The Entity Object and Entity-Driven Pages

The entity object is the page’s primary content record: the article, blog post, form, folder, or other type that this URL is about. It is one of the reserved root-scope variables, always set on every page (with request, site, and the rest). Templates cannot assign a different value to the name entity.

You do not need {% if entity is_valid %} (or a similar guard) before {{ entity }}, {{ entity.title }}, {{ entity.has_url }}, or other root entity properties. Root entity is always valid, so that test is always true and the guard is dead code. Output them directly. Use object_type when you need to branch on what kind of entity the page is.

You do need a guard on other variables, including a copy of entity passed into a partial under another name. For example {% include '/sections/item_content.liquid' item:entity %} and then, in that section, {% if item.is_valid %} … {% endif %}. Optional fields on entity still need is_valid or default; that is a check on the field, not on entity itself.

You can output entity properties, use them in filters and methods, and pass entity into included templates. For shared properties, {{ entities }}, and {% entities %}, see Entity under Content. For branching on type, see the linked example. Common Template Patterns covers the page-vs-partial guard pattern.

{%- if entity.object_type == 'tag' -%}
	I am a tag
{%- elsif entity.object_type == 'author' -%}
	I am an author
{%- elsif entity.object_type == 'folder' -%}
	I am a folder
{%- else -%}
	What am I?
{%- endif -%}