hugo/content/en/templates/lookup-order.md

title	linktitle	description	godocref	date	publishdate	lastmod	categories	keywords	menu	weight	sections_weight	draft	aliases	toc
Hugo's Lookup Order	Template Lookup Order	Hugo searches for the layout to use for a given page in a well defined order, starting from the most specific.		2017-02-01	2017-02-01	2017-07-05	templates fundamentals	templates	docs quicklinks parent weight templates 15	15	15	false	/templates/lookup/	true

Hugo Layouts Lookup Rules

Hugo takes the parameters listed below into consideration when choosing a layout for a given page. They are listed in a priority order. This should feel natural, but look at the table below for concrete examples of the different parameter variations.

Kind

The page Kind (the home page is one). See the example tables below per kind. This also determines if it is a single page (i.e. a regular content page. We then look for a template in _default/single.html for HTML) or a list page (section listings, home page, taxonomy lists, taxonomy terms. We then look for a template in _default/list.html for HTML).

Layout

Can be set in page front matter.

Output Format

See Custom Output Formats. An output format has both a name (e.g. rss, amp, html) and a suffix (e.g. xml, html). We prefer matches with both (e.g. index.amp.html, but look for less specific templates.

Language

We will consider a language code in the template name. If the site language is fr, index.fr.amp.html will win over index.amp.html, but index.amp.html will be chosen before index.fr.html.

Type

Is value of type if set in front matter, else it is the name of the root section (e.g. "blog"). It will always have a value, so if not set, the value is "page".

Section

Is relevant for section, taxonomy and taxonomyTerm types.

{{% note %}} Tip: The examples below looks long and complex. That is the flexibility talking. Most Hugo sites contain just a handful of templates:

├── _default
│   ├── baseof.html
│   ├── list.html
│   └── single.html
└── index.html

{{% /note %}}

Hugo Layouts Lookup Rules With Theme

In Hugo, layouts can live in either the project's or the themes' layout folders, and the most specific layout will be chosen. Hugo will interleave the lookups listed below, finding the most specific one either in the project or themes.

Examples: Layout Lookup for Regular Pages

{{< datatable-filtered "output" "layouts" "Kind == page" "Example" "OutputFormat" "Suffix" "Template Lookup Order" >}}

Examples: Layout Lookup for Home Page

{{< datatable-filtered "output" "layouts" "Kind == home" "Example" "OutputFormat" "Suffix" "Template Lookup Order" >}}

Examples: Layout Lookup for Section Pages

{{< datatable-filtered "output" "layouts" "Kind == section" "Example" "OutputFormat" "Suffix" "Template Lookup Order" >}}

Examples: Layout Lookup for Taxonomy List Pages

{{< datatable-filtered "output" "layouts" "Kind == taxonomy" "Example" "OutputFormat" "Suffix" "Template Lookup Order" >}}

Examples: Layout Lookup for Taxonomy Terms Pages

{{< datatable-filtered "output" "layouts" "Kind == taxonomyTerm" "Example" "OutputFormat" "Suffix" "Template Lookup Order" >}}