Typst Syntax Reference

Critical Syntax Distinctions

Data Structures

Arrays: Use () parentheses

#let colors = (red, blue, green)
#let mixed = (1, "text", true)

Dictionaries: Use () with key-value pairs

#let config = (name: "value", count: 5)
#let palette = (primary: red, secondary: blue)

Content blocks: Use [] square brackets

#let heading = [== My Title]
#let paragraph = [This is some *bold* text]

IMPORTANT: Typst does NOT have tuples. Only arrays (with parentheses).

Function Definitions

// Basic function
#let greet(name) = [Hello, #name!]

// With default parameters
#let box-style(fill: none, stroke: 1pt) = { ... }

// With variadic arguments
#let items(..args) = {
  for item in args.pos() { ... }
}

Conditionals and Loops

// If-else
#if condition {
  [true branch]
} else {
  [false branch]
}

// For loop
#for item in array {
  [Processing #item]
}

String Interpolation

#let name = "World"
[Hello #name]  // Content context
#("Hello " + name)  // String concatenation

Common Patterns

Custom Styling Functions

#let highlight(color, body) = {
  box(fill: color.lighten(80%), inset: 3pt, body)
}

#highlight(red)[Important text]

State Management

#let counter = state("my-counter", 0)

#counter.update(x => x + 1)

#context counter.get()

Layout Helpers

// Stack (vertical by default)
#stack(
  spacing: 1em,
  [First item],
  [Second item]
)

// Grid
#grid(
  columns: (1fr, 2fr),
  rows: auto,
  gutter: 10pt,
  [Cell 1], [Cell 2]
)

// Box with styling
#box(
  fill: gray.lighten(90%),
  stroke: 1pt,
  inset: 8pt,
  radius: 4pt,
  [Content]
)

Color Manipulation

#let base = rgb("#3366ff")
#let lighter = base.lighten(40%)
#let darker = base.darken(20%)
#let transparent = base.transparentize(50%)
#let mixed = red.mix(blue, 30%)

Common Gotchas

Array access: Use .at() method, not []

#let arr = (1, 2, 3)
#arr.at(0)  // Correct
// arr[0]   // WRONG - [] is for content

Method chaining on arrays:

#items.map(x => x * 2).filter(x => x > 5).join(", ")

Context blocks: Required for accessing state

#context {
  let val = my-state.get()
  [The value is #val]
}

Assignment in code blocks: Use let, not = alone

#{
  let x = 5  // Correct
  // x = 5   // WRONG
}

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