Hi {{firstName}}, you are on the {{plan}} plan.
Same thing: {{data.firstName}} / {{data.plan}}
``` These are always available regardless of contact data: | Variable | Description | | -------------------- | -------------------------------------- | | `{{id}}` | The contact's unique identifier | | `{{email}}` | The contact's email address | | `{{locale}}` | The contact's preferred locale | | `{{subscribed}}` | Subscription status | | `{{unsubscribeUrl}}` | URL to the unsubscribe page | | `{{subscribeUrl}}` | URL to the subscribe/resubscribe page | | `{{manageUrl}}` | URL to the preferences management page | A variable that isn't set renders as an empty string — it never errors and never leaks the placeholder into the email. ### Fields whose names contain spaces CSV imports build field names from your column headers, so a "First Name" column becomes the field `first name`. Reference it directly, or with a bracket lookup if you want to combine it with filters: ```htmlHi {{first name}}
Hi {{data["first name"] | capitalize}}
``` ## Fallbacks `?? fallback` is Plunk-specific shorthand and takes a literal: ```htmlHi {{firstName ?? there}}, welcome back.
``` Liquid's `default` filter is the general form and can fall back to another variable: ```htmlHi {{firstName | default: nickname}}
``` Both treat a missing, `null`, `false` or empty value as "not set". ## Conditionals `if` / `elsif` / `else`, `unless`, and `case` / `when` all work. This is the multilanguage pattern: ```html {% if locale == 'es' %}Here's 20% off your renewal.
{% when 'free' %}Upgrade now and save 20%.
{% else %}Thanks for being with us.
{% endcase %} ``` Comparison (`==`, `!=`, `>`, `<`, `>=`, `<=`), boolean (`and`, `or`), `contains`, and `blank` / `empty` are all available: ```html {% if lifetimeValue > 500 and plan != 'free' %}You qualify for our VIP tier.
{% endif %} ```Here's {{discount}}% off, calculated from your account history.
``` ## Escaping template syntax To show `{{ }}` literally in an email, wrap it in `raw`: ```html {% raw %}Use {{firstName}} to personalise your own emails.{% endraw %} ``` ## What isn't available `{% include %}`, `{% render %}` and `{% layout %}` are rejected. ## Errors Saving a template or campaign whose syntax Liquid can't parse returns `400` with the line and column of the problem, so mistakes surface while you're editing. `/v1/send` is not checked this way. Transactional bodies are usually generated by another system, so an inline `subject` or `body` is always accepted and rendered on a best-effort basis — markup Liquid can't parse falls through to plain `{{variable}}` substitution instead of failing the request. Rendering itself is deliberately forgiving — nothing about a template can fail a send: * An unknown variable renders empty. * An unknown filter is skipped and the value passes through unchanged. * If a stored template somehow can't be parsed at send time, Plunk falls back to plain `{{variable}}` substitution rather than dropping the email. ## Notes for existing templates Templates written before Liquid keep rendering the same output in almost every case — plain placeholders, nested paths, `?? fallback`, missing variables and bare arrays are all unchanged. These are the cases that do render differently: **Fixes to previously wrong output** * A quoted fallback no longer leaks its quotes. `{{name ?? 'there'}}` used to render `'there'` — quotes included — and now renders `there`, which is what this guide always described. * Falsy values render instead of disappearing. `0`, `false` and `NaN` used to come out as an empty string; `{{count}}` for a contact with `count: 0` now renders `0`, and `{{subscribed}}` renders `false`. Use `{% unless subscribed %}` to branch on it. * A fallback containing `??` inside quotes is no longer truncated at the first `??`. * Placeholders spanning multiple lines, and array indexes like `{{items.0}}`, now resolve; both used to render as literal text or empty. **Behaviour to check before upgrading** * Balanced tag markup in body copy is now executed. Prose like `Write {% if x %}…{% endif %} to branch` used to print verbatim and now evaluates to nothing. Wrap it in `{% raw %}` to keep it as text. Unbalanced markup — `Use {% if x %} in docs` — still fails to parse and survives untouched. * A custom field whose name contains `|`, quotes or other operator characters is now parsed as an expression. Field names made of letters, digits, `_`, `-`, `.` and spaces are unaffected. ## What's next