Typst is the template

cstef·July 12, 2026·2 min read

Most site generators ask you to hold two languages at once: one for prose, one for the markup around it. The seam between them is where the awkwardness lives. A loop belongs to the template language, a footnote to the content language, and a footnote inside a loop belongs to an argument.

One language

Here there is no seam. A heading is a heading, and the layout that wraps it is written in the same language, with the same functions:

#let page(page, body) = h("article", {
  h("h1", page.frontmatter.title)
  body
})

That template is not a string being assembled. It builds real elements, which is why an attribute with a hyphen, an ARIA role, or an inline <svg> needs no escape hatch.

What that buys

• Frontmatter is a Typst binding, so the compiler sees it and a typo in a field name is an error rather than a silent none.
• A helper you write for a page works in a template, and the other way round.
• Anything Typst can set, a page can contain: maths, tables, footnotes¹, figures.

Your pages, your layouts, and your data are one language, so a heading, a footnote, and a nav menu are all written the same way.

— the README