Registry / web-framework / documenttemplate

documenttemplate

library5.3pypypi✓ verified 86d ago

DocumentTemplate is a Python library implementing the Document Templating Markup Language (DTML), originally developed for the Zope application server. It allows for dynamic generation of HTML, XML, or other text documents using a tag-based templating system. The current version is 5.3, with releases typically tied to bug fixes or Python version compatibility updates.

web-framework serialization

pip install documenttemplate

github ↗package ↗docs ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · DOCUMENTTEMPLATE

documenttemplate

web-frameworkpythonv5.3

Install

6.0s avg

Import

653ms

Disk

51MB

Pass rate

5/ 10

Env Coverage5 / 10

glibc

3.9–3.13

musl

3.9–3.13

Install & Compatibility

Where this runs

tested against v5.3 · pip install

no network on importno background threads

Install × environment matrix

Each cell = how many times install + import succeeded across repeated harness runs. Partial = flaky.
glibc = Debian/Ubuntu slim · musl = Alpine Linux

musl

py 3.10–3.910 runs

build_error

glibc

py 3.10–3.910 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 6.0s · import 0.653s · 46MB

51MB installed

● package 51MB

Code

Verified usage

Verified import paths — ran on the pinned version, not inferred.

HTML

✓ from DocumentTemplate import HTML

✗ from DocumentTemplate.document import HTML

While 'from DocumentTemplate.document import HTML' is technically correct for the class's module, 'from DocumentTemplate import HTML' is the public and simpler way to access the HTML template class, as it's re-exported at the package root.

DTMLFile

✓ from DocumentTemplate import DTMLFile

Used for loading templates from files rather than strings.

This quickstart demonstrates how to define a DTML template string, prepare a context dictionary, and render the template using the `HTML` class. It includes examples of variable substitution, conditional logic (`dtml-if`), and accessing nested context data like environment variables.

from DocumentTemplate import HTML import os template_source = """ <h1>Hello <dtml-var name="user_name">!</h1> <p>Your lucky number is <dtml-var name="lucky_number">.</p> <dtml-if expr="lucky_number > 5"> <p>That's a big number!</p> <dtml-else> <p>That's a small number.</p> </dtml-if> <p>Using environment: <dtml-var expr="request.environ.get('TEST_ENV_VAR', 'N/A')"></p> """ # Prepare context dictionary context = { 'user_name': 'Registry User', 'lucky_number': 7, 'request': { 'environ': { 'TEST_ENV_VAR': os.environ.get('TEST_ENV_VAR', 'DEFAULT_TEST_VALUE') } } } # Create template instance template = HTML(template_source) # Render the template rendered_output = template.render(**context) print(rendered_output)

Debug

Known issues

breakingThe primary rendering method for templates changed from direct invocation (`template(**context)`) to an explicit `render()` method (`template.render(**context)`). Additionally, all arguments to `render`, `eval`, and `manage_edit` are now keyword-only.

fix

Update your code to call `template.render(**context)` instead of `template(**context)`. Ensure all arguments are passed as keywords.

affects: 5.0.0 and newer

breakingSupport for Python versions older than 3.10 was dropped. This includes Python 2.7, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, and 3.9.

fix

Upgrade your Python environment to Python 3.10 or a newer compatible version (e.g., 3.11, 3.12).

affects: 5.0.0 and newer

deprecatedThe `DT_` prefix for environment variables used to configure DocumentTemplate was removed. Environment variables are now expected without this prefix (e.g., `CACHE_SIZE` instead of `DT_CACHE_SIZE`).

fix

Update any environment variables used for DocumentTemplate configuration by removing the `DT_` prefix.

affects: 5.0.0 and newer

gotchaDTML syntax is unique and differs significantly from more modern templating languages like Jinja2, Django Templates, or Mako. It uses `dtml-` prefixed tags and a specific expression syntax, which can lead to confusion if familiar with other systems.

fix

Always refer to the official DocumentTemplate documentation or Zope DTML references for correct syntax and features. Avoid assuming similarities with other templating engines.

affects: All versions

Errors

Common errors & fixes

TypeError: 'HTML' object is not callable

Attempting to render a template by calling the instance directly (e.g., `template(context)`), which was the method in versions prior to 5.0.

fix

For DocumentTemplate 5.0+, use the `render()` method: `template.render(**context)`.

dtml-var: name '...' not found

The variable specified in a `dtml-var` tag (e.g., `name="my_var"`) does not exist in the context dictionary provided to the template.

fix

Ensure that your context dictionary includes a key matching the variable name. For nested access (e.g., `request.user.name`), verify all intermediate keys exist in the context.

ValueError: Missing closing tag for dtml-if (or other dtml- block tag)

A block-level DTML tag, such as `dtml-if`, `dtml-in`, or `dtml-unless`, was opened but not properly closed with its corresponding `dtml-endif`, `dtml-endin`, or `dtml-endunless` tag.

fix

Review your template source to ensure all block-level DTML tags have their matching closing tags. Pay close attention to spelling and capitalization.

Upgrade

Version history

5.3latest on PyPI · released Feb 25, 2026

Audit

Dependencies

pythonrequiredRequires Python 3.10 or newer.

Agent activity

8 hits · last 30 days

node

Amazon

Resources

githubhttps://github.com/zopefoundation/DocumentTemplate ↗

packagehttps://pypi.org/project/documenttemplate/ ↗

docshttps://zope.readthedocs.io/en/latest/zopebook/index.html ↗