Creating and publishing dotnet new templates.

Layout

MyTemplates/
├── templates/
│   └── my-webapi/
│       ├── .template.config/
│       │   └── template.json
│       ├── MyWebApi.csproj
│       ├── Program.cs
│       └── ...
├── MyName.Templates.csproj
└── README.md

template.json

.template.config/template.json of the project:

{
  "$schema": "http://json.schemastore.org/template",
  "author": "Your Name",
  "classifications": ["Web", "API"],
  "identity": "MyName.WebApi",
  "name": "My Custom Web API",
  "shortName": "my-webapi",
  "tags": {
    "language": "C#",
    "type": "project"
  },
  "sourceName": "MyWebApi",
  "preferNameDirectory": true,
  "symbols": {
    "useAuth": {
      "type": "parameter",
      "datatype": "bool",
      "defaultValue": "false",
      "description": "Include JWT authentication setup"
    }
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "modifiers": [
        { "condition": "(!useAuth)", "exclude": ["Auth/**"] }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

• shortName — what users type after dotnet new.
• sourceName — token replaced with --name arg. dotnet new my-webapi --name Acme.Api swaps every MyWebApi → Acme.Api in names + contents.
• symbols — custom parameters (e.g. --useAuth).
• sources.modifiers — conditional include/exclude rules.

NuGet pack project

Root MyName.Templates.csproj:

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
  <PropertyGroup>
    <PackageType>Template</PackageType>
    <PackageVersion>1.0.0</PackageVersion>
    <PackageId>MyName.Templates</PackageId>
    <Title>My Custom Templates</Title>
    <Authors>Your Name</Authors>
    <Description>Custom .NET project templates</Description>
    <PackageTags>dotnet-new;template</PackageTags>
    <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
    <IncludeContentInPack>true</IncludeContentInPack>
    <IncludeBuildOutput>false</IncludeBuildOutput>
    <ContentTargetFolders>content</ContentTargetFolders>
    <NoDefaultExcludes>true</NoDefaultExcludes>
    <NoWarn>$(NoWarn);NU5128</NoWarn>
  </PropertyGroup>

  <ItemGroup>
    <Content Include="templates/**/*" Exclude="templates/**/bin/**;templates/**/obj/**" />
    <Compile Remove="**/*" />
  </ItemGroup>
</Project>

Required bits:

• PackageType = Template
• IncludeBuildOutput = false (no DLL)
• Content pulls in everything under templates/

Pack & test locally

• Pack: dotnet pack -o ./nupkg

• Install: dotnet new install ./nupkg/MyName.Templates.1.0.0.nupkg

• Try: dotnet new my-webapi --name TestProject --useAuth true

• Uninstall: dotnet new uninstall MyName.Templates

Publish to NuGet.org

dotnet nuget push ./nupkg/MyName.Templates.1.0.0.nupkg \
  --api-key YOUR_API_KEY \
  --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json

After indexing (minutes):

dotnet new install MyName.Templates

Tips

• Conditional content inside files uses C# preprocessor: #if (useAuth) / #endif. JSON uses // comment-style conditions (engine strips them).
• Multiple templates in one package: add more folders under templates/, each with its own .template.config/.
• Solution-level templates: set "tags": { "type": "solution" } and include a .sln.
• Official docs: github.com/dotnet/templating.