Is it meant to be possible to include blocks in partials? #4230

alecgregory · 2026-02-28T22:23:57Z

alecgregory
Feb 28, 2026

I have a site header partial, which I think it quite common. It looks like this:

<header>
  <div class="nav-container">
    <nav class="header-nav">
      <a href="shop.html" class="shop-link">Shop</a>
      <a href="gallery.html">Gallery</a>
      <a href="/exhibitions">Exhibitions</a>
    </nav>
    {% block cartnav %}
    <nav class="cart-nav">
      <a href="cart.html">Cart (<span class="cart-item-count"></span>)</a>
    </nav>
    {% endblock %}
  </div>
</header>

I include it in my base.html layout like this:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8" />
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
  <title>{{ title }}</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/styles.css">
</head>

<body>

  {% include "partials/site-header.html" %}

  <main>{% block content %}{% endblock %}</main>

  {% include "partials/site-footer.html" %}
  {% for script in scripts %}
  <script src="{{ script.src }}" type="module"></script>
  {% endfor %}
</body>

</html>

On every page except one, I will be displaying the cartnav block, which is defined in the site-header.html partial. But there doesn't seem to be a way to communicate with the block if it's in the partial.

I tried the following:

{% extends "layouts/base.html" %}

{% block cartnav %}
{% endblock %}

But the cartnav block still shows with its default content.

If I get rid of the site-header.html partial and place the <header> html directly into base.html then I am able to clear the block using the approach above:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8" />
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
  <title>{{ title }}</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/styles.css">
</head>

<body>

  <header>
    <div class="nav-container">
      <nav class="header-nav">
        <a href="shop.html" class="shop-link">Shop</a>
        <a href="gallery.html">Gallery</a>
        <a href="/exhibitions">Exhibitions</a>
      </nav>
      {% block cartnav %}
      <nav class="cart-nav">
        <a href="cart.html">Cart (<span class="cart-item-count"></span>)</a>
      </nav>
      {% endblock %}
    </div>
  </header>

  <main>{% block content %}{% endblock %}</main>

  {% include "partials/site-footer.html" %}
  {% for script in scripts %}
  <script src="{{ script.src }}" type="module"></script>
  {% endfor %}
</body>

</html>

Am I missing something? Or do blocks just not work in partials? Thanks!

Answered by lowfatprophet

Mar 2, 2026

I have also encountered this problem. According to Nunjucks' template inheritance blocks are only supported in templates that extend an ancestor and lack support for your use case of using them in partials.

Maybe, a workaround could be to replace the block with a conditional that checks for the current page's url or to set a flag in your frontmatter? That could look like this:

<header>
  <div class="nav-container">
    <nav class="header-nav">
      <a href="shop.html" class="shop-link">Shop</a>
      <a href="gallery.html">Gallery</a>
      <a href="/exhibitions">Exhibitions</a>
    </nav>
    {% if page.url == "/the/page/url" or includeCartNav %}
    {# with `includeCartNav` being set i…

View full answer

lowfatprophet · 2026-03-02T10:13:10Z

lowfatprophet
Mar 2, 2026

I have also encountered this problem. According to Nunjucks' template inheritance blocks are only supported in templates that extend an ancestor and lack support for your use case of using them in partials.

Maybe, a workaround could be to replace the block with a conditional that checks for the current page's url or to set a flag in your frontmatter? That could look like this:

<header>
  <div class="nav-container">
    <nav class="header-nav">
      <a href="shop.html" class="shop-link">Shop</a>
      <a href="gallery.html">Gallery</a>
      <a href="/exhibitions">Exhibitions</a>
    </nav>
    {% if page.url == "/the/page/url" or includeCartNav %}
    {# with `includeCartNav` being set in the page's frontmatter #}
    <nav class="cart-nav">
      <a href="cart.html">Cart (<span class="cart-item-count"></span>)</a>
    </nav>
    {% endif %}
  </div>
</header>

I hope that helps and let me know if you found a solution!

1 reply

alecgregory Mar 2, 2026
Author

Thank you, an if works great for my use case.

And thanks for the info about inheritance!

Ryuno-Ki · 2026-03-02T13:40:25Z

Ryuno-Ki
Mar 2, 2026

I think I „solved” this by putting a   into the inherited template inside the block so there is something that actually overrides the block. Would need to sit in front of my laptop to check for sure.

1 reply

alecgregory Mar 2, 2026
Author

Thanks for the suggestion, unfortunately this didn't work for me.

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