Template System

Any .it file with {{placeholders}} is a template. Feed it data, get a document.

template.it  +  data.json  →  merge  →  document  →  render  →  output

Variable syntax

Variables use double curly braces: {{variableName}}.

Syntax	Resolution	Example
{{name}}	data.name	"Acme Corp"
{{company.name}}	data.company.name	Dot notation for nested objects
{{items.0.description}}	data.items[0].description	Array index access
{{date}}	System: current date	Auto-generated
{{year}}	System: current year	Auto-generated
{{timestamp}}	System: ISO timestamp	Auto-generated
{{agent}}	doc.metadata.agent	From document metadata
{{page}}	Runtime — page number	Left for print renderer
{{pages}}	Runtime — total pages	Left for print renderer

Missing variables

When a variable has no matching data, the block gets an unresolved: 1 property. No crash, no silent removal — the {{variable}} text remains visible, and the block is flagged.

Security

• Path depth capped at 20 levels
• __proto__, constructor, prototype keys are blocked
• Path length capped at 200 characters

Writing a template

title: {{document_type}} for {{client_name}}
summary: {{description}}
meta: | type: template | domain: {{domain}}

section: Parties
contact: {{client_name}} | role: Client | email: {{client_email}}
contact: {{provider_name}} | role: Provider | email: {{provider_email}}

section: Terms
text: This {{document_type}} is effective as of {{effective_date}}.
text: {{terms}}

section: Deliverables
| Description | Due Date | Amount | each: deliverables |
| {{deliverable.description}} | {{deliverable.due}} | {{deliverable.amount}} |

section: Total
metric: Total Value | value: {{total}} | unit: {{currency}}

each: dynamic table rows

Add each: arrayName as the last column header to repeat rows for each item in an array.

| Item | Qty | Price | each: items |
| {{item.description}} | {{item.qty}} | {{item.price}} |

How each: works

1. The merge engine reads the array from data.items
2. The template row (first row after header) is expanded once per array element
3. The loop variable is auto-singularized: items → item, entries → entry, categories → category
4. The each: column is stripped from the output — it's a directive, not a column

Explicit naming

If auto-singularization doesn't produce the right name:

| Description | Amount | each: line_items as line |
| {{line.description}} | {{line.amount}} |

Zero items

If the array is empty, zero data rows are rendered. The table header always appears.

Data format

Data is a JSON object:

{
  "client_name": "GlobalTech Industries",
  "client_email": "contracts@globaltech.co",
  "provider_name": "Acme Corp",
  "provider_email": "legal@acme.co",
  "document_type": "Service Agreement",
  "description": "Annual IT support contract",
  "domain": "legal",
  "effective_date": "2026-04-01",
  "terms": "Payment within 30 days of invoice.",
  "deliverables": [
    {
      "description": "Cloud migration",
      "due": "2026-06-01",
      "amount": "$50,000"
    },
    {
      "description": "Security audit",
      "due": "2026-08-01",
      "amount": "$25,000"
    },
    { "description": "Training", "due": "2026-09-01", "amount": "$10,000" }
  ],
  "total": "85000",
  "currency": "USD"
}

Merge API

CLI

# Merge to JSON
intenttext template.it --data data.json

# Merge and render HTML
intenttext template.it --data data.json --html

# Merge and render with theme
intenttext template.it --data data.json --html --theme corporate

# Merge to print HTML
intenttext template.it --data data.json --print

# Merge to PDF (requires puppeteer)
intenttext template.it --data data.json --pdf

JavaScript

import { parseIntentText, mergeData, render, renderPrint } from "intenttext";

const doc = parseIntentText(templateSource);
const merged = mergeData(doc, data);

// Or one-step:
const merged = parseAndMerge(templateSource, data);

// Render
const html = render(merged);
const printHtml = renderPrint(merged, { theme: "corporate" });

Notes

• mergeData is a pure function — it never mutates the input document
• Merge order: each: table rows are expanded first, then all {{}} are resolved
• Variables work in content, properties, table cells, and inline nodes
• Metadata title: and summary: are also resolved

Hub templates

The IntentText Hub hosts 76 seeded templates across 8 domains:

Domain	Templates	Examples
Legal	Contracts, NDAs, terms of service	Service agreement, NDA
Business	Proposals, reports, plans	Quarterly report, business plan
HR	Offer letters, reviews, policies	Employment offer, performance review
Education	Syllabi, lesson plans, assessments	Course syllabus, rubric
Technical	Architecture docs, RFCs, runbooks	API specification, incident report
Finance	Invoices, budgets, forecasts	Standard invoice, budget proposal
Healthcare	Consent forms, care plans	Patient consent, treatment plan
Government	Permits, compliance docs	Building permit, FOIA request

Browse, fork, and merge templates directly from the Hub.