Mustache Technology Intelligence

What is Mustache?

Mustache is a logic-less templating system available in multiple programming languages. Created by Chris Wanstrath in 2009, Mustache uses a simple syntax with double curly braces (resembling a mustache) to render dynamic content. The "logic-less" philosophy means templates contain no if statements, loops, or else clauses directly.

Instead of embedding logic in templates, Mustache separates data preparation from presentation. Templates receive pre-processed data objects, and rendering involves simple variable substitution and section iteration. This makes templates cleaner, more portable, and easier for designers to work with.

Mustache has implementations in over 40 languages including JavaScript, Ruby, Python, PHP, Java, and Go. This cross-platform availability means the same template can render consistently across server and client environments, making it popular for projects requiring template sharing.

Mustache Features

Variables: Double curly brace syntax. HTML escaping by default. Triple braces for unescaped output. Dot notation for nested data.

Sections: Conditional rendering based on truthiness. Array iteration. Inverted sections for false/empty values. Context switching.

Partials: Template includes. Reusable template fragments. Dynamic partial names. Nested partials support.

Comments: Template comments ignored in output. Documentation within templates. Multi-line comments.

Lambdas: Function-based rendering. Custom text transformations. Dynamic content generation. Callable sections.

Whitespace Control: Standalone tag behavior. Line preservation. Template inheritance in some implementations.

Mustache Use Cases

Email Templates: Transactional emails. Newsletter content. Multi-language email systems. Marketing automation.

API Documentation: OpenAPI spec generation. Swagger template customization. Documentation sites. API reference pages.

Code Generation: Boilerplate generation. Configuration files. Source code scaffolding. Build artifact templating.

Multi-Platform Rendering: Shared templates between server and client. Isomorphic applications. Cross-language projects.

Configuration Management: Infrastructure as code. Dynamic config files. Environment-specific settings. Deployment templates.

Static Site Generation: Blog post templates. Documentation pages. Portfolio sites. Content-driven websites.

Mustache Code Examples

Template Syntax

<!-- Basic Variables -->
<h1>{{title}}</h1>
<p>Hello, {{name}}!</p>

<!-- Unescaped HTML (triple braces) -->
<div class="content">{{{htmlContent}}}</div>

<!-- Sections for Arrays -->
<ul>
{{#items}}
  <li>{{name}} - ${{price}}</li>
{{/items}}
</ul>

<!-- Conditional Sections -->
{{#showDetails}}
  <div class="details">{{details}}</div>
{{/showDetails}}

<!-- Inverted Sections (if empty/false) -->
{{^items}}
  <p>No items found.</p>
{{/items}}

<!-- Partials -->
{{> header}}
<main>Content</main>
{{> footer}}

JavaScript Usage

// Using Mustache.js
const Mustache = require('mustache');

const template = '{{#users}}<li>{{name}}</li>{{/users}}';
const data = {
  users: [
    { name: 'Alice' },
    { name: 'Bob' },
    { name: 'Charlie' }
  ]
};

const output = Mustache.render(template, data);
// <li>Alice</li><li>Bob</li><li>Charlie</li>

Mustache Benefits

Logic-Less: Clean separation of concerns. Template simplicity. Designer-friendly. Maintainable code.

Cross-Platform: 40+ language implementations. Consistent rendering. Shared templates. Polyglot projects.

Simple Syntax: Minimal learning curve. Intuitive tags. Self-documenting templates. Quick adoption.

Security: HTML escaping by default. XSS prevention. Safe variable output. Controlled unescaping.

Lightweight: Tiny file size. Fast parsing. No dependencies in most implementations. Efficient rendering.

Testable: Pure functions. Predictable output. Easy to unit test. Data-driven testing.