gbarrs-at-em / templating

This repo contains the Template Engine which is used by dotnet new

• Overview
  • dotnet new
  • Template Content Repositories
• How to author the templates
  • Template Samples
• Contributing
• How to build, run & debug
• Trademarks

Overview

This repository is the home for the .NET Template Engine. It contains the libraries for template instantiation and template package management used in dotnet new and New Project Dialog and New Item Dialog in Visual Studio and Visual Studio for Mac. The libraries are also distributed as the NuGet packages on nuget.org.

The key packages are:

Package name	Description
Microsoft.TemplateEngine.Edge	The template engine infrastructure: managing template packages, templates, components, executing template. Main API surface for the products aiming to use template engine. See 'Inside Template Engine' article for more information.
Microsoft.TemplateEngine.Abstractions	Contains the main contracts between Edge and components
Microsoft.TemplateEngine.Orchestrator.RunnableProjects	The template generator based on template.json configuration
Microsoft.TemplateSearch.Common	Facilitates template packages search on nuget.org
Microsoft.TemplateEngine.IDE	Lightweight API overlay over Microsoft.TemplateEngine.Edge.
Microsoft.TemplateEngine.Authoring.Tasks	Authoring tools: MSBuild tasks for template authoring
Microsoft.TemplateEngine.Authoring.CLI	Authoring tools: dotnet CLI tool with utilities for template authoring
Microsoft.TemplateEngine.Authoring.TemplateVerifier	Authoring tools: snapshot testing framework for the templates

dotnet new

dotnet new CLI is now located in dotnet/sdk repo.

The issues for dotnet new CLI UX should be opened in the that repository.

Template Content Repositories

.NET default templates are not located in this repository. The templates are located in the following repositories:

Templates	Repository
Common project and item templates	dotnet/sdk
ASP.NET and Blazor templates	dotnet/aspnetcore
ASP.NET Single Page Application templates	dotnet/spa-templates
WPF templates	dotnet/wpf
Windows Forms templates	dotnet/winforms
Test templates	dotnet/test-templates
MAUI templates	dotnet/maui

Issues for the template content should be opened in the corresponding repository. Suggestions for new templates should be opened in closest repository from the list above. For example, if you have a suggestion for new web template, please create an issue in dotnet/aspnetcore repository.

How to author the templates

This repository contains a lot of useful information on how to create the templates supported by dotnet new, Visual Studio and other tools that uses template engine.

The starting point tutorial on how to create new templates is available in Microsoft Learn. More advanced information can be found in the Wiki or docs folder in the repo.

Still have a question about template authoring? Do not hesitate to open new discussion in GitHub Template Authoring.

Authoring Tools

Besides the actual implementation of .NET Template Engine, the repo contains various tools that help to author the templates. They are not shipped together with .NET SDK, but available on NuGet.org. More information can be found here

Template Samples

We have created dotnet template samples, which shows how you can use the template engine to create new templates. The samples are setup to be stand alone for specific examples. More documentation can be found in the Wiki.

Contributing

We welcome contributions! You can contribute by:

• creating the issue
• starting the discussion
• contributing by creating the PR that fixes the issue or implements new feature

See our good first issue candidates for the list of issues we consider as good starting point for first contribution to the repo.

See our help wanted issues for a list of issues we think are great for community contribution.

We have a number of features where we are actively looking for the feedback. They are marked with gathering-feedback label. If you think they are useful for your templates, please let us know in comments or by reacting on those.

Check out our contributing page to learn more details.

How to build, run & debug

Check out our contributing page to learn how you can build, run and debug.

Trademarks

This project may contain trademarks or logos for projects, products, or services. Authorized use of Microsoft trademarks or logos is subject to and must follow Microsoft’s Trademark & Brand Guidelines. Use of Microsoft trademarks or logos in modified versions of this project must not cause confusion or imply Microsoft sponsorship. Any use of third-party trademarks or logos are subject to those third-party’s policies.