YAML Front Matter

YAML Front Matter

YAML front matter configures document metadata, format options, and execution settings. It's located at the top of a document and is enclosed by ---.

Basic Document YAML

title: "Document Title"
author: "Author Name"
date: today
format: html

Title Block

Basic Metadata

title: "My Document"
subtitle: "A Subtitle"
author: "Jane Doe"
date: 2024-01-15

Date Options

date: 2024-01-15           # Specific date
date: today                 # Current date
date: now                   # Current date and time
date: last-modified         # File modification date

Date Formatting

date: today
date-format: "MMMM D, YYYY"  # January 15, 2024
date-format: "D/M/YYYY"      # 15/1/2024
date-format: iso             # 2024-01-15
date-format: long            # January 15, 2024
date-format: short           # 1/15/24

Author Metadata

Single Author

author: "Jane Doe"

Detailed Author

author:
  name: "Jane Doe"
  email: jane@example.com
  url: https://janedoe.com
  orcid: 0000-0000-0000-0000

Multiple Authors

author:
  - name: "Jane Doe"
    email: jane@example.com
    affiliations:
      - name: "University A"
        department: "Statistics"
  - name: "John Smith"
    affiliations:
      - name: "University B"

Affiliations

author:
  - name: "Jane Doe"
    affiliations:
      - id: univ-a
        name: "University A"
        city: "Boston"
        state: "MA"
        country: "USA"

Abstract and Keywords

title: "Research Paper"
abstract: |
  This is the abstract.
  It can span multiple lines.
keywords:
  - data science
  - statistics
  - machine learning

Format Configuration

Single Format

format: html

Format with Options

format:
  html:
    toc: true
    code-fold: true
    theme: cosmo

Multiple Formats

format:
  html:
    toc: true
  pdf:
    documentclass: article
  docx: default

HTML Format Options

format:
  html:
    toc: true
    toc-depth: 3
    toc-location: left
    toc-title: "Contents"
    number-sections: true
    code-fold: true
    code-tools: true
    code-line-numbers: true
    theme: cosmo
    css: custom.css
    fontsize: 1.1em
    linestretch: 1.5
    mainfont: "Georgia"

Themes

format:
  html:
    theme: cosmo          # Bootstrap theme
    theme:                # Custom theme
      light: cosmo
      dark: darkly
    theme: custom.scss    # Custom SCSS

Built-in themes: default, cerulean, cosmo, cyborg, darkly, flatly, journal, litera, lumen, lux, materia, minty, morph, pulse, quartz, sandstone, simplex, sketchy, slate, solar, spacelab, superhero, united, vapor, yeti, zephyr.

PDF Format Options

format:
  pdf:
    documentclass: article
    papersize: a4
    fontsize: 11pt
    geometry:
      - margin=1in
    toc: true
    number-sections: true
    colorlinks: true
    mainfont: "Times New Roman"
    monofont: "Fira Code"

LaTeX Options

format:
  pdf:
    include-in-header:
      - text: |
          \usepackage{custom}
    include-before-body:
      - file: before.tex
    keep-tex: true

Word (DOCX) Options

format:
  docx:
    toc: true
    number-sections: true
    reference-doc: template.docx
    highlight-style: github

RevealJS Options

format:
  revealjs:
    theme: dark
    transition: slide
    slide-number: true
    chalkboard: true
    controls: true
    progress: true

Execution Options

execute:
  echo: true # Show code
  eval: true # Run code
  warning: false # Hide warnings
  message: false # Hide messages
  error: false # Stop on error
  cache: true # Cache results
  freeze: auto # Freeze outputs

Per-Format Execution

format:
  html:
    execute:
      echo: true
  pdf:
    execute:
      echo: false

Bibliography

bibliography: references.bib
csl: apa.csl
link-citations: true
citation-location: margin

Cross-References

crossref:
  fig-title: "Figure"
  tbl-title: "Table"
  eq-prefix: "Equation"
  chapters: true

Language and Localization

lang: en-US

lang: de
crossref:
  fig-title: "Abbildung"
  tbl-title: "Tabelle"

Table of Contents

toc: true
toc-depth: 3
toc-title: "Table of Contents"
toc-location: left # HTML only

Numbering

number-sections: true
number-depth: 3
number-offset: [0, 0] # Start from specific number

Code Highlighting

highlight-style: github
highlight-style: monokai
highlight-style:
  light: github
  dark: monokai

Project Configuration

In _quarto.yml:

project:
  type: website
  output-dir: _site

website:
  title: "My Site"
  navbar:
    left:
      - href: index.qmd
        text: Home
      - href: about.qmd
        text: About
  sidebar:
    style: floating
    contents: auto

format:
  html:
    theme: cosmo
    toc: true

Project Types

project:
  type: website    # Website
  type: book       # Book
  type: default    # Default (single files)
  type: manuscript # Academic manuscript

Book Configuration

project:
  type: book

book:
  title: "My Book"
  author: "Jane Doe"
  date: today
  chapters:
    - index.qmd
    - intro.qmd
    - part: "Part I"
      chapters:
        - chapter1.qmd
        - chapter2.qmd
    - summary.qmd
  appendices:
    - appendix.qmd

Parameters

params:
  data_file: "data.csv"
  threshold: 0.5
  show_advanced: true

Use in document:

```{r}
#| label: read-data

data <- read.csv(params$data_file)
```

Include Files

include-in-header:
  - text: |
      <script src="custom.js"></script>
  - file: header.html

include-before-body:
  - file: before.html

include-after-body:
  - file: footer.html

Metadata Files

metadata-files:
  - _metadata.yml

Shared settings in _metadata.yml:

author: "Jane Doe"
format:
  html:
    theme: cosmo

Resources

• Quarto Document Options
• PDF Options
• Project Configuration