Template Creation

Template Creation Skill

Create and customize project templates for the GitHub Ecosystem.

Trigger Phrases

• "create a new template for [framework]"
• "customize the python template"
• "add a FastAPI template"
• "new template with [features]"
• "template for [use case]"

Template Structure

Every template MUST include:

templates/[name]-template/
├── README.md                  # Project documentation
├── CLAUDE.md                  # Claude Code instructions
├── CODEOWNERS                 # Code ownership
├── .gitignore                 # Language-appropriate ignores
├── .github/
│   ├── workflows/ci.yml       # CI pipeline (SHA-pinned)
│   ├── copilot-instructions.md
│   ├── dependabot.yml
│   ├── ISSUE_TEMPLATE/
│   │   ├── bug_report.yml
│   │   └── feature_request.yml
│   └── PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
├── .vscode/
│   └── mcp.json               # MCP server config
└── [language-specific files]

Placeholder Conventions

Use these placeholders (replaced by new-project.sh):

Workflow Standards

All CI workflows must:

1. Use SHA-pinned actions (not tags)
2. Declare minimal permissions:
3. Include lint, test, and build jobs
4. Support coverage thresholds

# Example CI workflow header
name: CI
on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]

permissions:
  contents: read

jobs:
  lint:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@8e8c483db84b4bee98b60c0593521ed34d9990e8 # v6.0.1

Creating a New Template

Step 1: Start from Closest Existing

# Copy the most similar template
cp -r templates/python-template templates/fastapi-template

Step 2: Update Core Files

1. pyproject.toml / package.json / go.mod: Add framework deps
2. README.md: Update description and quick start
3. CLAUDE.md: Add framework-specific commands and patterns
4. .github/copilot-instructions.md: Add framework conventions

Step 3: Add Framework Boilerplate

Create the minimal working structure:

• Entry point file
• Configuration
• Example endpoint/function
• Basic tests

Step 4: Update CI Workflow

# Add framework-specific steps
- name: Run database migrations
  run: uv run alembic upgrade head

- name: Start test server
  run: uv run uvicorn app:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000 &

Step 5: Validate

# Verify required files exist
for f in README.md CLAUDE.md CODEOWNERS .gitignore; do
  [ -f "templates/new-template/$f" ] || echo "Missing: $f"
done

Language-Specific Requirements

Python Templates

• Python 3.12+ with uv
• ruff (lint + format), pyright (types), pytest (tests)
• Google-style docstrings
• 80%+ coverage target

TypeScript Templates

• Node.js 22+ with pnpm
• ESLint 9+ flat config, Prettier
• Vitest for testing
• Strict TypeScript

Go Templates

• Go 1.23+ with modules
• golangci-lint
• Standard layout: cmd/, internal/, pkg/
• Table-driven tests

Rust Templates

• Latest stable Rust
• clippy (pedantic), cargo-deny
• Documentation tests

Java Templates

• Java 21 LTS, Spring Boot 3.3+
• Gradle Kotlin DSL
• Checkstyle, SpotBugs, JUnit 5

AI Integration Checklist

• CLAUDE.md with project overview, commands, patterns
• copilot-instructions.md with language conventions
• mcp.json with context7 and filesystem servers
• Example code patterns in AI instruction files