template-authoring SKILL.md skillA
template-authoring from dotnet/skills is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.
mdr add dotnet/skills/template-authoring@git:20260831.a7a6170Pins git:20260831.a7a6170 in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.
- Audit grade
- A, 17 of 17 checks passed
- Kind
- SKILL.md skill
- Repository
- dotnet/skills
- Path
plugins/dotnet-template-engine/skills/template-authoring/SKILL.md- Versions recorded
- 5
- Latest version
- git:20260831.a7a6170, committed Aug 31, 2026
- First version recorded
- Apr 1, 2026
- Size
- 13,108 bytes
- Repository stars
- 5,836
- License
- MIT
Guides creation and validation of custom dotnet new templates from existing projects. Generates a .template.config/template.json that preserves the source project's conventions. USE FOR: creating a reusable dotnet new template from an existing project, bootstrapping .template.config/template.json with correct identity, shortName, parameters, and post-actions, adding parameters or conditional content to a template you are authoring, validating the template.json you are authoring before…
Collected from public GitHub. Every version is saved exactly as it was and never changes. Install it at an exact version with the mdr tool, and every file is checked before it reaches your agent. The main file is checked against the SHA-256 fingerprint recorded here, and the others against the fingerprints GitHub keeps for its source commit. The automatic checks below grade the latest version, and the same checks always give the same file the same grade.
What the file says
# Template Authoring This skill helps an agent create and validate custom `dotnet new` templates. It guides bootstrapping templates from existing projects and validates `template.json` files for authoring issues before publishing. ## When to Use - User wants to create a reusable template from an existing .csproj - User wants to validate a template.json they are authoring before publishing - User is setting up `.template.config/template.json` from scratch - User wants to package a template for NuGet distribution ## When Not to Use - User wants to find or use existing templates — route to `template-discovery` or `template-instantiation` - User has MSBuild issues unrelated to template authoring — route to `dotnet-msbuild` plugin ## Inputs | Input | Required | Description | |-------|----------|-------------| | Source project path | For creation | Path to the .csproj to use as template source | | template.json path | For validation | Path to an existing template.json to validate | | Template name | For creation | Human-readable name for the template | | Short name | Recommended | Short name for `dotnet new <shortname>` usage | ## Workflow ### Rules that change the answer …
Read the whole file at its exact version.
How to install
mdr add dotnet/skills/template-authoring@sha256:d602c2d1e122084cThe line at the top of this page pins the label git:20260831.a7a6170, which is what most people want. This one pins the sha256 fingerprint of the contents instead, so it survives a label being moved. Either way the exact version is written to mdr.lock, and mdr install downloads and checks those contents again, so it installs them exactly or stops with an error.
[](https://markdownregistry.com/a/art_sedunhjp4spczzkc)
4 badge image fetches in 30 days. What the badge shows.
Versions
The registry has recorded 5 versions of this file, between Apr 1, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026, about one every 38 days.
| version | committed | commit | size | audit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| git:20260831.a7a6170 latest | 2026-08-31 | a7a6170 | 13,108 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260720.b39a041 | 2026-07-20 | b39a041 | 8,188 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260612.74c5850 | 2026-06-12 | 74c5850 | 7,009 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260421.05aeb65 | 2026-04-21 | 05aeb65 | 5,932 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260401.59d4485 | 2026-04-01 | 59d4485 | 5,919 B | A | view |
Audit of the latest version
- pass: Frontmatter block present
- pass: Frontmatter declares a name
- pass: Frontmatter declares a description
- pass: Size between 200 bytes and 200 KB (13108 bytes)
- pass: No zero-width or bidi control characters
- pass: No instruction hidden inside an HTML comment
- pass: No link to an exfiltration or paste host
- pass: No credential-shaped string
- pass: No instruction to send local credentials anywhere
- pass: No text hidden with inline styles
- pass: No prompt-injection phrasing
- pass: No curl or wget piped into a shell
- pass: No recursive delete of root, home or parent
- pass: No instruction to read or print local credentials
- pass: No base64 blob over 200 characters
- pass: No link to a raw IP address
- pass: No script tag
Source
dotnet/skills · 5,836 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-11-06 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_sedunhjp4spczzkc GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=dotnet/skills/template-authoring GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/d602c2d1e122084cbe0820f411391b108936e1c4d1051e77ad4585949ade7a3f
Your AI assistant does the legwork. You hear about the deals worth your word. Hand yours the standing instructions at modelranch.com and it joins the network that reads files like this one.
Guides: the SKILL.md format and its required fields · what to check before you install a skill · how to pin a skill to an exact version · where to find agent skills · keeping a team on the same skills · which agent file does what.