# Jade The jade template engine for node.js ## Synopsis jade [-h|--help] [-v|--version] [-o|--obj STR] [-O|--out DIR] [-p|--path PATH] [-P|--pretty] [-c|--client] [-D|--no-debug] ## Examples translate jade the templates dir $ jade templates create {foo,bar}.html $ jade {foo,bar}.jade jade over stdio $ jade < my.jade > my.html jade over s $ echo "h1 Jade!" | jade foo, bar dirs rendering to /tmp $ jade foo bar --out /tmp compile client-side templates without debugging instrumentation, making the output javascript very light-weight. This requires runtime.js in your projects. $ jade --client --no-debug < my.jade ## Tags Tags are simply nested via whitespace, closing tags defined for you. These indents are called "blocks". ul li a Foo li a Bar You may have several tags in one "block": ul li a Foo a Bar a Baz ## Self-closing Tags Some tags are flagged as self-closing by default, such as `meta`, `link`, and so on. To explicitly self-close a tag simply append the `/` character: foo/ foo(bar='baz')/ Would yield: ## Attributes Tag attributes look similar to HTML, however the values are regular JavaScript, here are some examples: a(href='google.com') Google a(class='button', href='google.com') Google As mentioned the attribute values are just JavaScript, this means ternary operations and other JavaScript expressions work just fine: body(class=user.authenticated ? 'authenticated' : 'anonymous') a(href=user.website || 'http://google.com') Multiple lines work too: input(type='checkbox', name='agreement', checked) Multiple lines without the comma work fine: input(type='checkbox' name='agreement' checked) Funky whitespace? fine: input( type='checkbox' name='agreement' checked) ## Boolean attributes Boolean attributes are mirrored by Jade, and accept bools, aka _true_ or _false_. When no value is specified _true_ is assumed. For example: input(type="checkbox", checked) // => "" For example if the checkbox was for an agreement, perhaps `user.agreed` was _true_ the following would also output 'checked="checked"': input(type="checkbox", checked=user.agreed) ## Class attributes The _class_ attribute accepts an array of classes, this can be handy when generated from a javascript function etc: classes = ['foo', 'bar', 'baz'] a(class=classes) // => "" ## Class literal Classes may be defined using a ".CLASSNAME" syntax: .button // => "
" Or chained: .large.button // => "
" The previous defaulted to divs, however you may also specify the tag type: h1.title My Title // => "

My Title

" ## Id literal Much like the class literal there's an id literal: #user-1 // => "
" Again we may specify the tag as well: ul#menu li: a(href='/home') Home li: a(href='/store') Store li: a(href='/contact') Contact Finally all of these may be used in any combination, the following are all valid tags: a.button#contact(style: 'color: red') Contact a.button(style: 'color: red')#contact Contact a(style: 'color: red').button#contact Contact ## Block expansion Jade supports the concept of "block expansion", in which using a trailing ":" after a tag will inject a block: ul li: a Foo li: a Bar li: a Baz ## Text Arbitrary text may follow tags: p Welcome to my site yields:

Welcome to my site

## Pipe text Another form of text is "pipe" text. Pipes act as the text margin for large bodies of text. p | This is a large | body of text for | this tag. | | Nothing too | exciting. yields:

This is a large body of text for this tag. Nothing too exciting.

Using pipes we can also specify regular Jade tags within the text: p | Click to visit a(href='http://google.com') Google | if you want. ## Text only tags As an alternative to pipe text you may add a trailing "." to indicate that the block contains nothing but plain-text, no tags: p. This is a large body of text for this tag. Nothing too exciting. Some tags are text-only by default, for example _script_, _textarea_, and _style_ tags do not contain nested HTML so Jade implies the trailing ".": script if (foo) { bar(); } style body { padding: 50px; font: 14px Helvetica; } ## Template script tags Sometimes it's useful to define HTML in script tags using Jade, typically for client-side templates. To do this simply give the _script_ tag an arbitrary _type_ attribute such as _text/x-template_: script(type='text/template') h1 Look! p Jade still works in here! ## Interpolation Both plain-text and piped-text support interpolation, which comes in two forms, escapes and non-escaped. The following will output the _user.name_ in the paragraph but HTML within it will be escaped to prevent XSS attacks: p Welcome #{user.name} The following syntax is identical however it will _not_ escape HTML, and should only be used with strings that you trust: p Welcome !{user.name} ## Inline HTML Sometimes constructing small inline snippets of HTML in Jade can be annoying, luckily we can add plain HTML as well: p Welcome #{user.name} ## Code To buffer output with Jade simply use _=_ at the beginning of a line or after a tag. This method escapes any HTML present in the string. p= user.description To buffer output unescaped use the _!=_ variant, but again be careful of XSS. p!= user.description The final way to mess with JavaScript code in Jade is the unbuffered _-_, which can be used for conditionals, defining variables etc: - var user = { description: 'foo bar baz' } #user - if (user.description) { h2 Description p.description= user.description - } When compiled blocks are wrapped in anonymous functions, so the following is also valid, without braces: - var user = { description: 'foo bar baz' } #user - if (user.description) h2 Description p.description= user.description If you really want you could even use `.forEach()` and others: - users.forEach(function(user){ .user h2= user.name p User #{user.name} is #{user.age} years old - }) Taking this further Jade provides some syntax for conditionals, iteration, switch statements etc. Let's look at those next! ## Assignment Jade's first-class assignment is simple, simply use the _=_ operator and Jade will _var_ it for you. The following are equivalent: - var user = { name: 'tobi' } user = { name: 'tobi' } ## Conditionals Jade's first-class conditional syntax allows for optional parenthesis, and you may now omit the leading _-_ otherwise it's identical, still just regular javascript: user = { description: 'foo bar baz' } #user if user.description h2 Description p.description= user.description Jade provides the negated version, _unless_ as well, the following are equivalent: - if (!(user.isAnonymous)) p You're logged in as #{user.name} unless user.isAnonymous p You're logged in as #{user.name} ## Iteration JavaScript's _for_ loops don't look very declarative, so Jade also provides its own _for_ loop construct, aliased as _each_: for user in users .user h2= user.name p user #{user.name} is #{user.age} year old As mentioned _each_ is identical: each user in users .user h2= user.name If necessary the index is available as well: for user, i in users .user(class='user-#{i}') h2= user.name Remember, it's just JavaScript: ul#letters for letter in ['a', 'b', 'c'] li= letter ## Mixins Mixins provide a way to define jade "functions" which "mix in" their contents when called. This is useful for abstracting out large fragments of Jade. The simplest possible mixin which accepts no arguments might look like this: mixin hello p Hello You use a mixin by placing `+` before the name: +hello For something a little more dynamic, mixins can take arguments, the mixin itself is converted to a javascript function internally: mixin hello(user) p Hello #{user} +hello('Tobi') Yields:

Hello Tobi

Mixins may optionally take blocks, when a block is passed its contents becomes the implicit `block` argument. For example here is a mixin passed a block, and also invoked without passing a block: mixin article(title) .article .article-wrapper h1= title if block block else p No content provided +article('Hello world') +article('Hello world') p This is my p Amazing article yields:

Hello world

No content provided

Hello world

This is my

Amazing article

Mixins can even take attributes, just like a tag. When attributes are passed they become the implicit `attributes` argument. Individual attributes can be accessed just like normal object properties: mixin centered .centered(class=attributes.class) block +centered.bold Hello world +centered.red p This is my p Amazing article yields:
Hello world

This is my

Amazing article

If you use `attributes` directly, *all* passed attributes get used: mixin link a.menu(attributes) block +link.highlight(href='#top') Top +link#sec1.plain(href='#section1') Section 1 +link#sec2.plain(href='#section2') Section 2 yields: Top Section 1 Section 2 If you pass arguments, they must directly follow the mixin: mixin list(arr) if block .title block ul(attributes) each item in arr li= item +list(['foo', 'bar', 'baz'])(id='myList', class='bold') yields: