# Type-safe HTML templating in Zig

> Zig developer creates type-safe HTML templating library for web apps.
- Title: Type-safe HTML templating in Zig · Lukáš Lalinský | Shortify
- Summary: Zig developer creates type-safe HTML templating library for web apps. Zig developer built zt, a type-safe HTML templating library that compiles templates to…
- Keywords: zig, html, templating, dusty, zio, htm, wasm, std.io.writer, comptime, arena allocators, xss, Type-safe
- Source: Lukáš Lalinský — https://lalinsky.com/2026/10/11/type-safe-html-templating-in-zig.html
- Author: Lukáš Lalinský
- Published: 2026-10-11T00:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: zig, html, templating, zt, dusty, zio, htm, wasm, std.io.writer, comptime, arena allocators, xss
## Web development history
Lukáš Lalinský started web development in 2000 after PHP 3.0 release and used multiple approaches including PHP, Python, and Perl templates before moving to JavaScript frameworks.
## Zig adoption for web
Two years ago, Lalinský began using Zig for API backends with zio and Dusty, realizing web development is manageable with arena allocators and comptime.
## Template requirements
Lalinský needed a type-safe, fast, safe default escaping, and html-friendly templating library that didn’t require javascript.
## Ziex and Templ inspiration
Lalinský discovered Ziex for zig and Templ for go, using their approaches to build zt with type-safe html rendering.
## zt template syntax
zt templates parse to zig code, import app code, and use type-safe rendering with html escaping by default.
## Template example
The HomePage template renders user data with html escaping and conditional logic using zig’s if statements.
## Error handling
Zig compiler catches template errors like missing fields, preventing runtime template errors and xss vulnerabilities.
## Dusty integration
zt works with Dusty to render html pages directly from zig code without javascript.
## XSS protection
All inputs are html-escaped by default, with dangerous schemes checked in url attributes to prevent xss.
## Template features
zt supports reusable components, layout inheritance via @children, and control flow with zig’s if/for/switch statements.
## Open issue
Block-level control flow in templates is ambiguous, with potential for cleaner syntax using @if/@for/@switch.
## Community feedback
Lalinský welcomes feedback and issues for zt, which is still early but used by multiple developers.
## Key takeaway

Zig developer built zt, a type-safe HTML templating library that compiles templates to Zig code for secure web development without JavaScript.