Warning: This post contains explicit curly bracket language and may cause flashbacks to anyone who has worked with Shopify Liquid templates. Reader discretion is advised.

Imagine if HTML and a programming language had a baby, and that baby was raised by wolves who only spoke in curly brackets and had strong opinions about white space. That's Shopify Liquid in a nutshell.

This is the story of my love-hate relationship with Liquid templates, told through tears, laughter, and approximately 847 Stack Overflow searches.

Chapter 1: First Contact

My first encounter with Liquid was deceptively innocent:

{{ product.title }}

"Oh, this is easy!" I thought. "It's just templating!"

Three hours later:

{% unless customer.tags contains 'VIP' %}
  {% if product.available %}
    {% for variant in product.variants %}
      {% unless variant.inventory_quantity == 0 %}
        {% if variant.price > 0 %}
          {% assign discount = variant.compare_at_price | minus: variant.price %}
          {% if discount > 0 %}
            {% assign discount_percentage = discount | divided_by: variant.compare_at_price | times: 100 %}
            {% if discount_percentage > 10 %}
              {{ discount_percentage | round }}% OFF!
            {% endif %}
          {% endif %}
        {% endif %}
      {% endunless %}
    {% endfor %}
  {% endif %}
{% endunless %}

Me: "What have I become?"

Chapter 2: The Great Filter Expedition

Liquid filters are like that Swiss Army knife you bought thinking it would solve all your problems. Spoiler: it didn't, but now you're emotionally attached to it.

{{ product.price | money }}


{{ product.variants.first.price | divided_by: 100.0 | round: 2 | money_with_currency | remove: '.00' | replace: 'USD', '$' | append: ' (including dreams and tears)' }}

The worst part? This actually worked. I'm not proud of it, but it worked.

Chapter 3: The Loop de Loop Nightmare

Liquid loops are like that friend who never knows when to stop talking. They keep going... and going... and going...

{% for product in collections.all.products %}
  {% for variant in product.variants %}
    {% for option in variant.options %}
      {% for value in option.values %}
        {% unless value == blank %}
          {% if value contains 'size' %}
            {% for size in shop.metafields.sizes %}
              {% if size == value %}
                
                
                
              {% endif %}
            {% endfor %}
          {% endif %}
        {% endunless %}
      {% endfor %}
    {% endfor %}
  {% endfor %}
{% endfor %}

At this point, I wasn't sure if I was writing code or performing an ancient ritual.

Chapter 4: The Case of the Missing Semicolon (That Doesn't Exist)

Coming from JavaScript, I kept looking for semicolons. Liquid laughed at my semicolons.

{% assign total = product.price * quantity; %}
{% if total > 100; %}
  
{% endif; %}


{% assign total = product.price | times: quantity %}
{% if total > 100 %}
  
{% endif %}

The number of times I added semicolons where they didn't belong is embarrassing. Liquid's error messages were... not helpful.

"Liquid error: Expected end_of_string but found pipe"

Chapter 5: The Variable Scoping Surprise

Liquid variable scoping is like playing hide and seek with someone who keeps changing the rules.

{% assign global_var = 'I am global!' %}

{% for product in collections.all.products %}
  {% assign global_var = 'Now I am local?' %}
  {% assign local_var = 'I only exist in this loop' %}
{% endfor %}


{{ global_var }} 
{{ local_var }} 


{% assign sanity = sanity | minus: 10 %}

Chapter 6: The Comment Catastrophe

Even commenting in Liquid is an adventure:

{% comment %} Liquid comments don't {% endcomment %}

{% comment %}
  But if you forget to close them properly
  everything after this point becomes a comment
  including your entire product page
  and your will to live
{% endcomment %}

I once spent 2 hours debugging a blank page because I had an unclosed comment. The page was literally empty. I questioned everything.

Chapter 7: The Metafield Madness

Metafields in Liquid are like trying to access a safe inside a safe inside another safe, and all the combinations are written in ancient hieroglyphics.

{{ product.metafields.custom.description }}


{% assign description = product.metafields['custom']['description'] %}
{% if description != blank %}
  {{ description | strip_html | truncate: 160 }}
{% else %}
  {% assign fallback = product.metafields.namespace.key %}
  {% if fallback != blank %}
    {{ fallback }}
  {% else %}
    
    {{ product.description | strip_html | truncate: 160 }}
  {% endif %}
{% endif %}

Chapter 8: The Performance Paradox

Liquid performance optimization is like trying to make a marathon runner faster by giving them more shoes to choose from.

{% for product in collections.featured.products %}
  

    
{{ product.title }}
    
{{ product.description | truncate: 100 }}
    
    
    Related: {{ collections.related.products | where: 'tags', product.tags.first | size }} items
  
{% endfor %}


🐌 💨

That innocent "related items" line was doing database queries inside a loop. My Lighthouse score went from 90 to "have you tried turning it off and on again?"

Chapter 9: The Great Liquid vs JavaScript War

The eternal struggle: What to do in Liquid vs what to do in JavaScript?

{% assign cart_total = 0 %}
{% for item in cart.items %}
  {% assign line_total = item.price | times: item.quantity %}
  {% assign cart_total = cart_total | plus: line_total %}
{% endfor %}
Total: {{ cart_total | money }}

The JavaScript approach felt like coming home after being lost in a foreign country where everyone speaks in curly brackets.

Chapter 10: The Liquid Debugging Chronicles

Debugging Liquid is like being a detective, but all the clues are written in disappearing ink and the suspect keeps changing their story.

{% assign debug_mode = true %}
{% if debug_mode %}
  

    DEBUG: product = {{ product | json }}
    DEBUG: variant = {{ variant | json }}
    DEBUG: available = {{ variant.available }}
    DEBUG: price = {{ variant.price }}
    DEBUG: my sanity = {{ 'declining rapidly' }}
  
{% endif %}

The `| json` filter became my best friend. It was like having X-ray vision into Liquid's mysterious inner workings.

Chapter 11: The Liquid Filters Hall of Fame

Some Liquid filters are useful. Others are like that one drawer in your kitchen - you're not sure why they exist, but sometimes they save the day.

{{ 'HELLO WORLD' | downcase }} 
{{ 'hello world' | capitalize }} 
{{ product.price | money }} 


{{ 'Hello World' | remove: 'World' }} 
{{ 'cat dog bird' | split: ' ' | reverse | join: ', ' }} 
{{ product.created_at | date: '%B %d, %Y at %I:%M %p' }} 


{{ 'abc' | slice: 1 }} 
{{ 'abc' | slice: 1, 2 }} 
{{ 'abc' | slice: -1 }} 

Chapter 12: The Advanced Liquid Wizardry

After months of suffering, you eventually discover the dark arts of advanced Liquid:

{% render 'product-card', product: product, show_vendor: true %}


{% for block in section.blocks %}
  {% case block.type %}
    {% when 'featured_product' %}
      {% render 'featured-product-block', block: block %}
    {% when 'text' %}
      {% render 'text-block', block: block %}
    {% when 'existential_crisis' %}
      {% render 'cry-quietly', tears: 'many' %}
  {% endcase %}
{% endfor %}


{% schema %}
{
  "name": "Custom Section",
  "settings": [
    {
      "type": "text",
      "id": "heading",
      "label": "Heading",
      "default": "Why did I choose this career?"
    }
  ]
}
{% endschema %}

The Liquid Survival Guide

For those brave souls about to embark on their own Liquid journey:

1. Embrace the curly brackets - They're not going anywhere
2. The `| json` filter is your friend - Use it liberally for debugging
3. Performance matters - Loops inside loops inside loops will hurt you
4. Comments save lives - Future you will thank present you
5. When in doubt, assign to variables - It makes everything clearer
6. Read the documentation - Yes, all of it. Twice.
7. Keep JavaScript handy - Some things are just easier

The Unexpected Plot Twist

Here's the thing about Liquid: despite all my complaints, all the late-night debugging sessions, all the curly bracket induced nightmares... I actually grew to appreciate it.

Liquid taught me to think differently about templating. It forced me to be more deliberate about performance. It made me appreciate the simplicity of JavaScript (never thought I'd say that).

Most importantly, it taught me that sometimes the most frustrating technologies are the ones that push you to become a better developer.

"Liquid: It's not the templating language we deserved, but it's the one we needed. Probably. Maybe. I'm still not sure."

The Final Revelation

After years of working with Liquid across luxury brands, e-commerce platforms, and countless late-night debugging sessions, I've come to one conclusion:

Liquid isn't just a templating language. It's a character-building exercise disguised as code.

Every developer who has mastered Liquid has a story. We've all been there - staring at nested loops, questioning our life choices, wondering if there's a career in goat farming.

But we survived. We learned. We became better developers because of it.

To my fellow Liquid survivors: We are bonded by curly brackets and united in our shared trauma. When someone mentions they're learning Liquid, we share that knowing look. We remember the pain. But we also remember the triumph.

To those just starting their Liquid journey: It gets easier. The curly brackets will make sense. The filters will become second nature. The nested loops will no longer haunt your dreams.

And someday, you'll find yourself actually defending Liquid to other developers. That's when you'll know you've truly made it.

Welcome to the club. We have coffee and commiseration. {{'}} % endcomment %}**