Helpers

Helpers are used in templates to help you insert snippets quickly. Helpers cannot be used in source files.

You could easily write your own custom helper or use our ready-made helpers.

URL

url_for

Returns a URL with the root path prefixed. Output is encoded automatically.

<%- url_for(path, [option]) %>
Option Description Default
relative Output relative link Value of config.relative_link

Examples:

_config.yml
root: /blog/ # example
<%- url_for('/a/path') %>
// /blog/a/path

Relative link, follows relative_link option by default
e.g. post/page path is ‘/foo/bar/index.html’

_config.yml
relative_link: true
<%- url_for('/css/style.css') %>
// ../../css/style.css

/* Override option
 * you could also disable it to output a non-relative link,
 * even when `relative_link` is enabled and vice versa.
 */
<%- url_for('/css/style.css', {relative: false}) %>
// /css/style.css

relative_url

Returns the relative URL from from to to.

<%- relative_url(from, to) %>

Examples:

<%- relative_url('foo/bar/', 'css/style.css') %>
// ../../css/style.css

full_url_for

Returns a URL with the config.url prefixed. Output is encoded automatically.

<%- full_url_for(path) %>

Examples:

_config.yml
url: https://example.com/blog # example
<%- full_url_for('/a/path') %>
// https://example.com/blog/a/path

gravatar

Returns the gravatar image URL from an email.

If you don’t specify the [options] parameter, the default options will apply. Otherwise, you can set it to a number which will then be passed on as the size parameter to Gravatar. Finally, if you set it to an object, it will be converted into a query string of parameters for Gravatar.

<%- gravatar(email, [options]) %>
Option Description Default
s Output image size 80
d Default image
f Force default
r Rating

More info: Gravatar

Examples:

<%- gravatar('a@abc.com') %>
// https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/b9b00e66c6b8a70f88c73cb6bdb06787

<%- gravatar('a@abc.com', 40) %>
// https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/b9b00e66c6b8a70f88c73cb6bdb06787?s=40

<%- gravatar('a@abc.com' {s: 40, d: 'https://via.placeholder.com/150'}) %>
// https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/b9b00e66c6b8a70f88c73cb6bdb06787?s=40&d=https%3A%2F%2Fvia.placeholder.com%2F150

HTML Tags

css

Loads CSS files. path can be a string, an array, an object or an array of objects. /<root>/ value is prepended while .css extension is appended to the path automatically. Use object type for custom attributes.

<%- css(path, ...) %>

Examples:

<%- css('style.css') %>
// <link rel="stylesheet" href="/style.css">

<%- css(['style.css', 'screen.css']) %>
// <link rel="stylesheet" href="/style.css">
// <link rel="stylesheet" href="/screen.css">

<%- css({ href: 'style.css', integrity: 'foo' }) %>
// <link rel="stylesheet" href="/style.css" integrity="foo">

<%- css([{ href: 'style.css', integrity: 'foo' }, { href: 'screen.css', integrity: 'bar' }]) %>
// <link rel="stylesheet" href="/style.css" integrity="foo">
// <link rel="stylesheet" href="/screen.css" integrity="bar">

js

Loads JavaScript files. path can be a string, an array, an object or an array of objects. /<root>/ value is prepended while .js extension is appended to the path automatically. Use object type for custom attributes.

<%- js(path, ...) %>

Examples:

<%- js('script.js') %>
// <script src="/script.js"></script>

<%- js(['script.js', 'gallery.js']) %>
// <script src="/script.js"></script>
// <script src="/gallery.js"></script>

<%- js({ src: 'script.js', integrity: 'foo', async: true }) %>
// <script src="/script.js" integrity="foo" async></script>

<%- js([{ src: 'script.js', integrity: 'foo' }, { src: 'gallery.js', integrity: 'bar' }]) %>
// <script src="/script.js" integrity="foo"></script>
// <script src="/gallery.js" integrity="bar"></script>

link_to

Inserts a link.

<%- link_to(path, [text], [options]) %>
Option Description Default
external Opens the link in a new tab false
class Class name
id ID

Examples:

<%- link_to('http://www.google.com') %>
// <a href="http://www.google.com" title="http://www.google.com">http://www.google.com</a>

<%- link_to('http://www.google.com', 'Google') %>
// <a href="http://www.google.com" title="Google">Google</a>

<%- link_to('http://www.google.com', 'Google', {external: true}) %>
// <a href="http://www.google.com" title="Google" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Google</a>

mail_to

Inserts a mail link.

<%- mail_to(path, [text], [options]) %>
Option Description
class Class name
id ID
subject Mail subject
cc CC
bcc BCC
body Mail content

Examples:

<%- mail_to('a@abc.com') %>
// <a href="mailto:a@abc.com" title="a@abc.com">a@abc.com</a>

<%- mail_to('a@abc.com', 'Email') %>
// <a href="mailto:a@abc.com" title="Email">Email</a>

image_tag

Inserts an image.

<%- image_tag(path, [options]) %>
Option Description
alt Alternative text of the image
class Class name
id ID
width Image width
height Image height

favicon_tag

Inserts a favicon.

<%- favicon_tag(path) %>

feed_tag

Inserts a feed link.

<%- feed_tag(path, [options]) %>
Option Description Default
title Feed title config.title
type Feed type

Examples:

<%- feed_tag('atom.xml') %>
// <link rel="alternate" href="/atom.xml" title="Hexo" type="application/atom+xml">

<%- feed_tag('rss.xml', { title: 'RSS Feed', type: 'rss' }) %>
// <link rel="alternate" href="/atom.xml" title="RSS Feed" type="application/atom+xml">

/* Defaults to hexo-generator-feed's config if no argument */
<%- feed_tag() %>
// <link rel="alternate" href="/atom.xml" title="Hexo" type="application/atom+xml">

Conditional Tags

is_current

Check whether path matches the URL of the current page. Use strict options to enable strict matching.

<%- is_current(path, [strict]) %>

is_home

Check whether the current page is home page.

<%- is_home() %>

is_home_first_page (+6.3.0)

Check whether the current page is the first of home page.

<%- is_home_first_page() %>

is_post

Check whether the current page is a post.

<%- is_post() %>

is_page

Check whether the current page is a page.

<%- is_page() %>

is_archive

Check whether the current page is an archive page.

<%- is_archive() %>

is_year

Check whether the current page is a yearly archive page.

<%- is_year() %>

is_month

Check whether the current page is a monthly archive page.

<%- is_month() %>

is_category

Check whether the current page is a category page.
If a string is given as parameter, check whether the current page match the given category.

<%- is_category() %>
<%- is_category('hobby') %>

is_tag

Check whether the current page is a tag page.
If a string is given as parameter, check whether the current page match the given tag.

<%- is_tag() %>
<%- is_tag('hobby') %>

String Manipulation

trim

Removes prefixing and trailing spaces of a string.

<%- trim(string) %>

strip_html

Sanitizes all HTML tags in a string.

<%- strip_html(string) %>

Examples:

<%- strip_html('It\'s not <b>important</b> anymore!') %>
// It's not important anymore!

titlecase

Transforms a string into proper title caps.

<%- titlecase(string) %>

Examples:

<%- titlecase('this is an apple') %>
# This is an Apple

markdown

Renders a string with Markdown.

<%- markdown(str) %>

Examples:

<%- markdown('make me **strong**') %>
// make me <strong>strong</strong>

render

Renders a string.

<%- render(str, engine, [options]) %>

Examples:

<%- render('p(class="example") Test', 'pug'); %>
// <p class="example">Test</p>

See Rendering for more details.

word_wrap

Wraps text into lines no longer than length. length is 80 by default.

<%- word_wrap(str, [length]) %>

Examples:

<%- word_wrap('Once upon a time', 8) %>
// Once upon\n a time

truncate

Truncates text after certain length. Default is 30 characters.

<%- truncate(text, [options]) %>

Examples:

<%- truncate('Once upon a time in a world far far away', {length: 17}) %>
// Once upon a ti...

<%- truncate('Once upon a time in a world far far away', {length: 17, separator: ' '}) %>
// Once upon a...

<%- truncate('And they found that many people were sleeping better.', {length: 25, omission: '... (continued)'}) %>
// And they f... (continued)

escape_html

Escapes HTML entities in a string.

<%- escape_html(str) %>

Examples:

<%- escape_html('<p>Hello "world".</p>') %>
// &lt;p&gt;Hello &quot;world&quot;.&lt;&#x2F;p&gt;

Templates

partial

Loads other template files. You can define local variables in locals.

<%- partial(layout, [locals], [options]) %>
Option Description Default
cache Cache contents (Use fragment cache) false
only Strict local variables. Only use variables set in locals in templates. false

fragment_cache

Caches the contents in a fragment. It saves the contents within a fragment and serves the cache when the next request comes in.

<%- fragment_cache(id, fn);

Examples:

<%- fragment_cache('header', function(){
  return '<header></header>';
}) %>

Date & Time

date

Inserts formatted date. date can be unix time, ISO string, date object, or Moment.js object. format is date_format setting by default.

<%- date(date, [format]) %>

Examples:

<%- date(Date.now()) %>
// 2013-01-01

<%- date(Date.now(), 'YYYY/M/D') %>
// Jan 1 2013

date_xml

Inserts date in XML format. date can be unix time, ISO string, date object, or Moment.js object.

<%- date_xml(date) %>

Examples:

<%- date_xml(Date.now()) %>
// 2013-01-01T00:00:00.000Z

time

Inserts formatted time. date can be unix time, ISO string, date object, or Moment.js object. format is time_format setting by default.

<%- time(date, [format]) %>

Examples:

<%- time(Date.now()) %>
// 13:05:12

<%- time(Date.now(), 'h:mm:ss a') %>
// 1:05:12 pm

full_date

Inserts formatted date and time. date can be unix time, ISO string, date object, or Moment.js object. format is date_format + time_format setting by default.

<%- full_date(date, [format]) %>

Examples:

<%- full_date(new Date()) %>
// Jan 1, 2013 0:00:00

<%- full_date(new Date(), 'dddd, MMMM Do YYYY, h:mm:ss a') %>
// Tuesday, January 1st 2013, 12:00:00 am

relative_date

Inserts relative time from now. date can be unix time, ISO string, date object, or Moment.js object.

<%- relative_date(date) %>

Examples:

<%- relative_date(new Date()) %>
// a few seconds ago

<%- relative_date(new Date(1000000000000)) %>
// 22 years ago

time_tag

Inserts time tag. date can be unix time, ISO string, date object, or Moment.js object. format is date_format setting by default.

<%- time_tag(date, [format]) %>

Examples:

<%- time_tag(new Date()) %>
// <time datetime="2024-01-22T06:35:31.108Z">2024-01-22</time>

<%- time_tag(new Date(), 'MMM-D-YYYY') %>
// <time datetime="2024-01-22T06:35:31.108Z">Jan-22-2024</time>

moment

Moment.js library.

List

list_categories

Inserts a list of all categories.

<%- list_categories([options]) %>
Option Description Default
orderby Order of categories name
order Sort of order. 1, asc for ascending; -1, desc for descending 1
show_count Display the number of posts for each category true
style Style to display the category list. list displays categories in an unordered list. Use false or any other value to disable it. list
separator Separator between categories. (Only works if style is not list) ,
depth Levels of categories to be displayed. 0 displays all categories and child categories; -1 is similar to 0 but displayed in flat; 1 displays only top level categories. 0
class Class name of category list. category
transform The function that changes the display of category name.
suffix Add a suffix to link. None

Examples:

<%- list_categories(post.categories, {
  class: 'post-category',
  transform(str) {
    return titlecase(str);
  }
}) %>

<%- list_categories(post.categories, {
  class: 'post-category',
  transform(str) {
    return str.toUpperCase();
  }
}) %>

list_tags

Inserts a list of all tags.

<%- list_tags([options]) %>
Option Description Default
orderby Order of tags name
order Sort of order. 1, asc for ascending; -1, desc for descending 1
show_count Display the number of posts for each tag true
style Style to display the tag list. list displays tags in an unordered list. Use false or any other value to disable it. list
separator Separator between categories. (Only works if style is not list) ,
class Class name of tag list (string) or customize each tag’s class (object, see below). tag
transform The function that changes the display of tag name. See examples in list_categories.
amount The number of tags to display (0 = unlimited) 0
suffix Add a suffix to link. None

Class advanced customization:

Option Description Default
class.ul <ul> class name (only for style list) tag-list (list style)
class.li <li> class name (only for style list) tag-list-item (list style)
class.a <a> class name tag-list-link (list style) tag-link (normal style)
class.label <span> class name where the tag label is stored (only for normal style, when class.label is set the label is put in a <span>) tag-label (normal style)
class.count <span> class name where the tag counter is stored (only when show_count is true) tag-list-count (list style) tag-count (normal style)

Examples:

<%- list_tags(site.tags, {class: 'classtest', style: false, separator: ' | '}) %>
<%- list_tags(site.tags, {class: 'classtest', style: 'list'}) %>
<%- list_tags(site.tags, {class: {ul: 'ululul', li: 'lilili', a: 'aaa', count: 'ccc'}, style: false, separator: ' | '}) %>
<%- list_tags(site.tags, {class: {ul: 'ululul', li: 'lilili', a: 'aaa', count: 'ccc'}, style: 'list'}) %>

list_archives

Inserts a list of archives.

<%- list_archives([options]) %>
Option Description Default
type Type. This value can be yearly or monthly. monthly
order Sort of order. 1, asc for ascending; -1, desc for descending 1
show_count Display the number of posts for each archive true
format Date format MMMM YYYY
style Style to display the archive list. list displays archives in an unordered list. Use false or any other value to disable it. list
separator Separator between archives. (Only works if style is not list) ,
class Class name of archive list. archive
transform The function that changes the display of archive name. See examples in list_categories.

list_posts

Inserts a list of posts.

<%- list_posts([options]) %>
Option Description Default
orderby Order of posts date
order Sort of order. 1, asc for ascending; -1, desc for descending 1
style Style to display the post list. list displays posts in an unordered list. Use false or any other value to disable it. list
separator Separator between posts. (Only works if style is not list) ,
class Class name of post list. post
amount The number of posts to display (0 = unlimited) 6
transform The function that changes the display of post name. See examples in list_categories.

tagcloud

Inserts a tag cloud.

<%- tagcloud([tags], [options]) %>
Option Description Default
min_font Minimum font size 10
max_font Maximum font size 20
unit Unit of font size px
amount Total amount of tags unlimited
orderby Order of tags name
order Sort order. 1, asc as ascending; -1, desc as descending 1
color Colorizes the tag cloud false
start_color Start color. You can use hex (#b700ff), rgba (rgba(183, 0, 255, 1)), hsla (hsla(283, 100%, 50%, 1)) or color keywords. This option only works when color is true.
end_color End color. You can use hex (#b700ff), rgba (rgba(183, 0, 255, 1)), hsla (hsla(283, 100%, 50%, 1)) or color keywords. This option only works when color is true.
class Class name prefix of tags
level The number of different class names. This option only works when class is set. 10
show_count (+6.3.0) Display the number of posts for each tag false
count_class (+6.3.0) Class name of tag count count

Examples:

// Default options
<%- tagcloud() %>

// Limit number of tags to 30
<%- tagcloud({amount: 30}) %>

Miscellaneous

paginator

Inserts a paginator.

<%- paginator(options) %>
Option Description Default
base Base URL /
format URL format page/%d/
total The number of pages 1
current Current page number 0
prev_text The link text of previous page. Works only if prev_next is set to true. Prev
next_text The link text of next page. Works only if prev_next is set to true. Next
space The space text &hellp;
prev_next Display previous and next links true
end_size The number of pages displayed on the start and the end side 1
mid_size The number of pages displayed between current page, but not including current page 2
show_all Display all pages. If this is set to true, end_size and mid_size will not work false
escape Escape HTML tags true
page_class (+6.3.0) Page class name page-number
current_class (+6.3.0) Current page class name current
space_class (+6.3.0) Space class name space
prev_class (+6.3.0) Previous page class name extend prev
next_class (+6.3.0) Next page class name extend next
force_prev_next (+6.3.0) Force display previous and next links false

Examples:

<%- paginator({
  prev_text: '<',
  next_text: '>'
}) %>
<!-- Rendered as -->
<a href="/1/">&lt;</a>
<a href="/1/">1</a>
2
<a href="/3/">3</a>
<a href="/3/">&gt;</a>
<%- paginator({
  prev_text: '<i class="fa fa-angle-left"></i>',
  next_text: '<i class="fa fa-angle-right"></i>',
  escape: false
}) %>
<!-- Rendered as -->
<a href="/1/"><i class="fa fa-angle-left"></i></a>
<a href="/1/">1</a>
2
<a href="/3/">3</a>
<a href="/3/"><i class="fa fa-angle-right"></i></a>

search_form

Inserts a Google search form.

<%- search_form(options) %>
Option Description Default
class The class name of form search-form
text Search hint word Search
button Display search button. The value can be a boolean or a string. If the value is a string, it’ll be the text of the button. false

number_format

Formats a number.

<%- number_format(number, [options]) %>
Option Description Default
precision The precision of number. The value can be false or a nonnegative integer. false
delimiter The thousands delimiter ,
separator The separator between the fractional and integer digits. .

Examples:

<%- number_format(12345.67, {precision: 1}) %>
// 12,345.68

<%- number_format(12345.67, {precision: 4}) %>
// 12,345.6700

<%- number_format(12345.67, {precision: 0}) %>
// 12,345

<%- number_format(12345.67, {delimiter: ''}) %>
// 12345.67

<%- number_format(12345.67, {separator: '/'}) %>
// 12,345/67

meta_generator

Inserts generator tag.

<%- meta_generator() %>

Examples:

<%- meta_generator() %>
// <meta name="generator" content="Hexo 4.0.0">

open_graph

Inserts Open Graph data.

<%- open_graph([options]) %>
Option Description Default
title Page title (og:title) page.title
type Page type (og:type) article(post page)
website(non-post page)
url Page URL (og:url) url
image Page images (og:image) All images in the content
author Article author (og:article:author) config.author
date Article published time (og:article:published_time) Page published time
updated Article modified time (og:article:modified_time) Page modified time
language Article language (og:locale) page.lang || page.language || config.language
site_name Site name (og:site_name) config.title
description Page description (og:description) Page excerpt or first 200 characters of the content
twitter_card Twitter card type (twitter:card) summary
twitter_id Twitter ID (twitter:creator)
twitter_site Twitter Site (twitter:site)
twitter_image Twitter Image (twitter:image)
google_plus Google+ profile link
fb_admins Facebook admin ID
fb_app_id Facebook App ID

toc

Parses all heading tags (h1~h6) in the content and inserts a table of contents.

<%- toc(str, [options]) %>
Option Description Default
class Class name toc
class_item (+6.3.0) Class name of item ${class}-item
class_link (+6.3.0) Class name of link ${class}-link
class_text (+6.3.0) Class name of text ${class}-text
class_child (+6.3.0) Class name of child ${class}-child
class_number (+6.3.0) Class name of number ${class}-number
class_level (+6.3.0) Class name prefix of level ${class}-level
list_number Displays list number true
max_depth Maximum heading depth of generated toc 6
min_depth Minimum heading depth of generated toc 1
max_items (+7.3.0) Maximum number of items in generated toc Infinity

Examples:

<%- toc(page.content) %>

data-toc-unnumbered (+6.1.0)

Headings with attribute data-toc-unnumbered="true" will be marked as unnumbered (list number will not be displayed).

Warning!

For using data-toc-unnumbered="true", the renderer must have the option to add CSS classes.

Please see the below PRs.