## ✨ `.astro` Syntax
Astro comes with its own server-side, component-based templating language. Think of it as HTML enhanced with the full power of JavaScript.
Learning a new syntax can be intimidating, but the `.astro` format has been carefully designed with familiarity in mind. It borrows heavily from patterns you likely already know—components, Frontmatter, and JSX-like expressions. We're confident that this guide will help you feel comfortable writing `.astro` files in no time.
---
### The `.astro` format
If you're already familiar with **HTML or JavaScript**, you'll likely feel comfortable with `.astro` files right away.
Think of `.astro` as **component-oriented HTML**. Components are reusable, self-contained blocks of HTML and CSS that belong together.
```html
<!-- This is a valid Astro component -->
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8" />
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
<title>Document</title>
</head>
<body>
<main>
<h1>Hello world!</h1>
</main>
</body>
</html>
```
```html
<!-- This is also a valid Astro component! -->
<main>
<h1>Hello world!</h1>
</main>
```
Developers have come up with a myriad of different techniques for composing blocks of HTML over the years, but far and away the most successful has been [JSX](https://reactjs.org/docs/introducing-jsx.html).
We love JSX! In fact, `.astro` files borrow the highly-expressive expression syntax directly from JSX.
```jsx
<!-- This is an Astro component with expressions! -->
<main>
<h1>Hello {name}!</h1>
<ul>
{items.map((item) => (
<li>{item}</li>
))}
</ul>
<h2 data-hint={`Use JS template strings when you need to mix-in ${"variables"}.`}>So good!</h2>
</main>
```
`.astro` files also borrow the concept of [Frontmatter](https://jekyllrb.com/docs/front-matter/) from Markdown. Instead of introducing a new HTML-oriented `import` and `export` syntax, `.astro` just uses JavaScript.
```jsx
---
// This area is TypeScript (and therefore JavaScript)!
import MyComponent from './MyComponent.astro'
---
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>Document</title>
</head>
<body>
<MyComponent></MyComponent>
</body>
</html>
```
### Data and Props
`.astro` components can define local variables inside of the Frontmatter script. These are automatically exposed to the content below.
```jsx
---
let name = 'world';
---
<main>
<h1>Hello {name}!</h1>
</main>
```
`.astro` components can also accept props when they are rendered. Public props can be marked using the `export` keyword.
Local values are overwritten when props are passed, otherwise they are considered the default value.
```jsx
---
export let greeting = 'Hello';
export let name;
---
<main>
<h1>{greeting} {name}!</h1>
</main>
```
### Fragments
At the top-level of an `.astro` file, you may render any number of elements.
```html
<!-- Look, no Fragment! -->
<div id="a" />
<div id="b" />
<div id="c" />
```
Inside of an expression, you must wrap multiple elements in a Fragment. Fragments must open with `<>` and close with `</>`.
```jsx
<div>
{[0, 1, 2].map((id) => (
<>
<div id={`a-${id}`} />
<div id={`b-${id}`} />
<div id={`c-${id}`} />
</>
))}
</div>
```
### `.astro` versus `.jsx`
`.astro` files can end up looking very similar to `.jsx` files, but there are a few key differences. Here's a comparison between the two formats.
| Feature | Astro | JSX |
| ---------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------- |
| File extension | `.astro` | `.jsx` or `.tsx` |
| User-Defined Components | `<Capitalized>` | `<Capitalized>` |
| Expression Syntax | `{}` | `{}` |
| Spread Attributes | `{...props}` | `{...props}` |
| Boolean Attributes | `autocomplete` === `autocomplete={true}` | `autocomplete` === `autocomplete={true}` |
| Inline Functions | `{items.map(item => <li>{item}</li>)}` | `{items.map(item => <li>{item}</li>)}` |
| IDE Support | WIP - [VS Code][code-ext] | Phenomenal |
| Requires JS import | No | Yes, `jsxPragma` (`React` or `h`) must be in scope |
| Fragments | Automatic top-level, `<>` inside functions | Wrap with `<Fragment>` or `<>` |
| Multiple frameworks per-file | Yes | No |
| Modifying `<head>` | Just use `<head>` | Per-framework (`<Head>`, `<svelte:head>`, etc) |
| Comment Style | `<!-- HTML -->` | `{/* JavaScript */}` |
| Special Characters | ` ` | `{'\xa0'}` or `{String.fromCharCode(160)}` |
| Attributes | `dash-case` | `camelCase` |
### URL resolution
It’s important to note that Astro **won’t** transform HTML references for you. For example, consider an `<img>` tag with a relative `src` attribute inside `src/pages/about.astro`:
```html
<!-- ❌ Incorrect: will try and load `/about/thumbnail.png` -->
<img src="./thumbnail.png" />
```
Since `src/pages/about.astro` will build to `/about/index.html`, you may not have expected that image to live at `/about/thumbnail.png`. So to fix this, choose either of two options:
#### Option 1: Absolute URLs
```html
<!-- ✅ Correct: references public/thumbnail.png -->
<img src="/thumbnail.png" />
```
The recommended approach is to place files within `public/*`. This references a file it `public/thumbnail.png`, which will resolve to `/thumbnail.png` at the final build (since `public/` ends up at `/`).
#### Option 2: Asset import references
```jsx
---
// ✅ Correct: references src/thumbnail.png
import thumbnailSrc from './thumbnail.png';
---
<img src={thumbnailSrc} />
```
If you’d prefer to organize assets alongside Astro components, you may import the file in JavaScript inside the component script. This works as intended but this makes `thumbnail.png` harder to reference in other parts of your app, as its final URL isn’t easily-predictable (unlike assets in `public/*`, where the final URL is guaranteed to never change).
### TODO: Composition (Slots)
[code-ext]: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=astro-build.astro-vscode