(bioContent, name, twitterUsername) {
return `<div class="user">
<div class="user_name">
${name}</div>
<div class="user_twitter">@
${twitterUsername}</div>
<div class="user_bio">
${bioContent}</div>
</div>
`
;
});
};

Usage #

Note that you can put any Nunjucks tags or content inside the {% user %} shortcode! Yes, even other shortcodes!

{% user "Zach Leatherman", "zachleat" %}
Zach likes to take long walks on Nebraska beaches.
{% enduser %}
Outputs
<div class="user">
<div class="user_name">Zach Leatherman</div>
<div class="user_twitter">@zachleat</div>
<div class="user_bio">Zach likes to take long walks on Nebraska beaches.</div>
</div>

Shortcode Named Argument Syntax (Nunjucks-only) #

Creates a single argument object to pass to the shortcode.

module.exports = function(eleventyConfig) {
// Nunjucks Shortcode
eleventyConfig.addNunjucksShortcode("user", function(user) {
return `<div class="user">
<div class="user_name">
${user.name}</div>
${user.twitter ? `<div class="user_twitter">@${user.twitter}</div>` : ''}
</div>
`
;
});
};

Usage #

The order of the arguments doesn’t matter.

{% user name="Zach Leatherman", twitter="zachleat" %}
{% user twitter="zachleat", name="Zach Leatherman" %}
Outputs
<div class="user">
<div class="user_name">Zach Leatherman</div>
<div class="user_twitter">@zachleat</div>
</div>

Usage #

Importantly, this syntax means that any of the arguments can be optional (without having to pass in a bunch of null, null, null to maintain order).

{% user name="Zach Leatherman" %}
Outputs
<div class="user">
<div class="user_name">Zach Leatherman</div>
</div>

Asynchronous Shortcodes New in v0.10.0 #

Note that the configuration methods here to add asynchronous shortcodes are different than their synchronous counterparts.

Filename .eleventy.js
module.exports = function(eleventyConfig) {
eleventyConfig.addNunjucksAsyncShortcode("user", async function(name, twitterUsername) {
return await fetchAThing();
});

eleventyConfig.addPairedNunjucksAsyncShortcode("user2", async function(content, name, twitterUsername) {
return await fetchAThing();
});
};

Usage #

(It’s the same.)

{% user "Zach Leatherman", "zachleat" %}

{% user2 "Zach Leatherman", "zachleat" %}
Zach likes to take long walks on Nebraska beaches.
{% enduser2 %}

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