`nav:collection` equivalent in Blade/Antlers syntax

[kommaRob]

Feature Request: nav:collection equivalent in Blade/Antlers syntax

Problem

In the legacy Antlers syntax, there was a very useful nav:collection tag that allowed you to treat collection entries as navigation items with automatic navigation-specific properties like is_current, is_parent, and is_external.

Old syntax (worked great):

@foreach(Statamic::tag('nav:collection:'.$collection->handle)->fetch() as $item)
    <a href="{{ $item['url'] }}" class="{{ $item['is_current'] ? 'active' : '' }}">
        {{ $item['title'] }}
    </a>
@endforeach

In the new Blade/Antlers syntax, there's no clear equivalent. You can use <s:collection> but it doesn't provide navigation-specific properties, or you can use <s:nav> but that requires creating a separate Navigation structure in the CP.

Current workaround (less elegant):

<s:collection from="my_collection" scope="entry">
    <a href="{{ $entry->url }}" class="{{ $entry->uri === $current_uri ? 'active' : '' }}">
        {{ $entry->title }}
    </a>
</s:collection>

Use Case

This is particularly useful when you want to:

• Display collection entries as navigation items
• Have automatic is_current detection without manual URL comparison
• Avoid creating redundant Navigation structures for simple collection-based menus
• Maintain DRY principles by not duplicating logic across multiple templates

Proposed Solution

Add a nav parameter or mode to the <s:collection> tag that enables navigation-specific properties:

<s:collection from="my_collection" nav="true" scope="entry">
    <a href="{{ $entry->url }}" class="{{ $is_current ? 'active' : '' }}">
        {{ $entry->title }}
    </a>
</s:collection>

Or alternatively, support <s:nav:collection> syntax similar to the old approach:

<s:nav:collection from="my_collection" scope="entry">
    <a href="{{ $url }}" class="{{ $is_current ? 'active' : '' }}">
        {{ $title }}
    </a>
</s:nav:collection>

Benefits

• Consistency: Brings back a beloved feature from legacy Antlers
• Simplicity: No need to create separate Navigation structures for simple collection-based menus
• DX improvement: Reduces boilerplate code for common navigation patterns
• Feature parity: Maintains feature parity between old and new syntax

Additional Context

The navigation-specific properties that were available in nav:collection and would be valuable in this context:

• is_current - Whether the entry URL matches the current page
• is_parent - Whether the entry is a parent of the current page
• is_external - Whether the link is external
• Proper handling of child entries for nested navigation

This feature would significantly improve the developer experience when working with collection-based navigation patterns.