Glossary of terms
action
See template action.
archetype
A template for new content. See details.
argument
A scalar, array, slice, map, or object passed to a function, method, or shortcode.
array
A numbered sequence of elements. Unlike Go’s slice data type, an array has a fixed length. See the Go documentation for details.
bool
See boolean.
boolean
A data type with two possible values, either true or false.
branch bundle
A page bundle with an _index.md file and zero or more resources. Analogous to a physical branch, a branch bundle may have descendants including regular pages, leaf bundles, and other branch bundles. See details.
build
To generate a static site that includes HTML files and assets such as images, CSS, and JavaScript. The build process includes rendering and resource transformations.
bundle
See page bundle.
cache
A software component that stores data so that future requests for the same data are faster.
collection
Typically, a collection of pages, but may also refer to an array, slice, or map. For example, the pages within a site’s “articles” section are a page collection.
content format
A markup language for creating content. Typically markdown, but may also be HTML, AsciiDoc, Org, Pandoc, or reStructuredText. See details.
content type
A classification of content inferred from the top-level directory name or the type set in front matter. Pages in the root of the content directory, including the home page, are of type “page”. Accessed via .Page.Type in templates. See details.
context
Represented by a period “.” within a template action, context is the current location in a data structure. For example, while iterating over a collection of pages, the context within each iteration is the page’s data structure. The context received by each template depends on template type and/or how it was called. See details.
flag
An option passed to a command-line program, beginning with one or two hyphens. See details.
float
See floating point.
floating point
A numeric data type with a fractional component. For example, 3.14159.
function
Used within a template action, a function takes one or more arguments and returns a value. Unlike methods, functions are not associated with an object. See details.
front matter
Metadata at the beginning of each content page, separated from the content by format-specific delimiters. See details.
int
See integer.
integer
A numeric data type without a fractional component. For example, 42.
internationalization
Software design and development efforts that enable localization. See the W3C definition. Abbreviated i18n.
kind
See page kind.
layout
See template.
leaf bundle
A page bundle with an index.md file and zero or more resources. Analogous to a physical leaf, a leaf bundle is at the end of a branch. Hugo ignores content (but not resources) beneath the leaf bundle. See details.
list page
Any page kind that receives a page collection in context. This includes the home page, section pages, taxonomy pages, and term pages.
localization
Adaptation of a site to meet language and regional requirements. This includes translations, language-specific media, date and currency formats, etc. See details and the W3C definition. Abbreviated l10n.
map
An unordered group of elements, each indexed by a unique key. See the Go documentation for details.
method
Used within a template action and associated with an object, a method takes zero or more arguments and either returns a value or performs an action. For example, .IsHome is a method on the .Page object which returns true if the current page is the home page. See also function.
module
Like a theme, a module is a packaged combination of archetypes, assets, content, data, templates, translation tables, static files, or configuration settings. A module may serve as the basis for a new site, or to augment an existing site. See details.
object
A data structure with or without associated methods.
page bundle
A directory that encapsulates both content and associated resources. There are two types of page bundles: leaf bundles and branch bundles. See details.
page kind
A classification of rendered pages, one of “home”, “page”, “section”, “taxonomy”, or “term”. Accessed via .Page.Kind in templates. See details.
pager
Created during pagination, a pager contains a subset of a section list, and navigation links to other pagers.
paginate
To split a section list into two or more pagers See details.
pagination
The process of paginating a section list.
parameter
Typically, a user-defined key/value pair at the site or page level, but may also refer to a configuration setting or an argument.
partial
A template called from any other template including shortcodes, render hooks, and other partials. A partial either renders something or returns something. A partial can also call itself, for example, to walk a data structure.
permalink
The absolute URL of a rendered page, including scheme and host.
pipe
See pipeline.
pipeline
Within a template action, a pipeline is a possibly chained sequence of values, function calls, or method calls. Functions and methods in the pipeline may take multiple arguments.
A pipeline may be chained by separating a sequence of commands with pipeline characters “|”. In a chained pipeline, the result of each command is passed as the last argument to the following command. The output of the final command in the pipeline is the value of the pipeline. See the Go documentation for details.
publish
See build.
regular page
Content with the “page” page kind. See also section page.
render hook
A template that overrides standard markdown rendering. See details.
resource
Any file consumed by the build process to augment or generate content, structure, behavior, or presentation. For example: images, videos, content snippets, CSS, Sass, JavaScript, and data.
Hugo supports three types of resources: page resources (located in a page bundle), global resources (located in the assets directory), and remote resources (typically accessed via HTTPS).
scalar
A single value, one of string, integer, floating point, or boolean.
section
A top-level content directory, or any content directory with an _index.md file. A content directory with an _index.md file is also known as a branch bundle. Section templates receive one or more page collections in context. See details.
section page
Content with the “section” page kind. Typically a listing of regular pages and/or section pages within the current section. See also regular page.
shortcode
A template called from within markdown, taking zero or more arguments. See details.
slice
A numbered sequence of elements. Unlike Go’s array data type, slices are dynamically sized. See the Go documentation for details.
string
A sequence of bytes. For example, "What is 6 times 7?" .
taxonomy
A group of related terms used to classify content. For example, a “colors” taxonomy might include the terms “red”, “green”, and “blue”. See details.
taxonomy page
Content with the “taxonomy” page kind. Typically a listing of terms within a given taxonomy.
template
A file with template actions, located within the layouts directory of a project, theme, or module. See details.
template action
A data evaluation or control structure within a template, delimited by “{{" and ”}}". See the Go documentation for details.
term
A member of a taxonomy, used to classify content. See details.
term page
Content with the “term” page kind. Typically a listing of regular pages and section pages with a given term.
theme
A packaged combination of archetypes, assets, content, data, templates, translation tables, static files, or configuration settings. A theme may serve as the basis for a new site, or to augment an existing site. See also module.
token
An identifier within a format string, beginning with a colon and replaced with a value when rendered. For example, use tokens in format strings for both permalinks and dates.
type
See content type.
variable
A variable initialized within a template action.
walk
To recursively traverse a nested data structure. For example, rendering a multilevel menu.