Templating: Null Check

[arran-nz]

What exactly are you trying to do?

I'm trying to run a portion of a template when a varaible is defined in ~/.config/chezmoi/chezmoi.toml

What have you tried so far?

{{ .theme.bg }}

{{ eq .theme.bg }}

# If .theme.bg != ""
{{ ne .theme.bg "" }

Where else have you checked for solutions?

• [x] I have read chezmoi's how-to guide, and not found the answer.
• [x] I have read chezmoi's FAQ, and not found the answer.
• [x] I have searched chezmoi's reference guide, and not found the answer.
• [x] Other, please give details.

Have read this: https://pkg.go.dev/text/template

Output of any commands you've tried with --verbose

$ chezmoi execute-template --verbose "{{ (ne .theme.bg \"\" ) }}"
chezmoi: template: arg1:1:13: executing "arg1" at <.theme.bg>: map has no entry for key "bg"

Additional context

Is it possible to reference a variable which does not exist?

[twpayne]

There are a few options here:

1. Use the index function which looks up using strings, e.g.

   {{ if (index .theme "bg") }}

   use .theme.bg

   {{ end }}

2. Tell chezmoi to treat missing variables as empty by setting template.options = ["missingkey=zero"] in your config file.

[arran-nz]

That's great! Thank you for the prompt reply @twpayne !

Can I ask where you found this information?

---

Also, while I'm here - Thanks for developing and supporting Chezmoi, It's been a tremendous help configuring my machines and I really appreciate how it was designed!

[arran-nz]

Seem to have found the documentation for 2.

• https://pkg.go.dev/text/template#Template.Option

[twpayne]

Thanks for your kind words, I'm happy that chezmoi is helpful for you :)

Please re-open this issue if needed :)