Mkdocs-Macros

A plugin/mini-framework for unleashing the power of Mkdocs static website generator, with the use of variables and macros.

Getting started

Definition

Mkdocs-Macros is a plugin/mini-framework that makes it easy for contributors of an MkDocs website to produce richer and more beautiful Markdown pages (with the .md extension). It can do two things:

1. Transforming the markdown pages into Jinja2 templates that:
   • Use environment or custom variables,
   • Call pre-defined or custom macros (functions, generally defined in a Python module),
   • Exploit standard or custom filters
2. Replacing MkDocs plugins for a wide range of tasks: e.g. manipulating the navigation, adding files after the html pages have already been generated etc.

The capabilities of mkdocs-macros-plugin are so wide that it can be called a "mini-framework".

Mkdocs-Macros is very easy to use out of the box, even for small documentation projects: it provides data about the platform, the git repository (if any), etc.

Simple Example

In this example, the markdown page (index.md) contains a variable unit price:

The unit price of our product is {{ unit_price }} EUR.

In the config file (mkdocs.yml), define the unit price in the extra section:

extra:
    unit_price: 10

With mkdocs serve the html page is rendered (translated) into markdown as:

The unit price of our product is 10 EUR.

This is the diagram:

flowchart LR
    config["Mkdocs config file\n(extra section)\nunit_price: 10"] --> variable
    variable["Variable in the page\n{{ unit_price }}"] --> renderer
    renderer(("Template Renderer")) --> text
    text("Markdown text\n10")

Full Example

This example in the markdown page uses a variable and a macro (function):

The unit price of our product is {{ unit_price }} EUR.
Taking the standard discount into account,
the sale price of {{ units }} units is {{ price(unit_price, units) }} EUR.

As in the simple example above, define the unit price in the extra section of the config file:

extra:
    unit_price: 10
    units: 50

Then define a price() function in the module (main.py), in the same directory as the config file:

def define_env(env):
    """
    This is the hook for the variables, macros and filters.
    """

    @env.macro
    def price(unit_price, no):
        "Calculate price"
        return unit_price * no

This will translate into the final markdown as:

The unit price of our product A is 10.00 EUR.
Taking the standard discount into account,
the sale price of 50 units is 500.00 EUR.

This is the diagram:

flowchart LR
    config["Mkdocs config file\n(extra section)\nunit_price: 10\nunits: 50"] --> macro
    module["Python module\n(main.py)\ndef unit_price(...):"]  --> macro
    macro["Macro in the page\n{{ price(unit_price, units) }}"] --> renderer
    renderer(("Template Renderer")) --> text
    text("Markdown text\n500")

It is possible to use the wide range of facilities provided by Jinja2 templates.

Variables

Regular variables are loaded with each markdown page which is being rendered.

With Mkdocs-Macros there are five different ways to define variables:

flowchart LR
    subgraph "MkDocs-Macros"
    variable["Variable in the page\n{{ unit_price }}"] --> renderer
    renderer(("Template Renderer")) --> text
    text("Markdown text\n10")

    end
    subgraph Global
    config["1a. Mkdocs config file\n(extra section)\nunit_price: 10"] --> variable
    external["1b. External yaml file\nunit_price: 10"]  --> variable
    module["1c. In Python module\n(main.py)\nunit_price = 10"]  --> variable
    end
    subgraph "Local (page-level)"
    header["2a. YAML header"\nunit_price: 10]  --> variable
    page["2b. In the text\n{%set unit_price = 10 %}"]  --> variable
    end

1. Global, i.e. for the whole documentation project:
   1. (for designers of the website): in the mkdocs.yml file, under the extra heading
   2. (for contributors): in external yaml definition files
   3. (for programmers): in a module (Python), by adding them to a dictionary
2. Local, i.e. in each Markdown page (for contributors):
   1. in the YAML header.
   2. in the text of the page, with a {%set variable = value %} statement.

Create Your Own Macros and Filters

Instead of creating countless new plugins, programmers can define their macros and filters.

Macros are functions usable in a markdown page, which are exported from a Python module. Most of them produce text to be displayed.

Filters are special functions that operate on the result of a function, for formatting purposes.

import ...

def define_env(env):
    "Hook function"

    @env.macro
    def mymacro(...)
        ...
        return some_string

{{ mymacro(...) }}

Boosting large or complex documentation projects

mkdocs-macros was also developed with large or complex projects in mind.

You can include separate configurations files, import Jinja2 macro definitions, add "post-production" elements to your website, etc.

You can go all the way as to pre-package modules into pluglets that can be installed as Python packages.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python version > 3.5
• MkDocs version >= 1.0 (it should work > 0.17 (it should be compatible with post 1.0 versions)

Standard installation

pip install mkdocs-macros-plugin

If you wish to also run the tests or rebuild the project's documentation:

pip install 'mkdocs-macros-plugin[test]'

"Manual installation"

To install the package, download the code from its github page and run:

python setup.py install

Declaration of the macros plugin

Declare the plugin in the the file mkdocs.yml:

plugins:
    - search
    - macros

Check that it works

{{ macros_info() }}

In the terminal, restart the environment:

> mkdocs serve

INFO    -  Building documentation...
[macros] Macros arguments: {'module_name': 'main', 'include_yaml': [], 'j2_block_start_string': '', 'j2_block_end_string': '', 'j2_variable_start_string': '', 'j2_variable_end_string': ''}

Within the browser (e.g. http://127.0.0.1:8000/info), you should see a description of the plugins environment:

If you see it that information, you should be all set.

Give a good look at the General List, since it gives you an overview of what you can do out of the box with the macros plugin.

The other parts give you more detailed information.

Configuration of the plugin

Here are all the possible arguments in the plugin section of the MkDocs' config file:

For example:

plugins:
  - search
  - macros:
      module_name: mymodule
      include_dir: include
      on_error_fail: true
      on_undefined: strict