> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/github/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Liquid helpers in GitHub Docs

> Reference for all custom Liquid tags available in GitHub Docs content files, including data, versioning, octicons, tool switchers, and platform switchers.

GitHub Docs extends the standard [Liquid](https://shopify.github.io/liquid/) templating language with a set of custom tags. These tags are processed server-side before Markdown rendering and power versioning, reusable content, icon rendering, and UI interactions like tool and platform switchers.

## `{% data %}` — variables and reusables

The `{% data %}` tag inserts content from files in the `data/` directory. It is the primary mechanism for both variable substitution and reusable content inclusion.

```liquid theme={null}
{% data variables.product.prodname_actions %}
{% data reusables.repositories.navigate-to-repo %}
```

See [Reusables and variables](/content/reusables-and-variables) for the full reference.

## `{% ifversion %}` — version conditionals

The `{% ifversion %}` tag conditionally renders content based on the product version the reader is currently viewing. It supports `{% elsif %}`, `{% else %}`, and must be closed with `{% endif %}`.

### Syntax

```liquid theme={null}
{% ifversion VERSION_EXPRESSION %}
Content for matching versions.
{% elsif OTHER_EXPRESSION %}
Content for these versions instead.
{% else %}
Content for all other versions.
{% endif %}
```

### Version identifiers

| Identifier | Product                      |
| ---------- | ---------------------------- |
| `fpt`      | GitHub.com (free, pro, team) |
| `ghes`     | GitHub Enterprise Server     |
| `ghec`     | GitHub Enterprise Cloud      |

### Combining conditions

```liquid theme={null}
{% ifversion fpt or ghec %}
This appears on GitHub.com and GitHub Enterprise Cloud.
{% endif %}
```

```liquid theme={null}
{% ifversion ghes >= 3.6 %}
This appears on GitHub Enterprise Server 3.6 and later.
{% endif %}
```

```liquid theme={null}
{% ifversion ghes < 3.10 %}
This appears on older GitHub Enterprise Server releases.
{% endif %}
```

### Real-world example

From `content/account-and-profile/concepts/account-management.md`:

```liquid theme={null}
{% ifversion ghes < 3.21 %}
## About converting your personal account

Converting a personal account into an organization allows you to move to a
shared account where a large number of people can collaborate.

{% else %}

## About moving your work to an organization

You can move repositories and projects from your personal account to an
organization while keeping your personal account intact.

{% endif %}
```

## `{% octicon %}` — inline icons

The `{% octicon %}` tag renders an [Octicon](https://primer.style/foundations/icons/) inline within the text. This is used to reference the same icons that appear in the GitHub UI, so documentation can match what readers see on screen.

### Syntax

```liquid theme={null}
{% octicon "ICON-NAME" aria-label="ACCESSIBLE LABEL" %}
{% octicon "ICON-NAME" aria-hidden="true" aria-label="LABEL" %}
```

### Examples

```liquid theme={null}
Click {% octicon "mark-github" aria-label="The github octocat logo" %} in the upper-left corner.

Select {% octicon "three-bars" aria-label="Open global navigation menu" %} at the top left of any page.

Click {% octicon "kebab-horizontal" aria-label="Show workflow options" %} to open the dropdown.

Use {% octicon "filter" aria-hidden="true" aria-label="filter" %} **Filter** to narrow results.
```

<Note>
  Always provide either `aria-label` or both `aria-hidden="true"` and `aria-label`. Octicons used purely for decoration should use `aria-hidden="true"` so screen readers skip them.
</Note>

## Tool switcher tags

Tool tags display content selectively based on which tool the reader has selected. The reader can switch between tools using tabs that appear above the first tool-tagged section on the page.

### Available tool tags

| Tag                                        | Tool                     |
| ------------------------------------------ | ------------------------ |
| `{% webui %}` / `{% endwebui %}`           | GitHub.com web interface |
| `{% cli %}` / `{% endcli %}`               | GitHub CLI (`gh`)        |
| `{% desktop %}` / `{% enddesktop %}`       | GitHub Desktop           |
| `{% curl %}` / `{% endcurl %}`             | cURL (REST API calls)    |
| `{% codespaces %}` / `{% endcodespaces %}` | GitHub Codespaces        |
| `{% vscode %}` / `{% endvscode %}`         | Visual Studio Code       |
| `{% graphql %}` / `{% endgraphql %}`       | GraphQL API              |
| `{% powershell %}` / `{% endpowershell %}` | PowerShell               |
| `{% bash %}` / `{% endbash %}`             | Bash                     |
| `{% javascript %}` / `{% endjavascript %}` | JavaScript               |

### Example

From `content/actions/how-tos/manage-workflow-runs/disable-and-enable-workflows.md`:

```liquid theme={null}
## Disabling a workflow

{% webui %}

{% data reusables.repositories.navigate-to-repo %}
{% data reusables.repositories.actions-tab %}
1. In the left sidebar, click the workflow you want to disable.
1. Click {% octicon "kebab-horizontal" aria-label="Show workflow options" %} and click **Disable workflow**.

{% endwebui %}

{% cli %}

To disable a workflow, use the `workflow disable` subcommand.

    gh workflow disable WORKFLOW

{% endcli %}
```

### Setting the default tool

By default the web UI tab is selected. To change the initial tool selection for a page, set `defaultTool` in the frontmatter:

```yaml theme={null}
defaultTool: cli
```

The reader's last explicit selection takes precedence over `defaultTool` for the rest of their session.

## Platform switcher tags

Platform tags display content selectively based on the reader's operating system. GitHub Docs detects the reader's OS and selects the matching platform tab automatically.

### Available platform tags

| Tag                                  | Platform |
| ------------------------------------ | -------- |
| `{% mac %}` / `{% endmac %}`         | macOS    |
| `{% windows %}` / `{% endwindows %}` | Windows  |
| `{% linux %}` / `{% endlinux %}`     | Linux    |

### Example

From `content/actions/how-tos/manage-runners/larger-runners/use-larger-runners.md`:

```liquid theme={null}
{% linux %}

{% data reusables.actions.run-jobs-larger-runners %}

{% endlinux %}

{% windows %}

{% data reusables.actions.run-jobs-larger-runners %}

{% endwindows %}

{% mac %}

To run jobs on macOS larger runners, update the `runs-on` key in your
workflow YAML to use one of the GitHub-defined labels for macOS runners.

{% endmac %}
```

### Setting the default platform

If the reader's OS is not the right default for a given page (for example, a page about GitHub Actions runners where Linux is almost always the relevant platform), override it with `defaultPlatform`:

```yaml theme={null}
defaultPlatform: linux
```

## Callout tags

Callouts render styled alert boxes in the published page. The GitHub Docs source uses Liquid-style callout tags; these map to styled blockquotes in the rendered output.

<Note>
  Modern GitHub Docs articles use the GFM alert syntax (`> [!NOTE]`, `> [!WARNING]`, `> [!TIP]`) as an alternative to Liquid callout tags. Both syntaxes are supported.
</Note>

### Note

```liquid theme={null}
{% note %}

**Note:** Scheduled workflows only run on the default branch.

{% endnote %}
```

Equivalent GFM syntax:

```markdown theme={null}
> [!NOTE]
> Scheduled workflows only run on the default branch.
```

### Warning

```liquid theme={null}
{% warning %}

**Warning:** Deleting a repository is permanent and cannot be undone.

{% endwarning %}
```

Equivalent GFM syntax:

```markdown theme={null}
> [!WARNING]
> Deleting a repository is permanent and cannot be undone.
```

### Tip

```liquid theme={null}
{% tip %}

**Tip:** You can use `gh repo clone` to clone a repository using the GitHub CLI.

{% endtip %}
```

## Whitespace control

Liquid tags introduce newlines into the rendered output. Inside Markdown lists and tables, extra blank lines break the list or table structure. Use a hyphen immediately inside the tag delimiters to strip the adjacent whitespace.

| Syntax        | Effect                               |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------ |
| `{%- tag %}`  | Strip whitespace **before** the tag. |
| `{% tag -%}`  | Strip whitespace **after** the tag.  |
| `{%- tag -%}` | Strip whitespace on **both sides**.  |

### Example: versioning a list item

```liquid theme={null}
1. Clone the repository.
{%- ifversion ghes %}
1. Configure your enterprise hostname.
{%- endif %}
1. Open a pull request.
```

Without `{%-`, a blank line appears before "Configure your enterprise hostname," which breaks the ordered list numbering.

### Example: versioning a table row

```markdown theme={null}
| Feature | Status |
|---|---|
| Code scanning | Available |
{%- ifversion ghes >= 3.5 %}
| Secret scanning | Available |
{%- endif %}
| Dependabot alerts | Available |
```

## `indented_data_reference`

When a reusable needs to appear inside an ordered list, use `indented_data_reference` instead of `{% data %}` so the list indentation is preserved:

```markdown theme={null}
1. Navigate to your repository.
{% indented_data_reference reusables.repositories.actions-tab spaces=3 %}
1. Select the workflow.
```

The `spaces` argument specifies how many spaces to prepend to each line of the reusable content.