Template syntax

Template syntax

Custom Views templates are HTML with placeholders. A placeholder reads file data, frontmatter, loop variables, Bases rows, or expressions and inserts the result into the rendered view.

Basic placeholders

<h1>{{file.basename}}</h1>
<p>{{year}}</p>
<p>{{rating}}</p>

Use frontmatter properties directly by name. Use file. for built-in file data.

Placeholder	Meaning
{{file.name}}	Filename with extension.
{{file.basename}}	Filename without extension.
{{file.path}}	Full vault path.
{{file.folder}}	Folder path.
{{file.ext}}	File extension.
{{file.size}}	File size.
{{file.ctime}}	Created time.
{{file.mtime}}	Modified time.
{{file.link}}	Internal link to the file.
{{file.tags}}	Tags from frontmatter and body.
{{file.content}}	Note body rendered as Markdown.
{{property}}	Any frontmatter property.

Arrays and nested values

Use bracket access for list items:

<img src="{{cover[0]}}" alt="{{file.basename}}" />
<p>{{artists[0]}}</p>

Use dot access for nested objects:

<p>{{author.name}}</p>
<p>{{rating.value}}</p>

If a property name contains spaces or punctuation, use bracket notation:

<p>{{file.properties["release date"]}}</p>

Filters

Filters transform a placeholder value. Chain filters with pipes.

<h1>{{file.basename|title}}</h1>
<p>{{genres|join:", "}}</p>
<p>{{releaseDate|date:"YYYY"}}</p>

Filters are best for formatting output. For conditions, prefer expression methods such as .length, .contains(), and comparisons. See Template logic.

Regex replacement

String expressions support JavaScript-style regex literals:

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

For a note named Ritviz – Mimmi, this renders Mimmi.

You can also use the pipe-style replace filter:

<h1>{{file.basename|replace:"/.*\s*–\s*/":""}}</h1>

Markdown rendering

Custom Views renders markdown-like placeholder values in HTML body positions. This means wikilinks from properties such as [[Artist]] become internal links.

Inside HTML attributes, values are inserted as raw strings:

<a href="{{url}}">Open</a>
<img src="{{cover[0]}}" alt="{{file.basename}}" />

Use {{file.content}} when you want the note body rendered inside the view.

Escaping HTML

If a value might contain user-authored HTML and you want to display it as text, use an escaping strategy before inserting it. For expressions, escapeHTML(value) is available:

<pre>{{escapeHTML(file.content)}}</pre>

When to use what

Need	Use
Insert one property	{{property}}
Read file metadata	{{file.basename}}, {{file.path}}, etc.
Show note body	{{file.content}}
Format for display	Pipe filters such as date, join, title
Compare values	Expression syntax in {% if %}
Repeat markup	{% for item in items %}
Query related notes	{% base "Name" %} blocks

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