Template Syntax

Smart Variables renders macro content with a Handlebars-compatible template engine. That means you're not limited to dropping in a single variable like {{page.title}} — you can also use Handlebars' block helpers to add conditionals, loops, and formatting logic to your content.

If a variable path doesn't exist (for example, a page with no previousVersion), it silently renders as an empty string instead of showing an error.

Conditionals

{\{#if}}

{{#if page.title}}
  {{page.title}}
{{/if}}

{\{#if}} … {{else}}

{{#if page.title}}
  {{page.title}}
{{else}}
  Untitled page
{{/if}}

{\{#unless}}

Renders the block only when the value is falsy — the inverse of {{#if}}.

{{#unless page.title}}
  This page has no title
{{/unless}}

Comparisons inside {\{#if}}

Handlebars conditionals only check truthiness, so use the built-in eq/ne helpers to compare values:

{{#if (eq page.status "current")}}
  This page is current
{{/if}}

{{#if (ne space.type "personal")}}
  This is a shared space
{{/if}}

Loops

{\{#each}}

Iterate over a list, such as the page's full version history. Inside the block, this refers to the current item.

{{#each page.versions.results}}
  Version {{this.number}}: {{this.message}}
{{/each}}

Scoping with {\{#with}}

{{#with}} changes the context for the block, so you can drop the repeated prefix:

{{#with page.author}}
  {{displayName}}
{{/with}}

Comments

Text inside a comment is not rendered:

{{! this note is not rendered }}

Helper functions

A small set of helper functions are available for use inside {{ }} expressions or as conditionals:

Helper	Description	Example
eq	Returns true if two values are equal	{{#if (eq page.status "current")}}
ne	Returns true if two values are not equal	{{#if (ne page.status "archived")}}
uppercase	Converts a value to upper case	{{uppercase page.title}}
lowercase	Converts a value to lower case	{{lowercase page.title}}
formatDate	Formats an ISO date string	{{formatDate page.createdAt "DATE_FULL"}}

formatDate

formatDate takes the date variable and a format. The format can be a Luxon preset name — like DATE_FULL, DATE_SHORT, or DATETIME_FULL — or a custom Luxon format token string, such as "yyyy-LL-dd".

{{formatDate page.createdAt "DATE_FULL"}}
{{formatDate page.currentVersion.createdAt "yyyy-LL-dd"}}

An empty or invalid date input renders as an empty string.