MessageFormat 2 Syntax Guide

This guide is not a full tutorial, but a quick reference for the MessageFormat 2 (MF2) syntax patterns you'll use most often with Kanjou.

Simple Messages

Variables are prefixed with a $ and wrapped in curly braces.

{Hello, {$name}!}

Variable Input and Formatting (.input)

You can declare inputs explicitly to enforce types and apply formatters (like :number).

.input {$count :number}
{{You have {$count} unread messages.}}

Local Variables (.local)

Use .local to compute or format a value once and reuse it in your message.

.local $greeting = {Hello}
{{{$greeting}, {$name}! {$greeting} to you too!}}

Selectors and Plurals (.match)

MF2 uses the .match keyword for powerful conditional branching, replacing the messy nested structures of older formats.

.input {$count :number}
.match $count
1 {{You have exactly one item in your cart.}}
one {{You have {$count} item in your cart.}}
* {{You have {$count} items in your cart.}}

You can match on exact numerical values (like 1), on plural categories (like one, few, many), or on a fallback catch-all * (which represents the other category).

Markup and Components

MF2 supports markup syntax which Kanjou leverages for rich text and React component embedding.

{Please click {#link}here{/link} to continue.}

In your React code, you can use KanjouRich (provided that link is configured globally in your KanjouProvider):

<KanjouRich id="auth.login_prompt" />

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For complete details on the syntax and advanced capabilities, refer to the official MessageFormat 2 specification.