# tempel

**Repository Path**: mirrors_minad/tempel

## Basic Information

- **Project Name**: tempel
- **Description**: :classical_building: TempEl - Simple templates for Emacs
- **Primary Language**: Unknown
- **License**: GPL-3.0
- **Default Branch**: main
- **Homepage**: None
- **GVP Project**: No

## Statistics

- **Stars**: 0
- **Forks**: 0
- **Created**: 2022-01-06
- **Last Updated**: 2025-10-20

## Categories & Tags

**Categories**: Uncategorized

**Tags**: None

## README

#+title: TempEl - Simple templates for Emacs
#+author: Daniel Mendler
#+language: en
#+export_file_name: tempel.texi
#+texinfo_dir_category: Emacs misc features
#+texinfo_dir_title: Tempel: (tempel).
#+texinfo_dir_desc: Simple templates for Emacs

#+html: <a href="https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/"><img alt="GNU Emacs" src="https://github.com/minad/corfu/blob/screenshots/emacs.svg?raw=true"/></a>
#+html: <a href="https://elpa.gnu.org/packages/tempel.html"><img alt="GNU ELPA" src="https://elpa.gnu.org/packages/tempel.svg"/></a>
#+html: <a href="https://elpa.gnu.org/devel/tempel.html"><img alt="GNU-devel ELPA" src="https://elpa.gnu.org/devel/tempel.svg"/></a>
#+html: <a href="https://melpa.org/#/tempel"><img alt="MELPA" src="https://melpa.org/packages/tempel-badge.svg"/></a>
#+html: <a href="https://stable.melpa.org/#/tempel"><img alt="MELPA Stable" src="https://stable.melpa.org/packages/tempel-badge.svg"/></a>
#+html: <img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/Temple_of_Hephaestus_%28Southwest%29%2C_Athens_-_20070711b.jpg/1920px-Temple_of_Hephaestus_%28Southwest%29%2C_Athens_-_20070711b.jpg" align="right" width="30%">

Tempel is a tiny template package for Emacs, which uses the syntax of the Emacs
Tempo library. Tempo is an ancient temple of the church of Emacs. It is 30 years
old, but still in good shape since it successfully resisted change over the
decades. However it may look a bit dusty here and there. Therefore we present
Tempel, a new implementation of Tempo with inline expansion and integration with
recent Emacs facilities. Tempel takes advantage of the standard
=completion-at-point-functions= mechanism which is used by Emacs for in-buffer
completion.

#+toc: headlines 8

* Template expansion

Tempel comes with three commands for template expansion:

+ ~tempel-complete~ completes a template name at point in the buffer and
  subsequently expands the template. If called non-interactively the function
  behaves like a Capf and can be added to ~completion-at-point-functions~. The
  Capf returns a list of templates names which are presented by the completion
  UI for selection.
+ ~tempel-expand~ expands an exactly matching template name at point in the
  buffer. If called non-interactively the function behaves like a Capf and can
  be added to ~completion-at-point-functions~. This Capf returns only the single
  exactly matching template name, such that no selection in the completion UI is
  possible.
+ ~tempel-insert~ selects a template by name via ~completing-read~ and insert it
  into the current buffer.

For the commands ~tempel-complete~ and ~tempel-expand~, you may want to give my
[[https://github.com/minad/corfu][Corfu]] completion at point popup UI a try. After inserting the template you can
move between the visible template fields with the keys ~M-{~, ~M-}~ or ~C-up/down~
which are normally bound to ~forward/backward-paragraph~. Tempel temporarily
remaps these commands to ~tempel-next/previous~. As soon as you move before
(behind) the first (last) field, the fields are finalized. The key bindings are
defined in the ~tempel-map~ keymap. I recommend that you inspect the ~tempel-map~
and look at the provided key bindings. You can customize the key bindings there.

#+html: <table><tr><td><img src="https://github.com/minad/tempel/blob/screenshots/rst.gif?raw=true" align="left"></td><td><img src="https://github.com/minad/tempel/blob/screenshots/latex.gif?raw=true" align="left"></td><td><img src="https://github.com/minad/tempel/blob/screenshots/elisp.gif?raw=true" align="left"></td></tr></table>

* Configuration

The package is available on GNU ELPA and MELPA and can be installed with
=package-install=. The following example configuration relies on =use-package=. For
some ready-made templates check out the package [[https://github.com/Crandel/tempel-collection][tempel-collection]]. The
collection is not comprehensive yet, but will certainly grow thanks to
contributions.

#+begin_src emacs-lisp
;; Configure Tempel
(use-package tempel
  ;; Require trigger prefix before template name when completing.
  ;; :custom
  ;; (tempel-trigger-prefix "<")

  :bind (("M-+" . tempel-complete) ;; Alternative tempel-expand
         ("M-*" . tempel-insert))

  :init

  ;; Setup completion at point
  (defun tempel-setup-capf ()
    ;; Add the Tempel Capf to `completion-at-point-functions'.
    ;; `tempel-expand' only triggers on exact matches. Alternatively use
    ;; `tempel-complete' if you want to see all matches, but then you
    ;; should also configure `tempel-trigger-prefix', such that Tempel
    ;; does not trigger too often when you don't expect it. NOTE: We add
    ;; `tempel-expand' *before* the main programming mode Capf, such
    ;; that it will be tried first.
    (setq-local completion-at-point-functions
                (cons #'tempel-expand
                      completion-at-point-functions)))

  (add-hook 'conf-mode-hook 'tempel-setup-capf)
  (add-hook 'prog-mode-hook 'tempel-setup-capf)
  (add-hook 'text-mode-hook 'tempel-setup-capf)

  ;; Optionally make the Tempel templates available to Abbrev,
  ;; either locally or globally. `expand-abbrev' is bound to C-x '.
  ;; (add-hook 'prog-mode-hook #'tempel-abbrev-mode)
  ;; (global-tempel-abbrev-mode)
)

;; Optional: Add tempel-collection.
;; The package is young and doesn't have comprehensive coverage.
(use-package tempel-collection)

;; Optional: Use the Corfu completion UI
(use-package corfu
  :init
  (global-corfu-mode))
#+end_src

* Template file format

The templates are defined in a Lisp data file configured by ~tempel-path~. Lisp
data files are files containing Lisp s-expressions (see ~lisp-data-mode~). By
default the file =templates= in the ~user-emacs-directory~ is used, e.g.,
=~/.config/emacs/templates=. The templates are grouped by major mode with
an optional ~:when~ condition. Each template is a list in the concise form of the
Emacs Tempo syntax. The first element of each list is the name of the template.
I recommend to avoid special letters for the template names, since special
letters may carry meaning during completion filtering and as such make it harder
to select the desired template. Thus the name =lett= is better than =let*=. Behind
the name, the Tempo syntax elements follow.

In addition, /after/ the template elements, each template may specify several
key/value pairs. Specifically, templates may specify =:pre= and/or =:post= keys with
a FORM that is evaluated before the template is expanded or after it is
finalized, respectively. The =:post= form is evaluated in the lexical scope of the
template, which means that it can access the template's named fields. Beyond
that, templates may include an =:ann= and =:doc= key with strings that are used
as annotation and documentation respectively.

The following examples are written on a single line, but this is is of course
not a requirement. Strings can even contain line breaks, which can be useful if
you want to write complex templates.

#+begin_src emacs-lisp
;; ~/.config/emacs/templates

fundamental-mode ;; Available everywhere

(today (format-time-string "%Y-%m-%d")
       :ann "Today's date"
       :doc "Insert today's date")

prog-mode

(fixme (if (derived-mode-p 'emacs-lisp-mode) ";; " comment-start) "FIXME ")
(todo (if (derived-mode-p 'emacs-lisp-mode) ";; " comment-start) "TODO ")
(bug (if (derived-mode-p 'emacs-lisp-mode) ";; " comment-start) "BUG ")
(hack (if (derived-mode-p 'emacs-lisp-mode) ";; " comment-start) "HACK ")

latex-mode

(abstract "\\begin{abstract}\n" r> n> "\\end{abstract}")
(align "\\begin{align}\n" r> n> "\\end{align}")
(alignn "\\begin{align*}\n" r> n> "\\end{align*}")
(gather "\\begin{gather}\n" r> n> "\\end{gather}")
(gatherr "\\begin{gather*}\n" r> n> "\\end{gather*}")
(appendix "\\begin{appendix}\n" r> n> "\\end{appendix}")
(begin "\\begin{" (s env) "}" r> n> "\\end{" (s env) "}")
(center "\\begin{center}\n" r> n> "\\end{center}")
(displaymath "\\begin{displaymath}\n" r> n> "\\end{displaymath}")
(document "\\begin{document}\n" r> n> "\\end{document}")
(enumerate "\\begin{enumerate}\n\\item " r> n> "\\end{enumerate}")
(equation "\\begin{equation}" r> n> "\\end{equation}")
(flushleft "\\begin{flushleft}" r> n> "\\end{flushleft}")
(flushright "\\begin{flushright}" r> n> "\\end{flushright}")
(frac "\\frac{" p "}{" q "}")
(fussypar "\\begin{fussypar}" r> n> "\\end{fussypar}")
(itemize "\\begin{itemize}\n\\item " r> n> "\\end{itemize}")
(letter "\\begin{letter}\n" r> n> "\\end{letter}")
(math "\\begin{math}\n" r> n> "\\end{math}")
(minipage "\\begin{minipage}[t]{0.5\linewidth}\n" r> n> "\\end{minipage}")
(quotation "\\begin{quotation}\n" r> n> "\\end{quotation}")
(quote "\\begin{quote}\n" r> n> "\\end{quote}")
(sloppypar "\\begin{sloppypar}\n" r> n> "\\end{sloppypar}")
(theindex "\\begin{theindex}\n" r> n> "\\end{theindex}")
(trivlist "\\begin{trivlist}\n" r> n> "\\end{trivlist}")
(verbatim "\\begin{verbatim}\n" r> n> "\\end{verbatim}")
(verbatimm "\\begin{verbatim*}\n" r> n> "\\end{verbatim*}")
(matrix (p (read-number "Rows: ") rows noinsert)
        (p (read-number "Cols: ") cols noinsert)
        "\\begin{" (p "pmatrix" type) "}" n
        (* (1- rows) (p " ") (* (1- cols) " & " (p " ")) "\\\\" n)
        (p " ") (* (1- cols) " & " (p " ")) n
        "\\end{" type "}")

texinfo-mode

(defmac "@defmac " p n> r> "@end defmac")
(defun "@defun " p n> r> "@end defun")
(defvar "@defvar " p n> r> "@end defvar")
(example "@example " p n> r> "@end example")
(lisp "@lisp " p n> r> "@end lisp")
(bullet "@itemize @bullet{}" n> r> "@end itemize")
(code "@code{" p "}")
(var "@var{" p "}")

lisp-mode emacs-lisp-mode ;; Specify multiple modes

(lambda "(lambda (" p ")" n> r> ")")

emacs-lisp-mode

(autoload ";;;###autoload")
(pt "(point)")
(var "(defvar " p "\n  \"" p "\")")
(local "(defvar-local " p "\n  \"" p "\")")
(const "(defconst " p "\n  \"" p "\")")
(custom "(defcustom " p "\n  \"" p "\"" n> ":type '" p ")")
(face "(defface " p " '((t :inherit " p "))\n  \"" p "\")")
(group "(defgroup " p " nil\n  \"" p "\"" n> ":group '" p n> ":prefix \"" p "-\")")
(macro "(defmacro " p " (" p ")\n  \"" p "\"" n> r> ")")
(alias "(defalias '" p " '" p ")")
(fun "(defun " p " (" p ")\n  \"" p "\"" n> r> ")")
(iflet "(if-let (" p ")" n> r> ")")
(whenlet "(when-let (" p ")" n> r> ")")
(whilelet "(while-let (" p ")" n> r> ")")
(andlet "(and-let* (" p ")" n> r> ")")
(cond "(cond" n "(" q "))" >)
(pcase "(pcase " (p "scrutinee") n "(" q "))" >)
(let "(let (" p ")" n> r> ")")
(lett "(let* (" p ")" n> r> ")")
(pcaselet "(pcase-let (" p ")" n> r> ")")
(pcaselett "(pcase-let* (" p ")" n> r> ")")
(rec "(letrec (" p ")" n> r> ")")
(dotimes "(dotimes (" p ")" n> r> ")")
(dolist "(dolist (" p ")" n> r> ")")
(loop "(cl-loop for " p " in " p " do" n> r> ")")
(command "(defun " p " (" p ")\n  \"" p "\"" n> "(interactive" p ")" n> r> ")")
(advice "(defun " (p "adv" name) " (&rest app)" n> p n> "(apply app))" n>
        "(advice-add #'" (p "fun") " " (p ":around") " #'" (s name) ")")
(header ";;; " (file-name-nondirectory (or (buffer-file-name) (buffer-name)))
        " --- " p " -*- lexical-binding: t -*-" n
        ";;; Commentary:" n ";;; Code:" n n)
(provide "(provide '" (file-name-base (or (buffer-file-name) (buffer-name))) ")" n
         ";;; " (file-name-nondirectory (or (buffer-file-name) (buffer-name)))
         " ends here" n)
(package (i header) r n n (i provide))

eshell-mode

(for "for " (p "i") " in " p " { " q " }")
(while "while { " p " } { " q " }")
(until "until { " p " } { " q " }")
(if "if { " p " } { " q " }")
(ife "if { " p " } { " p " } { " q " }")
(unl "unless { " p " } { " q " }")
(unle "unless { " p " } { " p " } { " q " }")

text-mode

(box "┌─" (make-string (length str) ?─) "─┐" n
     "│ " (s str)                       " │" n
     "└─" (make-string (length str) ?─) "─┘" n :doc "UNICODE BOX")
(abox "+-" (make-string (length str) ?-) "-+" n
      "| " (s str)                       " |" n
      "+-" (make-string (length str) ?-) "-+" n :doc "ASCII BOX")
(cut "--8<---------------cut here---------------start------------->8---" n r n
     "--8<---------------cut here---------------end--------------->8---" n)
(rot13 (p "plain text" text) n "----" n (rot13 text))
(calc (p "taylor(sin(x),x=0,3)" formula) n "----" n (format "%s" (calc-eval formula)))
(table (p (read-number "Rows: ") rows noinsert)
       (p (read-number "Cols: ") cols noinsert)
       "| " (p "  ") (* (1- cols) " | " (p "  ")) " |" n
       "|" (* cols "----|") n
       (* rows "| " (p "  ") (* (1- cols) " | " (p "  ")) " |" n))

rst-mode

(title (make-string (length title) ?=) n (p "Title: " title) n (make-string (length title) ?=) n)

java-mode

(class "public class " (p (file-name-base (or (buffer-file-name) (buffer-name)))) " {" n> r> n "}")

c-mode :when (re-search-backward "^\\S-*$" (line-beginning-position) 'noerror)

(inc "#include <" (p (concat (file-name-base (or (buffer-file-name) (buffer-name))) ".h")) ">")
(incc "#include \"" (p (concat (file-name-base (or (buffer-file-name) (buffer-name))) ".h")) "\"")

org-mode

(caption "#+caption: ")
(drawer ":" p ":" n r ":end:")
(begin "#+begin_" (s name) n> r> n "#+end_" name)
(quote "#+begin_quote" n> r> n "#+end_quote")
(sidenote "#+begin_sidenote" n> r> n "#+end_sidenote")
(marginnote "#+begin_marginnote" n> r> n "#+end_marginnote")
(example "#+begin_example" n> r> n "#+end_example")
(center "#+begin_center" n> r> n "#+end_center")
(ascii "#+begin_export ascii" n> r> n "#+end_export")
(html "#+begin_export html" n> r> n "#+end_export")
(latex "#+begin_export latex" n> r> n "#+end_export")
(comment "#+begin_comment" n> r> n "#+end_comment")
(verse "#+begin_verse" n> r> n "#+end_verse")
(src "#+begin_src " q n r n "#+end_src")
(gnuplot "#+begin_src gnuplot :var data=" (p "table") " :file " (p "plot.png") n r n "#+end_src" :post (org-edit-src-code))
(elisp "#+begin_src emacs-lisp" n r n "#+end_src" :post (org-edit-src-code))
(inlsrc "src_" p "{" q "}")
(title "#+title: " p n "#+author: Daniel Mendler" n "#+language: en")

;; Local Variables:
;; mode: lisp-data
;; outline-regexp: "[a-z]"
;; End:
#+end_src

* Template syntax

All the Tempo syntax elements are fully supported. The syntax elements are
described in detail in the docstring of ~tempo-define-template~ in tempo.el. We
document the important ones here:

- "string" Inserts a string literal.
- ~p~ Inserts an unnamed placeholder field.
- ~n~ Inserts a newline.
- ~>~ Indents with ~indent-according-to-mode~.
- ~r~ Inserts the current region.
  If no region is active, quits the containing template when jumped to.
- ~r>~ Acts like ~r~, but indent region.
- ~n>~ Inserts a newline and indents.
- ~&~ Insert newline unless there is only whitespace between line start and point.
- ~%~ Insert newline unless there is only whitespace between point and line end.
- ~o~ Like ~%~ but leaves the point before newline.
- ~(s NAME)~ Inserts a named field.
- ~(p PROMPT <NAME> <NOINSERT>)~ Insert an optionally named field with a prompt.
  The ~PROMPT~ is displayed directly in the buffer as default value. If ~NOINSERT~
  is non-nil, no field is inserted. Then the minibuffer is used for prompting
  and the value is bound to ~NAME~.
- ~(r PROMPT <NAME> <NOINSERT>)~ Insert region or act like ~(p ...)~.
- ~(r> PROMPT <NAME> <NOINSERT>)~ Act like ~(r ...)~, but indent region.

Furthermore Tempel supports syntax extensions:

- ~(p FORM <NAME> <NOINSERT>)~ Like ~p~ described above, but ~FORM~ is evaluated.
- ~(FORM ...)~ Other Lisp forms are evaluated. Named fields are lexically bound.
- ~q~ Quits the containing template when jumped to.

Use caution with templates which execute arbitrary code!

* Defining custom elements

Tempel supports custom user elements via the configuration variable
=tempel-user-elements=. As a demonstration we add the element =(i template)= to
include templates by name in another template.

#+begin_src emacs-lisp
(defun tempel-include (elt)
  (when (eq (car-safe elt) 'i)
    (if-let (template (alist-get (cadr elt) (tempel--templates)))
        (cons 'l template)
      (message "Template %s not found" (cadr elt))
      nil)))
(add-to-list 'tempel-user-elements #'tempel-include)
#+end_src

The following example templates uses the newly defined include element.

#+begin_src emacs-lisp
(header ";;; " (file-name-nondirectory (or (buffer-file-name) (buffer-name)))
        " --- " p " -*- lexical-binding: t -*-" n
        ";;; Commentary:" n ";;; Code:" n n)
(provide "(provide '" (file-name-base (or (buffer-file-name) (buffer-name))) ")" n
         ";;; " (file-name-nondirectory (or (buffer-file-name) (buffer-name)))
         " ends here" n)
(package (i header) r n n (i provide))
#+end_src

If a custom user element needs an access to named fields, the hook function
should take the second argument ~fields~, which refers to an alist that maps the
field name to its value in the current template. For example here we define a
custom element ~*~ to repeat a template a number of times:

#+begin_src emacs-lisp
(defun tempel-repeat (elt fields)
  (pcase elt
    (`(* ,count . ,rest)
     (cons 'l (cl-loop for i below (eval count fields) append rest)))))
(add-to-list 'tempel-user-elements #'tempel-repeat)
#+end_src

The ~*~ custom element can be used to expand dynamic tables or LaTeX matrices:

#+begin_src emacs-lisp
(table (p (read-number "Rows: ") rows noinsert)
       (p (read-number "Cols: ") cols noinsert)
       "| " (p "  ") (* (1- cols) " | " (p "  ")) " |" n
       "|" (* cols "----|") n
       (* rows "| " (p "  ") (* (1- cols) " | " (p "  ")) " |" n))
(matrix (p (read-number "Rows: ") rows noinsert)
        (p (read-number "Cols: ") cols noinsert)
        "\\begin{" (p "pmatrix" type) "}" n
        (* (1- rows) (p " ") (* (1- cols) " & " (p " ")) "\\\\" n)
        (p " ") (* (1- cols) " & " (p " ")) n
        "\\end{" type "}")
#+end_src

* Adding template sources

Tempel offers a flexible mechanism for providing the templates, which are
applicable to the current context. The variable ~tempel-template-sources~
specifies a list of sources or a single source. A source can either be a
function, which should return a list of applicable templates, or the symbol of a
variable, which holds a list of templates, which apply to the current context.
By default, Tempel configures only the source ~tempel-path-templates~. You may
want to add global or local template variables to your user configuration:

#+begin_src emacs-lisp
(defvar my-global-templates
  '((example "Global example template"))
  "My global templates.")
(defvar-local my-local-templates nil
  "Buffer-local templates.")
(add-to-list 'tempel-template-sources 'my-global-templates)
(add-to-list 'tempel-template-sources 'my-local-templates)
#+end_src

* Hooking into the Abbrev mechanism

Tempel can hook into Abbrev by enabling the ~tempel-abbrev-mode~ in a buffer or by
enabling the ~global-tempel-abbrev-mode~. Then the Tempel templates will be
available via ~expand-abbrev~ which is usually bound to ~C-x '~.

* Binding important templates to a key

Important templates can be bound to a key with the small utility macro
~tempel-key~ which accepts three arguments, a key, a template or name and
optionally a map.

#+begin_src emacs-lisp
(tempel-key "C-c t f" fun emacs-lisp-mode-map)
(tempel-key "C-c t d" ("DATE: " (format-time-string "%Y-%m-%d")))
#+end_src

Internally ~tempel-key~ uses ~tempel-insert~ to trigger the insertion. Depending on
the style of your user configuration you may want to write your own helper
macros, which allow you to conveniently bind templates via [[https://github.com/jwiegley/use-package][use-package]], [[https://github.com/noctuid/general][general]]
or similar keybinding packages.

* Alternatives

There are plenty of alternative packages which provide abbreviation or snippet
expansion. Try Tempel if you like small and simple packages. With Tempel you
write your templates in Lisp syntax, which from my perspective fits well to the
hackable nature of Emacs. Tempel took inspiration from the [[https://nschum.de/src/emacs/tempo-snippets/][Tempo-Snippets]]
package by Nikolaj Schumacher ([[https://github.com/nschum/tempo-snippets.el][GitHub link]]).

List of alternatives (built-in or separate packages):

- abbrev.el: Abbreviation expansion, builtin
- expand.el: Abbreviation expansion, builtin
- skeleton.el: Lisp syntax for templates, builtin
- tempo.el: Lisp syntax for templates, builtin
- srecode.el: CEDET template manager and code generator, builtin
- [[https://github.com/ymarco/auto-activating-snippets][aas.el]]: Auto activating snippets
- [[https://github.com/cdominik/cdlatex][cdlatex.el]]: Fast LaTeX insertion
- [[https://github.com/tecosaur/LaTeX-auto-activating-snippets][laas.el]]: Latex auto activating snippets
- [[https://github.com/jiahaowork/muban.el][muban.el]]: Lightweight template expansion
- [[https://github.com/oantolin/placeholder][placeholder.el]]: Treat buffers as templates
- [[https://github.com/xFA25E/tempo-abbrev][tempo-abbrev.el]]: Abbrev integration for Tempo
- [[https://github.com/pkazmier/snippet.el][snippet.el]]: Original snippet mode, with inline expansion
- [[https://nschum.de/src/emacs/tempo-snippets/][tempo-snippets.el]]: Interface like snippet.el for Tempo
- [[https://github.com/joaotavora/yasnippet][yasnippet.el]]: Template system inspired by Textmate snippets

* Contributions

Since this package is part of [[https://elpa.gnu.org/packages/tempel.html][GNU ELPA]] contributions require a copyright
assignment to the FSF.