Template Discovery

Workflow

Step 1: Resolve intent to template candidates

Map the user's natural-language description to template short names and parameters using these mappings.

Intent → template short name(s):

| Intent / phrase | Template short name(s) | |---|---| | web api, web service, rest api, restful, api, minimal api | webapi | | web app, web application | webapp, blazorserver | | mvc | mvc | | razor, razor pages | webapp | | blazor, blazor web app | blazor | | blazor server | blazorserver | | blazor wasm, blazor webassembly | blazorwasm | | grpc | grpc | | signalr | webapi, webapp | | console, console app, command line, cli | console | | worker, background service, daemon, windows service | worker | | class library, library, lib, nuget package | classlib | | maui, mobile, cross-platform app, ios, android | maui | | desktop | maui, wpf, winforms | | wpf | wpf | | winforms, windows forms | winforms | | winui, winui3 | winui3 | | test, unit test | xunit, nunit, mstest | | xunit / nunit / mstest | xunit / nunit / mstest | | solution | sln | | aspire, .net aspire | aspire-starter, aspire | | azure functions, function app, serverless | func | | orleans | orleans | | razor component, web component | razorcomponent | | razor class library | razorclasslib | | gitignore / editorconfig / nuget config / global json | gitignore / editorconfig / nugetconfig / globaljson |

Keyword → parameter:

| Keyword / phrase | Parameter | Value | |---|---|---| | authentication, auth, individual auth, individual accounts | --auth | Individual | | windows auth, azure ad, entra | --auth | SingleOrg | | no auth, no authentication | --auth | None | | controllers, with controllers | --use-controllers | (flag) | | minimal api | (default) | — | | aot, native aot | --aot | (flag) | | docker, container | the template's Docker/container option | varies by template — confirm with --help (not all templates expose one) | | net8 / .net 8 / dotnet 8 | --framework | net8.0 | | net9 / .net 9 / dotnet 9 | --framework | net9.0 | | net10 / .net 10 / dotnet 10 | --framework | net10.0 |

These are starting guesses. Always confirm the real parameter names/choices with dotnet new <template> --help, because parameter names vary by template (e.g., --auth vs --Authentication).

Some mapped short names are not present in a default SDK install — templates like maui, winui3, aspire-starter/aspire, func, and orleans typically require a workload (dotnet workload install <id>) and/or an additional template package (dotnet new install <package>). If a mapped short name does not appear in dotnet new list, fall back to dotnet new list/dotnet new search to find the right template and the package/workload that provides it before recommending it.

> Resilience — always answer, even if the CLI fails. The intent mapping above is a usable answer on its own. Run dotnet new commands sequentially, one at a time — the template engine uses a global mutex, so firing several dotnet new <template> --help/--dry-run calls concurrently can produce a transient "mutex"/"persistence" error and empty output. If a command fails, retry it once; if it still fails, fall back to this intent/parameter mapping and give the user a concrete recommendation, noting that the exact parameter names/choices could not be CLI-confirmed. Never end the turn with no answer because a CLI call errored.

Step 2: Search for templates

Use dotnet new search to find templates by keyword across both locally installed templates and NuGet.org:

dotnet new search blazor

Use dotnet new list to show only installed templates, with optional filters:

dotnet new list --language C# --type project
dotnet new list web

Step 3: Inspect template details

Use dotnet new <template> --help to get full parameter details for a specific template — parameter names, types, defaults, and allowed values:

dotnet new webapi --help

Step 4: Preview output

Use dotnet new <template> --dry-run to show what files and directories a template would create without writing anything to disk:

dotnet new webapi --name MyApi --auth Individual --dry-run

Step 5: Present findings

Summarize the best template match with:

• Template name and short description
• Key parameters and recommended values
• What the user should expect (files created, project structure)
• Any constraints or prerequisites

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