Using Liquid Logic in ShipStation Templates

A variable is a named placeholder like an order number, a recipient's name, or a ship date. With Liquid logic instead of typing that information manually, you reference the variable and Liquid fills it in automatically when the packing slip is generated. If you're used to ShipStation's Field Replacements like [Order Number], variables work the same way, Liquid just gives you more flexibility.

Variables in Liquid are wrapped in double curly braces: {{ variable_name }}. For example, {{ order_number }} might output 1042, and {{ recipient.name }} might output Jane Smith — depending on the order the packing slip is being printed for.

You can also pass a variable through a filter to transform it before it's displayed. For example {{ ship_date | date: "%B %d, %Y" }} takes the raw ship date value and formats it as April 09, 2026.

The following variables can be used when customizing your packing slips:

Order Variables

Shipment Variables

Recipient Variables

Store Variables

Item Variables

{% for item in items %%}
    <tr>
        <td>{{ item.sku }}</td>
        <td>{{ item.name }}</td>
        <td>{{ item.quantity }}</td>
        <td>{{ item.price }}</td>
    </tr>
{% endfor %}    

{% if gift_message != blank %}
    <p><strong>Gift message:</strong> {{gift_message}}</p>
{% endif %} 

{% if gift message !=blank %}
    <p>Your package ships via USPS. Delivery typically takes 2-3 business days.

{{ ship_date | date: "%B %d, %Y" }}

Tags are the logic layer of Liquid and will not appear in the printed output. Tags are instructions for Liquid and control what your template does. Use them to make decisions, repeat content, or store values.

Tags are wrapped in curly braces with percent signs, and most tags have an opening and a closing version. The content between the opening and closing tag is what gets acted on.

For example you can create a tag to only show a gift message if one has been added to the order.

{% if gift_message != blank %}  
<{{ gift_message }}>
{% endif %}

The tables below include all available Tags that can be used when customizing your packing slips.

Control Flow Tags:

Use these to show or hide content based on conditions, for example, displaying a gift message only when one exists, or changing the copy depending on which carrier was used.

Iteration Tags:

Use these to loop through a list of items. Everything inside the loop repeats once per item.

Variable Tags:

Use these to store and reuse values within your template. These tags are useful for building strings or repeated content.

Filters let you transform a value before it's displayed. Filters are great for keeping your output clean and consistent without needing to manually format data in ShipStation. They're added to a variable using a pipe character (|) and can be chained together to apply multiple transformations at once.

For example {{ item.name | upcase | truncate: 30 }} takes the item name, converts it to uppercase and, if applicable, shortens it to 30 characters. The original value in your order isn't changed, Filters only affect how the value is displayed on the packing slip.

The tables below include all available Filters that can be used when customizing your packing slips.

String Filters:

Use these to clean up, format, or transform text values before they're printed.

Number Filters:

Use these to do numeric calculations like line item totals or price formatting.

Data Filters:

Use these to format date values into a readable format.

Array Filters:

Use these when working with lists; array filters let you sort, count, extract specific fields, or deduplicate values.

Default Filter:

Use this if you need to have fallback information to replace an empty variable instead of leaving a blank space.

Packing slip templates can generate QR codes directly from your order data - no external services or image files required. This is useful for scannable order numbers, tracking references, or links back to an order page.

Use the {% qr %} tag to render a QR code. Whatever you put between {% qr %} and {% endqr %} becomes the data encoded in the QR code.

Simple Example:

  {% qr %}Hello World{% endqr %}

With a Variable (most common use case):

This renders a QR code containing the order number. When someone scans it with a phone camera, they'll see the order number text.

  {% qr %}{{ order_number }}{% endqr %}

Custom Size:

By default QR codes render at 150×150 pixels. You can change this:

{% qr width: 200, height: 200 %}{{ order_number }}{% endqr %}