Render Pattern Reaches Into Nested Project

A project.render pattern names files inside a nested project; they render with this project’s config.

Q-5-32 — Render Pattern Reaches Into Nested Project

A project.render pattern names files inside a nested project (a subdirectory with its own _quarto.yml). They render as part of this project, with this project’s config.

What this means

A subdirectory with its own _quarto.yml (or _quarto.yaml) is a nested project. Implicit patterns skip it (see Q-5-31). A pattern that names the nested directory is explicit, though, so its matches still render in the outer project:

project:
  render:
    - index.qmd
    - sub/page.qmd     # sub/ has its own _quarto.yml

Here sub/page.qmd renders into the outer site with the outer project’s chrome and metadata. The nested sub/_quarto.yml does not apply. q2 render sub would render the same page with the nested config instead. The warning says so because it’s easy to miss.

A pattern counts as explicit when the directories it names before its first wildcard reach the nested directory or go below it:

Pattern	Explicit for sub/?
sub/page.qmd	yes
sub/*.qmd	yes
sub/**/*.qmd	yes
sub	yes (a bare directory means everything under it)
**/*.qmd	no, so sub/ is skipped
*/page.qmd	no, so sub/ is skipped

If sub/ itself contains a deeper nested project, such as sub/deeper/_quarto.yml, naming sub does not reach into sub/deeper. The pattern has to name sub/deeper itself.

How to fix it

• The files belong to the outer project. Move the nested _quarto.yml out of the directory, or rename it to _metadata.yml if it only holds settings for that directory. The warning then goes away.
• The directory really is a separate project. Remove the pattern from the outer project.render, and render the nested project on its own with q2 render sub.
• You deliberately render these pages in both places. The warning is informational. It is reported once for the whole project, so the diagnostics: key cannot silence it yet.