mkdocs-material/docs/reference/variables.md

template
overrides/main.html

Variables

Macros and variables are powerful tools to parametrize Markdown files, as they allow to perform Jinja templating directly from Markdown. This is especially useful to include technical data from other files and add central variables via mkdocs.yml.

Configuration

Macros

The macros plugin adds support to reference variables and call macros and supports Jinja templating directly from Markdown. It can be installed with pip:

pip install mkdocs-macros-plugin

Then, add the following to mkdocs.yml:

plugins:
  - macros

Usage

Using predefined variables

A set of predefined variables is enabled by default and can be used from Markdown, including data from mkdocs.yml. More specifically, predefined variables fall into the following categories:

• config.*: configuration parameters from mkdocs.yml
• page.*: metadata and content of current page
• navigation.*: list of all pages and sections
• environment.*: underlying operating system
• git.*: git-related information, if available

Example:

Welcome to {{ config.site_name }}!

Result:

Welcome to Material for MkDocs!

A list of all predefined variables can be printed with:

{{ macros_info() }}

Using custom variables

All data defined under extra in mkdocs.yml is automatically exposed as a variable and can be used from the template. This enables centralized parameter storage and management.

Example:

=== "docs/page.md"

```` markdown
The unit price is {{ unit.price }}
````

=== "mkdocs.yml"

``` yaml
extra:
  unit:
    price: 12.50
```

Result:

The unit price is 12.50.

Using variables in snippets

You may want to use variables in snippets, for example, when describing the same procedure in multiple contexts where only one piece of information differs. This does not work with snippets that are included using the Snippets extension. Instead, you can use the macros plugin for defining snippets.

To this end, add the snippet location using the include_dir parameter to the plugin's configuration in mkdocs.yml, for example:

plugins:
    - search
    - macros:
        include_dir: snippets

In your Markdown file, you call the snippets like

{% include 'snip.md' %}

This example illustrates the behavior:

=== "snippets/snip.md"

_Code_

```markdown
Here goes the variable: {{ page.meta.variables.number }}
```

=== "docs/page1.md"

_Code_

```markdown
---
variables:
    number: 500
---

{% include 'snip.md' %}
```

_Result_

Here goes the variable: 500

=== "docs/page2.md"

_Code_

```markdown
---
variables:
    number: 1000
---

{% include 'snip.md' %}
```

_Result_

Here goes the variable: 1000

Customization

Custom macros

The macros plugin allows to define custom macros, which can then be used from Markdown files. See the official documentation for more information how to define custom macros.