Front matter

Overview #

The front matter at the top of each content file is metadata that:

Describes the content
Augments the content
Establishes relationships with other content
Controls the published structure of your site
Determines template selection

Provide front matter using a serialization format, one of [JSON], [TOML], or [YAML]. Hugo determines the front matter format by examining the delimiters that separate the front matter from the page content.

See examples of front matter delimiters by toggling between the serialization formats below.

content/example.md

---
date: 2024-02-02T04:14:54-08:00
draft: false
params:
  author: John Smith
title: Example
weight: 10
---

+++
date = 2024-02-02T04:14:54-08:00
draft = false
title = 'Example'
weight = 10
[params]
  author = 'John Smith'
+++

{
   "date": "2024-02-02T04:14:54-08:00",
   "draft": false,
   "params": {
      "author": "John Smith"
   },
   "title": "Example",
   "weight": 10
}

Front matter fields may be [boolean], [integer], [float], [string], [arrays], or [maps]. Note that the TOML format also supports unquoted date/time values.

Fields #

The most common front matter fields are date, draft, title, and weight, but you can specify metadata using any of fields below.

aliases #

(string array) An array of one or more aliases, where each alias is a relative URL that will redirect the browser to the current location. Access these values from a template using the [Aliases] method on a Page object. See the [aliases] section for details.

build #

(map) A map of [build options].

cascade #

(map) A map of front matter keys whose values are passed down to the page’s descendants unless overwritten by self or a closer ancestor’s cascade. See the [cascade] section for details.

date #

(string) The date associated with the page, typically the creation date. Note that the TOML format also supports unquoted date/time values. See the dates section for examples. Access this value from a template using the [Date] method on a Page object.

description #

(string) Conceptually different than the page summary, the description is typically rendered within a meta element within the head element of the published HTML file. Access this value from a template using the [Description] method on a Page object.

draft #

(bool) If true, the page will not be rendered unless you pass the --buildDrafts flag to the hugo command. Access this value from a template using the [Draft] method on a Page object.

expiryDate #

(string) The page expiration date. On or after the expiration date, the page will not be rendered unless you pass the --buildExpired flag to the hugo command. Note that the TOML format also supports unquoted date/time values. See the dates section for examples. Access this value from a template using the [ExpiryDate] method on a Page object.

headless #

(bool) Applicable to [leaf bundles], if true this value sets the render and list [build options] to never, creating a headless bundle of [page resources].

isCJKLanguage #

(bool) Set to true if the content language is in the [CJK] family. This value determines how Hugo calculates word count, and affects the values returned by the [WordCount], [FuzzyWordCount], [ReadingTime], and [Summary] methods on a Page object.

keywords #

(string array) An array of keywords, typically rendered within a meta element within the head element of the published HTML file, or used as a [taxonomy] to classify content. Access these values from a template using the [Keywords] method on a Page object.

lastmod #

(string) The date that the page was last modified. Note that the TOML format also supports unquoted date/time values. See the dates section for examples. Access this value from a template using the [Lastmod] method on a Page object.

layout #

(string) Provide a template name to [target a specific template], overriding the default [template lookup order]. Set the value to the base file name of the template, excluding its extension. Access this value from a template using the [Layout] method on a Page object.

linkTitle #

(string) Typically a shorter version of the title. Access this value from a template using the [LinkTitle] method on a Page object.

markup #

(string) An identifier corresponding to one of the supported [content formats]. If not provided, Hugo determines the content renderer based on the file extension.

menus #

(string, string array, or map) If set, Hugo adds the page to the given menu or menus. See the [menus] page for details.

modified #

Alias to lastmod.

outputs #

(string array) The [output formats] to render.

params #

(map) A map of custom [page parameters].

pubdate #

Alias to publishDate.

publishDate #

(string) The page publication date. Before the publication date, the page will not be rendered unless you pass the --buildFuture flag to the hugo command. Note that the TOML format also supports unquoted date/time values. See the dates section for examples. Access this value from a template using the [PublishDate] method on a Page object.

published #

Alias to publishDate.

resources #

(map array) An array of maps to provide metadata for [page resources].

sitemap #

(map) A map of sitemap options. See the [sitemap templates] page for details. Access these values from a template using the [Sitemap] method on a Page object.

slug #

(string) Overrides the last segment of the URL path. Not applicable to section pages. See the [URL management] page for details. Access this value from a template using the [Slug] method on a Page object.

summary #

(string) Conceptually different than the page description, the summary either summarizes the content or serves as a teaser to encourage readers to visit the page. Access this value from a template using the [Summary] method on a Page object.

title #

(string) The page title. Access this value from a template using the [Title] method on a Page object.

translationKey #

(string) An arbitrary value used to relate two or more translations of the same page, useful when the translated pages do not share a common path. Access this value from a template using the [TranslationKey] method on a Page object.

type #

(string) The [content type], overriding the value derived from the top level section in which the page resides. Access this value from a template using the [Type] method on a Page object.

unpublishdate #

Alias to expirydate.

url #

(string) Overrides the entire URL path. Applicable to regular pages and section pages. See the [URL management] page for details.

weight #

(int) The page [weight], used to order the page within a [page collection]. Access this value from a template using the [Weight] method on a Page object.

Parameters #

Specify custom page parameters under the params key in front matter:

content/example.md

---
date: 2024-02-02T04:14:54-08:00
draft: false
params:
  author: John Smith
title: Example
weight: 10
---

+++
date = 2024-02-02T04:14:54-08:00
draft = false
title = 'Example'
weight = 10
[params]
  author = 'John Smith'
+++

{
   "date": "2024-02-02T04:14:54-08:00",
   "draft": false,
   "params": {
      "author": "John Smith"
   },
   "title": "Example",
   "weight": 10
}

Access these values from a template using the [Params] or [Param] method on a Page object.

Hugo provides [embedded templates] to optionally insert meta data within the head element of your rendered pages. These embedded templates expect the following front matter parameters:

Parameter	Data type	Used by these embedded templates
`audio`	`[]string`	[`opengraph.html`]
`images`	`[]string`	[`opengraph.html`], [`schema.html`], [`twitter_cards.html`]
`videos`	`[]string`	[`opengraph.html`]

The embedded templates will skip a parameter if not provided in front matter, but will throw an error if the data type is unexpected.

Taxonomies #

Classify content by adding taxonomy terms to front matter. For example, with this site configuration:

hugo.

taxonomies:
  genre: genres
  tag: tags

[taxonomies]
  genre = 'genres'
  tag = 'tags'

{
   "taxonomies": {
      "genre": "genres",
      "tag": "tags"
   }
}

Add taxonomy terms as shown below:

content/example.md

---
date: 2024-02-02T04:14:54-08:00
draft: false
genres:
- mystery
- romance
params:
  author: John Smith
tags:
- red
- blue
title: Example
weight: 10
---

+++
date = 2024-02-02T04:14:54-08:00
draft = false
genres = ['mystery', 'romance']
tags = ['red', 'blue']
title = 'Example'
weight = 10
[params]
  author = 'John Smith'
+++

{
   "date": "2024-02-02T04:14:54-08:00",
   "draft": false,
   "genres": [
      "mystery",
      "romance"
   ],
   "params": {
      "author": "John Smith"
   },
   "tags": [
      "red",
      "blue"
   ],
   "title": "Example",
   "weight": 10
}

You can add taxonomy terms to the front matter of any these [page kinds]:

home
page
section
taxonomy
term

Access taxonomy terms from a template using the [Params] or [GetTerms] method on a Page object. For example:

layouts/_default/single.html

{{ with .GetTerms "tags" }}
  <p>Tags</p>
  <ul>
    {{ range . }}
      <li><a href="{{ .RelPermalink }}">{{ .LinkTitle }}</a></li>
    {{ end }}
  </ul>
{{ end }}

Cascade #

Any [node] can pass down to its descendants a set of front matter values.

Target specific pages #

The cascade block can be an array with an optional _target keyword, allowing you to target different page sets while cascading values.

content/_index.md

---
cascade:
- _target:
    kind: page
    lang: en
    path: /articles/**
  params:
    background: yosemite.jpg
- _target:
    kind: section
  params:
    background: goldenbridge.jpg
title: Home
---

+++
title = 'Home'
[[cascade]]
  [cascade._target]
    kind = 'page'
    lang = 'en'
    path = '/articles/**'
  [cascade.params]
    background = 'yosemite.jpg'
[[cascade]]
  [cascade._target]
    kind = 'section'
  [cascade.params]
    background = 'goldenbridge.jpg'
+++

{
   "cascade": [
      {
         "_target": {
            "kind": "page",
            "lang": "en",
            "path": "/articles/**"
         },
         "params": {
            "background": "yosemite.jpg"
         }
      },
      {
         "_target": {
            "kind": "section"
         },
         "params": {
            "background": "goldenbridge.jpg"
         }
      }
   ],
   "title": "Home"
}

Use any combination of these keywords to target a set of pages:

path #

(string) A Glob pattern matching the content path below /content. Expects Unix-styled slashes. Note that this is the virtual path, so it starts at the mount root. The matching supports double-asterisks so you can match for patterns like /blog/*/** to match anything from the third level and down.

kind #

(string) A Glob pattern matching the Page’s Kind(s), e.g. “{home,section}”.

lang #

(string) A Glob pattern matching the Page’s language, e.g. “{en,sv}”.

environment #

(string) A Glob pattern matching the build environment, e.g. “{production,development}”

Any of the above can be omitted.

Example #

content/posts/_index.md

---
cascade:
  params:
    banner: images/typewriter.jpg
date: 2024-02-01T21:25:36-08:00
title: Posts
---

+++
date = 2024-02-01T21:25:36-08:00
title = 'Posts'
[cascade]
  [cascade.params]
    banner = 'images/typewriter.jpg'
+++

{
   "cascade": {
      "params": {
         "banner": "images/typewriter.jpg"
      }
   },
   "date": "2024-02-01T21:25:36-08:00",
   "title": "Posts"
}

With the above example the posts section page and its descendants will return images/typewriter.jpg when .Params.banner is invoked unless:

Said descendant has its own banner value set
Or a closer ancestor node has its own cascade.banner value set.

Emacs Org Mode #

If your [content format] is [Emacs Org Mode], you may provide front matter using Org Mode keywords. For example:

content/example.org

#+TITLE: Example
#+DATE: 2024-02-02T04:14:54-08:00
#+DRAFT: false
#+AUTHOR: John Smith
#+GENRES: mystery
#+GENRES: romance
#+TAGS: red
#+TAGS: blue
#+WEIGHT: 10

Note that you can also specify array elements on a single line:

content/example.org

#+TAGS

Dates #

When populating a date field, whether a custom page parameter or one of the four predefined fields ( date, expiryDate, lastmod, publishDate), use one of these parsable formats:

To override the default time zone, set the timeZone in your site configuration. The order of precedence for determining the time zone is:

The time zone offset in the date/time string
The time zone specified in your site configuration
The Etc/UTC time zone

Front matter

Use front matter to add metadata to your content.

Overview #

Fields #

aliases #

build #

cascade #

date #

description #

draft #

expiryDate #

headless #

isCJKLanguage #

keywords #

lastmod #

layout #

linkTitle #

markup #

menus #

modified #

outputs #

params #

pubdate #

publishDate #

published #

resources #

sitemap #

slug #

summary #

title #

translationKey #

type #

unpublishdate #

url #

weight #

Parameters #

Taxonomies #

Cascade #

Target specific pages #

path #

kind #

lang #

environment #

Example #

Emacs Org Mode #

Dates #