# Kida Template Engine URL: /bengal/docs/build-sites/customize/templating/kida/ Section: kida Description: Template engine with unified block endings, pattern matching, pipelines, and automatic caching --- > For a complete page index, fetch /bengal/llms.txt. Bengal's default template engine. Kida renders templates faster than Jinja2, supports free-threaded Python, and caches site-scoped blocks automatically. Note Do I need this? Yes when writing Kida templates or migrating from Jinja2. For a guided tutorial, see Kida Tutorial (/bengal/docs/tutorials/theming/getting-started-with-kida/). For exhaustive syntax, see Kida Syntax (/bengal/docs/reference/kida-syntax/). Performance: Single-threaded, Kida is up to 3.6x faster on minimal templates. Under concurrent workloads, Kida maintains its performance advantage due to its thread-safe, GIL-independent design. kida KIDA ``` {% let posts = site.pages |> where('type', 'blog') |> take(5) %} {% for post in posts %}

{{ post.title }}

{% end %} ``` Jinja2 compatibility: Most Jinja2 templates work without changes. Kida parses both Jinja2 syntax (`{% endif %}`, `{% endfor %}`, etc.) and Kida-native syntax (`{% end %}`, `|>`, `?.`, `??`). However, Kida does not support all Jinja2 features—notably, `{% macro %}` is not supported (use `{% def %}` instead). If you need full Jinja2 compatibility, you can use the Jinja2 engine by setting `template_engine: jinja2`in your config. ## Key Features Feature Benefit Example Unified endings `{% end %}`for all blocks `{% if %}...{% end %}` instead of `{% endif %}` Pattern matching `{% match %}...{% case %}` replaces `if/elif`chains Cleaner branching logic Pipeline operator `|>`for left-to-right filter chains `items |> filter() |> sort() |> take(5)` Optional chaining `?.`for safe navigation `user?.profile?.name` returns `None`if any part is missing Null coalescing `??`for concise fallbacks `page.subtitle ?? page.title`uses subtitle if available Scope-aware functions `{% def %}`functions access outer variables No need to pass`site` or `config`as parameters Automatic caching Site-wide blocks render once per build Navigation, footer cached automatically ## Topics Syntax Kida template syntax reference (/bengal/docs/build-sites/customize/templating/kida/syntax/) Caching Automatic and manual template caching (/bengal/docs/build-sites/customize/templating/kida/caching/) Migration Migrating to Kida from Jinja2 (/bengal/docs/build-sites/customize/templating/kida/migration/) ## Standalone Pages Create a Custom Template Build a custom template from scratch using Kida syntax (/bengal/docs/build-sites/customize/templating/kida/create-custom-template/) Kida Architecture Compilation pipeline, AST structure, and rendering implementation (/bengal/docs/build-sites/customize/templating/kida/architecture/) Add a Custom Filter Extend Kida with your own template filters (/bengal/docs/build-sites/customize/templating/kida/add-custom-filter/) Kida Performance Automatic caching, free-threading, and optimization strategies (/bengal/docs/build-sites/customize/templating/kida/performance/) ## Quick Syntax Reference Feature Kida Jinja2 Notes Block endings `{% end %}` `{% endif %}`, `{% endfor %}`, etc. Unified syntax for all blocks Template variables `{% let x = ... %}` `{% set x = ... %}` Template-scoped assignment Pattern matching `{% match %}...{% case %}` `{% if %}...{% elif %}` Replaces long if/elif chains Pipeline operator `|>` Not available Left-to-right filter chains Optional chaining `?.`, `?[` Not available Safe navigation:`obj?.attr`, `obj?['key']` Null coalescing `??` `| default()` Fallback operator:`value ?? default` Fragment caching `{% cache key %}...{% end %}` Extension required Built-in caching directive Functions `{% def %}`(lexical scope) `{% macro %}`(isolated) Functions see outer variables Range literals `1..10` `range(1, 11)` Inclusive range syntax ## Learn More - Kida Syntax Reference (/bengal/docs/reference/kida-syntax/) — Complete syntax documentation - Operators Guide (/bengal/docs/build-sites/customize/templating/kida/syntax/operators/) — Pipeline, optional chaining, and null coalescing - Template Functions (/bengal/docs/reference/template-functions/) — Available filters and functions - Migrating from Jinja2 (/bengal/docs/build-sites/customize/templating/kida/migration/from-jinja/) — Step-by-step migration guide ## Kida Documentation Kida is developed as a standalone template engine. For comprehensive documentation including API reference, extending the engine, and standalone usage: - Getting Started with Kida (https://lbliii.github.io/kida/docs/get-started) — Installation and quickstart - Syntax Reference (https://lbliii.github.io/kida/docs/syntax) — Complete syntax documentation - Filters Reference (https://lbliii.github.io/kida/docs/reference/filters) — All built-in filters - Performance (https://lbliii.github.io/kida/docs/about/performance) — Benchmarks and optimization tips ## In This Section Syntax (/bengal/docs/build-sites/customize/templating/kida/syntax/) Kida template syntax reference 5 pages Caching (/bengal/docs/build-sites/customize/templating/kida/caching/) Automatic and manual template caching 3 pages Migration (/bengal/docs/build-sites/customize/templating/kida/migration/) Migrating to Kida from Jinja2 2 pages Add a Custom Filter (/bengal/docs/build-sites/customize/templating/kida/add-custom-filter/) Extend Kida with your own template filters Create a Custom Template (/bengal/docs/build-sites/customize/templating/kida/create-custom-template/) Build a custom template from scratch using Kida syntax Kida Architecture (/bengal/docs/build-sites/customize/templating/kida/architecture/) Compilation pipeline, AST structure, and rendering implementation Kida Performance (/bengal/docs/build-sites/customize/templating/kida/performance/) Automatic caching, free-threading, and optimization strategies Related Pages Templating (/bengal/docs/build-sites/customize/templating/) Kida template engine, layouts, inheritance, and partials Related Assets (/bengal/docs/build-sites/customize/assets/) CSS, JavaScript, images, and fonts Related Build Sites (/bengal/docs/build-sites/) Write, structure, customize, and extend your Bengal site Related Theming (/bengal/docs/build-sites/customize/) Templates, assets, and visual customization Related Template Cookbook (/bengal/docs/build-sites/customize/recipes/) Common templating patterns and Bengal-specific features Related persona-themer (/bengal/tags/persona-themer/)