How do I install the Template Reference skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add agents-store/template-reference in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Template Reference safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Template Reference?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Template Reference free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Template Reference?

agents-store (@agents-store) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Template Reference by agents-store — Agent Skill

Name: Template Reference
Author: agents-store

Template Reference

Use this skill when the user asks about "template hierarchy", "template levels", "project template conventions", "what files go in a template", "Level 0 vs Level 1", "template structure", "what belongs in the parent template", or needs reference documentation for the project template system and its 4-level hierarchy.

agents-store 5555cf6 5 files · 17.9 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

Project Template Hierarchy Reference

Quick reference for the 4-level project template system. For detailed docs, see the references/ files linked below.

Levels Overview

Level	Pattern	Parent	Purpose
0	`project-template`	none	Universal base — structure, rules, commands, conventions
1	`project-{stack}`	`project-template`	Stack-specific — stack.json filled, plugins declared, stack docs
1.5	`demo-{stack}`	`project-{stack}`	Working demo app — sample data, seed scripts, showcases
2	`{client}-{project}`	`project-{stack}`	Client project — real IDs/URLs, .env, .mcp.json configured

Each level inherits everything from its parent and adds level-specific content.

What Lives Where

Level 0 owns: Process skills (brainstorming, TDD, debugging, planning, verification), core commands (commit, pr, plan, review, retro, sync), generic rules (safety, search-before-building, conventions), docs templates, project-config template
Level 1 owns: Stack-specific skills (e.g., new-page for Next.js), stack-specific .env.example vars, stack-specific CLAUDE.md gotchas, stack plugin references, stack-specific docs (architecture, code-style)
Level 1.5 owns: Sample data, seed scripts, working pages, demo deployment configs
Level 2 owns: Client resource IDs, real credentials (.env), domain-specific skills, custom business logic

Key Files

Every template has: stack.json, CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, README.md, .env.example, .mcp.json.example, .gitignore, docs/ (architecture, code-style, api-conventions), .claude/ (skills, commands, agents, rules, settings).

Detailed References

@references/hierarchy.md — Detailed level descriptions with examples
@references/file-inventory.md — Complete file-by-file inventory per template level
@references/conventions.md — Naming conventions, stack.json schema, CLAUDE.md structure

---name: template-referencedescription: Use this skill when the user asks about "template hierarchy", "template levels", "project template conventions", "what files go in a template", "Level 0 vs Level 1", "template structure", "what belongs in the parent template", or needs reference documentation for the project template system and its 4-level hierarchy.---# Project Template Hierarchy ReferenceQuick reference for the 4-level project template system. For detailed docs, see the `references/` files linked below.## Levels Overview| Level | Pattern | Parent | Purpose ||-------|---------|--------|---------|| 0 | `project-template` | none | Universal base — structure, rules, commands, conventions || 1 | `project-{stack}` | `project-template` | Stack-specific — stack.json filled, plugins declared, stack docs || 1.5 | `demo-{stack}` | `project-{stack}` | Working demo app — sample data, seed scripts, showcases || 2 | `{client}-{project}` | `project-{stack}` | Client project — real IDs/URLs, .env, .mcp.json configured |Each level inherits everything from its parent and adds level-specific content.## What Lives Where- **Level 0 owns:** Process skills (brainstorming, TDD, debugging, planning, verification), core commands (commit, pr, plan, review, retro, sync), generic rules (safety, search-before-building, conventions), docs templates, project-config template- **Level 1 owns:** Stack-specific skills (e.g., `new-page` for Next.js), stack-specific .env.example vars, stack-specific CLAUDE.md gotchas, stack plugin references, stack-specific docs (architecture, code-style)- **Level 1.5 owns:** Sample data, seed scripts, working pages, demo deployment configs- **Level 2 owns:** Client resource IDs, real credentials (.env), domain-specific skills, custom business logic## Key FilesEvery template has: `stack.json`, `CLAUDE.md`, `AGENTS.md`, `README.md`, `.env.example`, `.mcp.json.example`, `.gitignore`, `docs/` (architecture, code-style, api-conventions), `.claude/` (skills, commands, agents, rules, settings).## Detailed References- @references/hierarchy.md — Detailed level descriptions with examples- @references/file-inventory.md — Complete file-by-file inventory per template level- @references/conventions.md — Naming conventions, stack.json schema, CLAUDE.md structure

Frequently asked questions