This gem adds the jQuery Templates plugin and a corresponding Sprockets engine to the asset pipeline in Rails >= 3.1 applications.

Add it to your Gemfile and run bundle.

jQuery templates will be recognized by Sprockets with the .tmpl extension. Place them anywhere in the Sprockets load path.

<!-- app/assets/javascripts/templates/author.tmpl -->
<div class="author">${name}</div>

In your application's JavaScript manifest file, require the jQuery Templates plugin followed by your templates. The templates are compiled and named with their Sprockets logical path:

//= require jquery-tmpl
//= require_tree ./templates

$.tmpl("templates/author", { name: "Jimmy" }).appendTo("#author");

If the path to all of your templates have a common prefix that you prefer is not included in the template's name, you can set this option in config/application.rb:

config.jquery_templates.prefix = "templates"

That would change the previous example to this:

$.tmpl("author", { name: "Jimmy" }).appendTo("#author");

The prefix can also be a regular expression. For example, to use only the name of the file for the template name, regardless of directory structure:

config.jquery_templates.prefix = %r{([^/]*/)*}

Happy templating!

The Sprockets engine was originally derived from the sprockets-jquery-tmpl gem. If you want a similar mechanism for use outside of Rails, take a look at this project.