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What is a Template?

A template in Dakora is a YAML file that defines:
  • A unique identifier and version
  • A Jinja2 template string
  • Input specifications with types and validation
  • Optional metadata

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Template Structure

id: unique_template_id          # Required: Template identifier
version: 1.0.0                  # Required: Semantic version
description: Template purpose   # Optional: Human-readable description
template: |                     # Required: Jinja2 template string
  Your template content here
  {{ variable_name }}
inputs:                         # Optional: Input specifications
  variable_name:
    type: string                # Type: string|number|boolean|array<string>|object
    required: true              # Default: true
    default: "default value"    # Optional: Default value
metadata:                       # Optional: Custom metadata
  tags: ["tag1", "tag2"]
  author: "Your Name"

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Template ID

The template ID is used to retrieve templates from the vault: 
template = vault.get("my_template_id")
Template IDs must be unique within a vault. Use descriptive names like blog-post-generator or email-summarizer.

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Jinja2 Templating

Dakora uses Jinja2 for template rendering. All Jinja2 features are supported:

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Variables

template: |
  Hello {{ name }}!

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Conditionals

template: |
  {% if premium %}
    Welcome, premium user!
  {% else %}
    Welcome!
  {% endif %}

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Loops

template: |
  Your tasks:
  {% for task in tasks %}
  - {{ task }}
  {% endfor %}

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Built-in Filters

Dakora includes custom Jinja2 filters:

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default Filter

Provide fallback values: 
template: |
  {{ message | default("Hello!") }}

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yaml Filter

Convert objects to YAML format: 
template: |
  Configuration:
  {{ config | yaml }}

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File Location

Templates are stored in the directory specified in dakora.yaml: 
prompt_dir: ./prompts
Each template is a separate .yaml file: 
prompts/
├── greeting.yaml
├── summarizer.yaml
└── email-generator.yaml

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Best Practices

Choose clear, descriptive template IDs:
  • ✅ customer-email-template
  • ❌ template1
Follow semantic versioning:
  • Major: Breaking changes to inputs or output format
  • Minor: New features, backward compatible
  • Patch: Bug fixes, typos
Use descriptions to explain what each input does:
inputs:
  tone:
    type: string
    description: "The tone of the response (formal, casual, friendly)"
Make templates easier to use with sensible defaults:
inputs:
  max_length:
    type: number
    default: 100

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Next Steps

Input Types

Learn about input validation and types

Versioning

Understand template versioning