# Kida Template Engine

URL: /docs/theming/templating/kida/
Section: kida

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Kida Template Engine Bengal's default template engine. Kida renders templates faster than Jinja2, supports free-threaded Python, and caches site-scoped blocks automatically. Performance: Single-threaded, Kida is 3.4x faster on minimal templates. Under concurrent workloads (8 workers), Kida is 1.81x faster than Jinja2 due to its thread-safe, GIL-independent design. {% let posts = site.pages |> where('type', 'blog') |> take(5) %} {% for post in posts %} <article> <h2>{{ post.title }}</h2> <time>{{ post.date | dateformat('%B %d, %Y') }}</time> </article> {% 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 Caching Automatic and manual template caching Migration Migrating to Kida from Jinja2 Standalone Pages Create a Custom Template Build a custom template from scratch using Kida syntax Kida Architecture Compilation pipeline, AST structure, and rendering implementation Add a Custom Filter Extend Kida with your own template filters Kida Performance Automatic caching, free-threading, and optimization strategies 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 — Complete syntax documentation Operators Guide — Pipeline, optional chaining, and null coalescing Template Functions — Available filters and functions Migrating from Jinja2 — 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 — Installation and quickstart Syntax Reference — Complete syntax documentation Filters Reference — All built-in filters Performance — Benchmarks and optimization tips

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- Author: lbliii
- Word Count: 513
- Reading Time: 3 minutes