Contexts¶

Contexts are plain JSON objects that supply variables to templates. Keys map to template variables and can include nested objects and arrays.

Example context

{
  "name": "Batman",
  "user": { "id": 42, "active": true },
  "items": ["a", "b", "c"]
}

Rendered result

Given the following template:

<<
Hello, ${name}! (id=${user.id}, active=${user.active})
>>

Rendering with the example context produces:

Hello, Batman! (id=42, active=True)

See also: Metadata page for template header metadata and usage.

Behavior and precedence

CLI -c (inline JSON) and -f (context file) override auto-detected context files.
When rendering a single template, MARGARITA looks for a sibling .json file with the same base name.
Metadata is parsed from the template and can be shown with margarita render --show-metadata or margarita metadata.

Tip: Keep contexts explicit and small; prefer using a context file in CI to ensure reproducible renders.