Handlebars Detector

How can you detect if a website uses Handlebars?

Detecting the usage of Handlebars on a website involves checking for specific indicators that are characteristic of Handlebars templating.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do it:

1. Open the Page Source: Right-click on the webpage and select “View Page Source” or press Ctrl+U (Windows) or Cmd+Option+U (Mac) to open the page’s source code.
2. Search for Handlebars Template Indication: Use Ctrl+F (Windows) or Cmd+F (Mac) to open the search function and look for the following keywords:
   • x-handlebars-template: If you find a tag like <script id="templateId" type="x-handlebars-template">, it indicates that Handlebars is being used for templating.
3. Check for Handlebars Library: Look for the inclusion of the Handlebars library in the source code. Search for the following line that indicates the library is loaded:
   • <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/handlebars.js/<version>/handlebars.min.js"></script>, where <version> is the specific version of Handlebars used.
4. Look for Handlebars Syntax: Search for Handlebars-specific syntax in the source code. Look for occurrences of:
   • {{variableName}}: This is how Handlebars outputs variables.
   • {{#if condition}}: This is the syntax used for conditional statements.
   • {{#each items}}: This syntax indicates iteration over an array.
5. Check for Template Helpers: Look for JavaScript code that defines helpers using the Handlebars.registerHelper function. This could look like:
   • Handlebars.registerHelper('helperName', function(arg) { ... });
6. Examine the Network Tab: Open the browser’s developer tools and navigate to the Network tab. Reload the page and look for any files (e.g., `.handlebars`, `.hbs`, or `.js`) that may contain Handlebars templates.
7. Inspect Inline Scripts: Examine any inline <script> tags that may contain template definitions using Handlebars syntax.