diff --git a/build.zig.zon b/build.zig.zon
index 5e70ab0..1f2a21b 100644
--- a/build.zig.zon
+++ b/build.zig.zon
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 .{
     .name = .pugz,
-    .version = "0.1.10",
+    .version = "0.1.11",
     .fingerprint = 0x822db0790e17621d, // Changing this has security and trust implications.
     .minimum_zig_version = "0.15.2",
     .dependencies = .{},
diff --git a/examples/demo/views/generated.zig b/examples/demo/views/generated.zig
index 1201f63..79d16dd 100644
--- a/examples/demo/views/generated.zig
+++ b/examples/demo/views/generated.zig
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ pub fn home(a: Allocator, d: anytype) Allocator.Error![]u8 {
     try o.appendSlice(a, "</title><link rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"/style.css\" /></head><body><header><h1>");
     try esc(&o, a, strVal(@field(d, "title")));
     try o.appendSlice(a, "</h1>");
-    if (truthy(@field(d, "authenticated"))) {
+    if (@hasField(@TypeOf(d), "authenticated") and truthy(@field(d, "authenticated"))) {
         try o.appendSlice(a, "<span class=\"user\">Welcome back!</span>");
     }
     try o.appendSlice(a, "</header><main><p>This page is rendered using a compiled template.</p><p>Compiled templates are 3x faster than Pug.js!</p></main><footer><p>&copy; 2024 Pugz Demo</p></footer></body></html>");
@@ -209,7 +209,7 @@ pub fn page_a(a: Allocator, d: anytype) Allocator.Error![]u8 {
         try o.appendSlice(a, " /></fieldset>");
     }
     try o.appendSlice(a, "<submit>sumit</submit>");
-    if (truthy(@field(d, "error"))) {
+    if (@hasField(@TypeOf(d), "error") and truthy(@field(d, "error"))) {
         {
             const message = @field(d, "error");
             const mixin_attrs_1: struct {
diff --git a/src/build_templates.zig b/src/build_templates.zig
index ef73301..70cf0c5 100644
--- a/src/build_templates.zig
+++ b/src/build_templates.zig
@@ -1254,7 +1254,18 @@ const Compiler = struct {
         // Regular field access - use buildAccessor for consistency
         var accessor_buf: [512]u8 = undefined;
         const accessor = self.buildAccessor(cond, &accessor_buf);
-        try self.writer.print("truthy({s})", .{accessor});
+
+        // Check if this is a simple top-level field access (no dots, not a loop var or mixin param)
+        const is_simple_field = std.mem.indexOfScalar(u8, cond, '.') == null and
+            !self.isLoopVar(cond) and !self.isMixinParam(cond);
+
+        if (is_simple_field) {
+            // Use @hasField to make the field optional at compile time
+            self.uses_data = true;
+            try self.writer.print("@hasField(@TypeOf(d), \"{s}\") and truthy({s})", .{ cond, accessor });
+        } else {
+            try self.writer.print("truthy({s})", .{accessor});
+        }
     }
 
     fn emitEach(self: *Compiler, e: ast.Each) anyerror!void {
