What is the best way to pass pipeline parameters to Quarto, that could be accessed by the QMD and Python ?

[savindi-auror]

What I want to do:

I am building some reports using a pipeline with different parameters. I want to print these parameters inside the LaTeX, QMD file, and also access them within the Python blocks.

My method so far:

1. Passed in the parameters as (in bash script):

   quarto render main.qmd -P "xyz=${XYZ}"

2. In the main.qmd, at the top I have:

   #| tags: [parameters]
   #| echo: false
   
   xyz = None
   

3. I could use it in a code block (and use for further processing) like:

   #| echo: false
   #| output: asis
   print(xyz)
   

4. I could use it within the QMD/LaTeX like:
   {python} xyz

What I want to know?

1. Is this the way to do it?
2. Is there a way that this could be accessed like {{< param xyz >}} within the QMD/LaTeX rather than using Python inline? (Asking this as a stylistic preference because I like to keep the code snippets in Mono fonts, but if I do that, this information, which is supposed to be normal body text, would also be formatted with mono as they are Python inline snippets.)

[mcanouil]

1. Yes, that's what is documented.
2. No, because parameters are dedicated to computation as opposed to metadata. Note that nothing blocks you from adding markdown formatting to your inline code.

I suggest to see the other discussions labelled with "parameters".

[savindi-auror]

Thank you

[cderv]

Is there a way that this could be accessed like {{< param xyz >}} within the QMD/LaTeX rather than using Python inline?

For this part, the way would be to expose the parameter you want as metadata block so that you can use the {{< meta ... >}} shortcode.

See an example for R inside : https://quarto-dev.github.io/quarto-r/articles/dynamic-metadata.html

Idea is that you will need to produce a YAML metadata block

---
title: "Test"
format: html
keep-md: true
---

Some content in the doc

```{python}
xyz = 3
```

Another part

```{python}
#| echo: false
#| output: asis
from IPython.display import Markdown
display(Markdown("---"))
display(Markdown(f"xyz: {xyz}"))
display(Markdown("---"))
```

the value of `xyz` is {{< meta xyz >}}

We don't have yet helpers tool with some wrappers in it, but you can already leverage this.