Template logic

Template logic

Template logic lets you include markup conditionally, loop over arrays, and assign local variables. The syntax is inspired by Obsidian Web Clipper, Liquid, and Twig, but Custom Views has its own supported behavior.

If blocks

{% if rating >= 8 %}
  <span class="badge">Favorite</span>
{% endif %}

Use else for fallback markup:

{% if description %}
  <p>{{description}}</p>
{% else %}
  <p>No description yet.</p>
{% endif %}

Use elif for chained conditions:

{% if rating >= 9 %}
  <span>Masterpiece</span>
{% elif rating >= 7 %}
  <span>Recommended</span>
{% else %}
  <span>Unrated</span>
{% endif %}

Conditions

Common comparison and logical operators:

Operator	Meaning
==	Equal.
!=	Not equal.
>, <, >=, <=	Numeric or comparable values.
and, &&	Both sides must be true.
or, `
not, !	Negation.
??	Fallback value.

Examples:

{% if artists.length == 1 or artists.contains(albumArtist) %}
  <span class="single-artist">{{albumArtist}}</span>
{% endif %}

{{subtitle ?? "Untitled"}}

Loops

Loop over arrays from frontmatter:

<ul>
{% for artist in artists %}
  <li>{{artist}}</li>
{% endfor %}
</ul>

Loop over Bases rows:

{% for row in bases.Songs.rows %}
  <div>{{row.values.track}}. {{row.file.link}}</div>
{% endfor %}

Loop variables

Inside a loop, Custom Views exposes a loop object:

Variable	Meaning
loop.index	1-based index.
loop.index0	0-based index.
loop.first	True on the first item.
loop.last	True on the last item.
loop.length	Total item count.

Example:

{% for genre in genres %}
  <span>{{genre}}</span>{% if not loop.last %}<span> · </span>{% endif %}
{% endfor %}

Set variables

Use set when a value is reused or when a condition becomes easier to read.

{% set title = file.basename.replace(/.*\s*–\s*/, "") %}
<h1>{{title}}</h1>

For album tracks, this avoids repeating artist logic:

{% set trackArtists = row.values.artists %}
{% if trackArtists.length > 1 and not trackArtists.contains(artists[0]) %}
  <div class="album-track-artists">{{trackArtists}}</div>
{% endif %}

A common gotcha: filters inside if

This is output-filter syntax and may not behave the way you expect inside conditions:

{% if row.values.artists|length > 1 %}
  ...
{% endif %}

Prefer expression syntax:

{% if row.values.artists.length > 1 %}
  ...
{% endif %}

For robust album artist hiding:

{% set trackArtists = row.values.artists %}
{% if trackArtists.length > 1 and not trackArtists.contains(artists[0]) %}
  <div class="album-track-artists">{{trackArtists}}</div>
{% endif %}

Wiki pages

• Home
• Quick start
• Settings and view rules
• Template syntax
• Template logic
• Filters and functions
• Bases in Custom Views
• CSS and JavaScript
• Movie view tutorial
• Album view tutorial
• Troubleshooting