Handlebars

SuprSend template editor uses handlebars as the default templating language to add variables in all templates except Slack and MS Teams JSONNET templates. You’ll find the generic syntax and list of helpers supported. Helpers are used to format data or add conditions on the data passed in the template.

Variable types and their syntax

Syntax	Behavior
`{{ var }}`	Default syntax for variables. This is HTML-escaped, so characters like `<`, `>`, `"`, `'`, `&` are converted into random strings (like &, ??, =??, etc.) when they are rendered as text.
`{{{ var }}}`	Use when you have special characters in the value (like &, ?, =, etc.) and want to avoid HTML-escaping. Renders the HTML as is. So, it can pose the risk of HTML injection.
`{{array.[0].name}}`	To print the value of the first element of the array `array`. You can change the index to print the value of the nth element of the array by changing the index to `[1]`, `[2]`, etc.
`{{[first name]}}`	Enclose the variable name in square brackets to print the value of the variable which has spaces, capital letters or special characters in it.
`{{$batched_events_count}}`	Print the count of the batch events.
`{{$batched_events.[0].name}}`	Print the value of the nth element of the batch events array. 0 refers to first element, 1 refers to second element, etc.
`{{$recipient.name}}`	Print the value of the recipient property `name`.
`{{$actor.name}}`	Print the value of the actor property `name`.
`{{$brand.brand_name}}`	Print the value of the tenant reserved properties like brand_name.
`{{$brand.properties.address}}`	Print the value of the tenant custom property like address, phone number, etc.

Handlebars Helpers

You can find the list of inbuilt handlebars helpers here. Apart from the inbuilt helper functions, we have also created some custom helper functions which you can use in template editors.

Not supported in SMS and WhatsApp:Since SMS (in India) and WhatsApp require pre-approved templates to send messages, we can’t support conditional content rendering in SMS and WhatsApp templates. You can use handlebars helpers if you are sending SMS in US with vendors like Twilio and Messagebird.

AI prompt — write a Handlebars expression: “Write a Handlebars expression for SuprSend that [describe task — for example ‘shows a comma-separated list from an array’, ‘formats a date as Mon DD YYYY’, ‘shows different content for premium vs free users’]. My variables: [paste JSON]. SuprSend supports custom helpers: formatDate, math, capitalize, default, formatCurrency.”

default

Can be used to add a default value if the variable values are " " , null , undefined.

{{default variable "default_value" }}

{{default name "user" }}

Returns:

Variable value if the variable value is present. For instance, the above example with data {"name":"Joe"} will return Joe

Default value if variable value is in " " , null , undefined. For instance, the above example with data {"name":""}, {"name":null} or {"city":"Bangalore"} will return user

compare

Can be used to show some content in the template based on a condition. For email, you can use display condition to show or hide a particular content block

{{#compare name '==' "Mike"}}
true_block
{{else}}
false_block
{{/compare}}

Example-1: with else statement
{{#compare candidate_count '==' 1}}
is
{{else}}
are
{{/compare}}

Example-2: without else statement
{{#compare candidate_count '==' 1}}
is
{{/compare}}

Returns:

Returns if the condition inside compare statement returns truthy value. For instance, the above example with data{"candidate_count":1}will returnis

Returns (in case else statement is present) if the condition inside compare statement returns falsy value. For instance, Example-1 with data{"candidate_count":3}will returnare

or Returns if the else statement is not present. For instance, Example-2 with data{"candidate_count":3}will not return anything

Supported Conditional operators in compare statement:

Operator	Returns truthy when	Sample Statement
`==`	LHS equals RHS	1 `==` “1”
`===`	LHS value as well as data type matches with RHS	1 `===` 1
`>`	LHS is greater than RHS	2 `>` 1
`\<`	LHS is less than RHS	1 `\<` 2
`>=`	LHS is greater than equals to RHS	2 `>=` 2 or 3 `>=` 2
`\<=`	LHS is less than equal to RHS	2 `\<=` 2 or 1 `\<=` 2
`!=`	LHS is not equal RHS	3 `!=` 1
`!==`	LHS value or data type does not equal RHS	1 `!==` “1”

Builtin helpers and custom helpers in handlebars can only work with nested objects if the value of parent key is present.For instance, {{default place.city "San Francisco"}} will return "San Francisco" only if place key is present, that is {"place":[]}

However, you can use the nested if condition to check if the parent is present and if so, then render nested objects value. Refer below example:

{{#if place}}
  {{default place.city "San Francisco"}}
{{else}}
  San Francisco
{{/if}}

{{#if person.address}}
  {{#if person.address.current}}
    {{{default person.address.current.city "Los Angeles"}}
  {{/if}}
{{/if}}

each

You can iterate over a static or dynamic length list using each helper. Inside the block, you add the array object key which you want to iterate over.

{{#each array_object}}
{{variable_key}}
{{/each}}

{{#each admins}}
{{name}}
{{/each}}

{
  "admins":[
    {
      "name":"steve",
      "id":"1",
      "city":"Palo Alto"
    },
    {
      "name":"Olivia",
      "id":2,
      "city":"Houston"
    }
  ]
}

Returns: Above example for below mock data will return steve Olivia

datetime-format

Returns a formatted date string. This helper will throw error if an invalid date is provided.

{{datetime-format variable "format string" "timezone"}}

{
  "date":"2023-09-26T00:00:00Z"
}

parameter	Obligation	description
variable	mandatory	should be a date or timestamp. It will throw an error for invalid date format. To get today’s date (date on which template is getting rendered) you can use `"now"` string.
format string	mandatory	date string defining the format in which date should be printed. See all formatting options here. for example “dddd, MMMM Do YYYY, h:mm:ss a” will return datetime as “Sunday, February 14 2010, 3:25:50 PM”
timezone	optional	you can add timezone as a third parameter to convert time in a given timezone. See the list of all possible timezones here

Examples:

Example	Output
`{{datetime-format date "ddd, MMM Do YYYY, h:mm:ss a"}}`	`Tue, Sep 26th 2023, 12:00:00 am`
`{{datetime-format date "[Today is] dddd"}}`	`Today is Tuesday`
`{{datetime-format date "Do MMMM, YYYY" "America/Chicago"}}`	`25th September, 2023`

jsonStringify

Converts any type of JSON input to a string. Can be used to print JSON and array directly in templates without having to convert it into individual strings. One of the common use case is to pass complete JSON in Inbox template -> custom JSON field to generate custom UI.

{{jsonStringify variable}}

{
  "likes":3,
  "comments":4,
  "users":["Olivia","Steve"]
}

variable should be a valid JSON input.

Examples:

Example	Output
`{{jsonStringify this}}`	`\{"likes":3,"comments":4,"users":\["Olivia","Steve"]}`
`{{jsonStringify users}}`	`\["Olivia","Steve"]`

lowercase

This handlebar helper is used to convert string to lowercase. If non string values are provided empty string '' is returned.

{{lowercase "string"}}

uppercase

This handlebar helper is used to convert string to uppercase. If non string values are provided empty string '' is returned.

{{uppercase "string"}}

capitalize

This handlebar helper is used to capitalize the first character in provided string. If non string values are provided empty string '' is returned.

{{capitalize "string"}}

Math operators

add

Returns the sum of two operands. Both input values should be numbers, else it will throw an error.

{{add number1 number2}}

{
  "likes":3,
  "comments":4
}

Examples:

Example	Output
`{{add 9 4}}`	`13`
`{{add likes comments}}`	`7`

subtract

Returns the difference between two operands. Both input values should be numbers, else it will throw an error.

{{subtract number1 number2}}

{
  "likes":3,
  "comments":4
}

Examples:

Example	Output
`{{subtract 9 4}}`	`5`
`{{subtract likes 1}}`	`2`

multiply

Returns the product of two operands. Both input values should be numbers, else it will throw an error.

{{multiply number1 number2}}

{
  "ARR":300,
  "billing_months":12
}

Examples:

Example	Output
`{{multiply 9 4}}`	`36`
`{{multiply ARR billing_months}}`	`3600`

divide

Returns the quotient of the left operand divided by the right operand. Both input values should be numbers; else it will throw an error.

{{divide dividend divisor}}

{
  "total_bill":3600,
  "billing_months":12
}

Examples:

Example	Output
`{{divide 14 4}}`	`3.5`
`{{divide total_bill billing_months}}`	`300`

round

Returns the value of a number rounded to the nearest integer. The input value should be a number; else it will throw an error.

{{round number}}

Examples:

Example	Output
`{{round 12.5}}`	`13`
`{{round (divide 15 4)}}`	`4`

mod

Returns the remainder left over when one operand is divided by a second operand. It always takes the sign of the dividend. This helper will throw an error if it encounters an input value that is not a number or if the divisor is 0.

{{mod dividend divisor}}

{
   "total_bill":3600,
   "billing_months":12
}

Examples:

Example	Output
`{{mod 14 4}}`	`2`
`{{mod total_bill billing_months}}`	`0`

Array Operators

unique

Returns unique items in an array.

{{unique variable "key_string" }}

{
  "array": [
    {
      "city": "San Francisco",
      "name": "Mike"
    },
    {
      "city": "Austin",
      "name": "Juliana"
    },
    {
      "city": "Austin",
      "name": "Nova"
    }
  ],
  "personal_details": [
    {
      "name": {
        "first_name": "john",
        "last_name": "doe"
      }
    },
    {
      "name": {
        "first_name": "mike",
        "last_name": "waz"
      }
    }
  ],
  "email": [
    "joe@abc.com",
    "steve@abc.com",
    "joe@abc.com"
  ]
}

parameter	description
variable	should be an array. If not helper function will throw an error.
key_string	mandatory only if items in the array are objects. If a unique operation needs to be performed on nested objects, then object notation (a.b or a[‘b’]) can be used.

Examples:

Example	Output
`{{unique email }}`	`joe@abc.com, steve@abc.com`
`{{unique array "city" }}`	`San Francisco, Austin`
`{{unique personal_details "name.first_name" }}`	`john, mike`

itemAt

Returns item at a particular index in the array. It can be useful in scenarios where you want to display a message like liked by Mike and 3 others.

{{itemAt variable index }}

{
  "array": [
    {
      "city": "San Francisco",
      "name": "Mike"
    },
    {
      "city": "Austin",
      "name": "Juliana"
    },
    {
      "city": "Austin",
      "name": "Nova"
    }
  ],
  "email":["joe@abc.com","steve@abc.com","joe@abc.com"]
}

Parameter	Description
variable	should be an array else the helper function will throw an error.
index	should be an integer else the helper function will throw an error.

Examples:

Example	Output
`{{itemAt email 1}}`	`steve@abc.com`

Note:This helper only works with an array of primitive data types like string, boolean, etc. If you have an array with objects in it, you can combine it with a unique helper to return the indexed value of a particular key inside the object. For instance, {{itemAt (unique array "city") 0}} in above mock will return San Francisco.

join

Concatenates all the values in an array, using a specified separator string between each value.

{{join variable "separator"}}

{
  "array": [
    {
      "city": "San Francisco",
      "name": "Mike"
    },
    {
      "city": "Austin",
      "name": "Juliana"
    },
    {
      "city": "Austin",
      "name": "Nova"
    }
  ],
  "email":["joe@abc.com","steve@abc.com","joe@abc.com"]
}

Parameter	Description
variable	should be an array and items in the array should be of primitive data types like string, number, etc, else the helper function will throw an error.
separator	should be string else by default separator `,` will be used. If not provided `,` is used.

Examples:

Example	Output
`{{join email }}`	`joe@abc.com , steve@abc.com , joe@abc.com`
`{{join email ' - '}}`	`joe@abc.com - steve@abc.com - joe@abc.com`

Note:This helper only works with an array of primitive data types like string, boolean, etc. If you have an array with objects in it, you can combine them with a unique helper to join the value of a particular key inside the object. For instance, {{join (unique array "city")}} in above mock will return San Francisco, Austin

length

Can be used to get the number of items in an array or the character length of a string. It can be useful in scenarios where you want to display a message like your post has got 100 likes.

{{length variable}}

{
  "array": [
    {
      "city": "San Francisco",
      "name": "Mike"
    },
    {
      "city": "Austin",
      "name": "Juliana"
    },
    {
      "city": "Austin",
      "name": "Nova"
    }
  ],
  "email":["joe@abc.com","steve@abc.com","joe@abc.com"],
  "name":"Justin",
  "active":true
}

Property	Description
variable	should be an array or string to get the actual count of items in the variable provided, else it returns 0.

Examples:

Example	Output
`{{length array}}`	3
`{{length name}}`	6
`{{length active}}`	0

We are adding further helpers to this list. If you have a use case that is not covered, ping us on our Slack Support Channel

AI prompt - debug rendering: “My SuprSend template isn’t rendering. Template: [paste]. Variables JSON: [paste]. Expected: [describe]. Actual: [blank/raw syntax/error]. Check for: path mismatch, double vs triple braces for URLs, #each on non-array, missing closing tags, missing $on$ recipient/$brand.”

Frequently Asked Questions

We're seeing an issue where apostrophes (`'`) in push notification text are getting converted to `&`#x27;` in the preview.

This is happening because handlebars by default does url encoding, use triple curly braces syntax like {{{ variable }}} whenever you need to print the value of the variable as is without any encoding.

How does SuprSend avoid HTML injection when printing variables?

SuprSend uses the default syntax for variables {{ var }} to print the value of the variable. This is HTML-escaped, so characters like <, >, ", ', & are converted into their HTML entity equivalents when rendered as text.

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Variable types and their syntax

Handlebars Helpers

default

compare

each

datetime-format

jsonStringify

lowercase

uppercase

capitalize

Math operators

add

subtract

multiply

divide

round

mod

Array Operators

unique

itemAt

join

length

Frequently Asked Questions

​Variable types and their syntax

​Handlebars Helpers

​default

​compare

​each

​datetime-format

​jsonStringify

​lowercase

​uppercase

​capitalize

​Math operators

​add

​subtract

​multiply

​divide

​round

​mod

​Array Operators

​unique

​itemAt

​join

​length

​Frequently Asked Questions

Variable types and their syntax

Handlebars Helpers

default

compare

each

datetime-format

jsonStringify

lowercase

uppercase

capitalize

Math operators

add

subtract

multiply

divide

round

mod

Array Operators

unique

itemAt

join

length

Frequently Asked Questions