Templates

5000blogs uses Go's html/template engine. A single template file renders all page types (post view, list view, 404).

Selecting a template

Set paths.template to a local file or URL:

paths:
  template: "./my-template.html"

Default: fetched from the official GitHub repository (template.html, dark theme).

Template is parsed once at startup. Changes require a restart.

Themes

Templates are written against a set of CSS custom properties (variables). A theme is a plain CSS file that defines these properties in a :root {} block. It is injected as the first <style> block in the page, before any template styles, so every rule in the template that references a variable picks up the theme value automatically.

Set a theme independently of the template:

paths:
  template: "./my-template.html"
  theme: "./my-theme.css"

paths.theme accepts local file paths and HTTP(S) URLs. It will default to theme.base.css in the /template directory of the repo.

For the canonical variable list see Themes.

Built-in templates

Template	Matching theme	Description
template.html	theme.base.css	Adaptive light/dark, Tachyons CSS. Full-featured default
template.garden.html	theme.garden.css	Warm/earthy theme with serif fonts and card layout
template.docs.html	theme.docs.css	Light documentation theme, clean and minimal
template.raw.html	-	Unstyled skeleton with all variables. Starting point for custom templates

You can use a URL to reference built-in variants directly:

paths:
  template: "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/5000K/5000blogs/refs/heads/main/template/template.garden.html"

Template data contract

The template receives a single templateData struct. All fields:

Shared fields (all pages)

Field	Type	Description
.Title	string	Page title
.Description	string	Meta description
.URL	string	Canonical page URL
.OGImageURL	string	Absolute og:image URL (empty if disabled)
.OGLogoURL	string	Absolute site logo URL
.Plugins	[]string	JS plugin URLs
.BlogName	string	Blog name from config
.NavLinks	[]navLink	Navigation entries (.Name, .URL)
.Slug	string	Current post slug (empty on list pages)
.FooterContent	template.HTML	Rendered footer HTML

Post view fields

Field	Type	Description
.DateStr	string	Formatted date string
.DateISO	string	RFC 3339 date for <time datetime>
.Author	string	Post author
.Tags	[]string	Post tags
.Content	template.HTML	Rendered post HTML
.NoIndex	bool	true → add noindex meta tag
.Dates	map[string]DateStrings	Additional date fields from front matter. Key is the original field name. Each entry has .Str (formatted) and .ISO (RFC 3339)

List view fields

Field	Type	Description
.IsListPage	bool	true when rendering a list (not a single post)
.SearchQuery	string	Active search query (empty if none)
.FilterTags	[]string	Active tag filter
.Posts	[]postListItem	Post entries for this page
.Pagination	paginationData	Pagination state

postListItem fields

Field	Type
.Slug	string
.Title	string
.Description	string
.DateStr	string
.Author	string
.Tags	[]string

paginationData fields

Field	Type	Description
.Page	int	Current page number
.TotalPages	int	Total pages
.TotalPosts	int	Total visible posts
.HasPrev	bool	Previous page exists
.HasNext	bool	Next page exists
.PrevPage	int	Previous page number
.NextPage	int	Next page number
.TagParam	string	e.g. &tags=foo,bar for pagination links

Conditional rendering

Use Go template conditionals to switch between page types:

{{if .IsListPage}}
<!-- post list -->
{{else}}
<!-- single post -->
{{end}}

Check for optional values:

{{if .Author}}<span>by {{.Author}}</span>{{end}} {{if .Tags}} {{range
.Tags}}<span>{{.}}</span>{{end}} {{end}}

Additional date fields

Front matter keys ending in date (except the primary date) are exposed as .Dates. This is a map keyed by the original front matter field name. Each value has .Str and .ISO.

{{range $name, $ds := .Dates}}
<time datetime="{{$ds.ISO}}">{{$ds.Str}}</time>
{{end}}

The .Str field uses the date_format config option. The .ISO field is always RFC 3339. See Writing Posts for how to define these fields in front matter.

Plugins in templates

Plugin URLs from config are available as .Plugins. Load them at the bottom of your template:

{{range .Plugins}}
<script src="{{.}}"></script>
{{end}}