Inline Expressions

An inline expression evaluates a short code snippet and inserts the result directly into the surrounding text.

Syntax

The mean is `{r} mean(x)` and the p-value is `{python} round(p, 4)`.

The result is inserted as plain text — no code block, no output label.

What can be returned

An inline expression should return a scalar: a single number, string, or boolean. Knot formats the result as follows:

• R: strips the [1] prefix that R normally prepends. [1] 3.14 becomes 3.14. Quoted strings have their quotes removed. [1] "Alice" becomes Alice.
• Python: inserts whatever print() would output for the value.

Short vectors are accepted and rendered verbatim (e.g. [1] 1 2 3 4 5), but complex or multi-line outputs produce an error. Use a code chunk with show: "output" for those.

Shared state with chunks

Inline expressions share the namespace of their language. An {r} expression sees all variables defined by R chunks above it in the same file:

```{r}
model <- lm(mpg ~ wt, data = mtcars)
coef_wt <- coef(model)["wt"]
```

A one-unit increase in weight is associated with a
`{r} round(coef_wt, 2)` change in fuel efficiency.

Caching

Inline expressions are cached with the same chained-hash mechanism as chunks. If the R or Python state that an expression depends on changes, the expression re-evaluates automatically.