The .hbs file extension is associated with Handlebars templates. Handlebars is a popular templating engine used primarily in web development. It allows developers to create dynamic HTML content by embedding expressions and logic within HTML-like structures. These templates are then processed by the Handlebars engine, which replaces the expressions with actual data, generating the final HTML output. This separation of concerns (template and data) makes web development more organized and maintainable. Handlebars templates are widely used in frameworks like Ember.js and are also compatible with other JavaScript environments, including Node.js. The syntax is designed to be simple and intuitive, making it easy for developers to create reusable and dynamic web pages. The templates often include placeholders for data, conditional statements for displaying different content based on data values, and loops for iterating over data collections. The use of Handlebars promotes code reusability and simplifies the process of updating and maintaining web applications.