| Partials not rendering in the template |
Incorrect path to partial files |
Check that the path in include() matches your directory structure (e.g. <%- include('partials/header') %>) |
| "Error: Cannot find module 'ejs'" when starting server |
EJS package not installed |
Run npm install ejs in your project directory |
| Data not appearing in partials |
Data not being passed to the partial |
Pass data explicitly to partials: <%- include('partials/header', { title: 'Home Page' }) %> |
| Syntax errors in EJS templates |
Incorrect EJS tag syntax |
Ensure proper syntax: <%= variable %> for escaped output, <%- include() %> for unescaped output/includes |
| Can't see changes to partials when refreshing browser |
Server caching views |
Restart the server or implement a development tool like nodemon |
| Template rendering plain text HTML tags |
Using <%= %> instead of <%- %> for HTML content |
Use <%- htmlContent %> for unescaped HTML rendering |
| Express not recognizing .ejs files |
View engine not set to EJS |
Add app.set('view engine', 'ejs') to your Express configuration |
| "ENOENT: no such file or directory" error |
Missing partial file or incorrect file path |
Verify the partial file exists and the path is correct relative to the views directory |
| Unable to pass variables to templates |
Variables not defined in the route handler |
Ensure all needed variables are included in the object passed to res.render() |
| "TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'name')" |
Not passing the user object when rendering the EJS page |
Pass the user in an object when rendering your EJS page. If the user might not be defined, use a conditional statement (e.g. <% if(user) { %> <h1>Welcome, <%= user.name %>!</h1> <% } %>) |
| Injected variables not rendering in the template |
Using <% %> instead of <%= %> |
Using <% %> will not render output. Ensure you are using escaped output tags |