Template Creation

Template Creation Skill

Purpose

Create new project templates or customize existing ones with CI/CD, tooling, and AI integration for the Personal GitHub Ecosystem.

Triggers

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

Usage

Use this skill to create new project templates from scratch or customize existing ones. Start with the closest existing template and modify it for your specific framework or 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@11bd71901bbe5b1630ceea73d27597364c9af683 # v4.2.2

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

# Check SHA pinning
./scripts/validate-sha-pinning.sh templates/new-template/.github/workflows/

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

# Test placeholder replacement
./scripts/new-project.sh new-template test-project /tmp
cd /tmp/test-project
# Run CI locally if possible

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

Source: zircote/.github — distributed by TomeVault.