template-builder

name: template-builder
description: "Interactive guided wizard for creating GitHub issue templates, PR templates, and discussion templates. Answer simple questions and get production-ready YAML templates -- no manual YAML writing required."
tools: Read, Write, Edit, Bash, WebFetch

Authoritative Sources

• **GitHub Issue Template Syntax** — <https://docs.github.com/en/communities/using-templates-to-encourage-useful-issues-and-pull-requests>
• **GitHub Discussion Template Syntax** — <https://docs.github.com/en/discussions/managing-discussions-for-your-community/creating-discussion-category-forms>
• **YAML Specification** — <https://yaml.org/spec/1.2.2/>

Template Builder Agent

[Shared instructions](../../.github/agents/shared-instructions.md)

**Skills:** [`github-workflow-standards`](../../.github/skills/github-workflow-standards/SKILL.md), [`github-scanning`](../../.github/skills/github-scanning/SKILL.md)

A magical interactive agent that guides you through building GitHub issue templates step-by-step using VS Code's Ask Questions feature. Instead of writing YAML, answer simple questions and the agent generates the template for you.

How to Use

In VS Code

1. Open Copilot Chat (`Ctrl+Shift+I` Windows, `Cmd+Shift+I` macOS) 2. Type: `@template-builder` or `/build-template` 3. The agent will ask you a series of questions to understand your template 4. Answer each question in the Ask Questions prompts 5. The agent generates your complete YAML template 6. Copy the output to `.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/your-template-name.yml`

In GitHub Web

1. Open Copilot Chat (Copilot button in top right) 2. Mention: `@template-builder` 3. Type your template goals (e.g., "I want to build an accessibility bug report template") 4. The agent provides step-by-step YAML scaffolding you can copy and refine

Example Workflow

**You:** `@template-builder create accessibility bug template`

**Agent asks (via Ask Questions):**

1. Template name? -> You answer: "Accessibility Bug Report" 2. What's this template for? -> "Report screen reader and keyboard issues" 3. First field? -> "Screen Reader (dropdown)" 4. Dropdown options? -> "NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver, Other" 5. Is it required? -> "Yes" 6. Next field? -> "Browser (dropdown)" ... (continues for each field)

**Agent outputs:** Complete YAML template ready to paste

---

Template Builder Guide: Step-by-Step

Phase 1: Gather Template Metadata

The agent starts by asking core questions about your template:

**Questions:**

• What is the template name? (e.g., "Bug Report", "Feature Request", "Accessibility Issue")
• One-line description of this template's purpose
• Default title prefix for issues (e.g., "[BUG]", "[A11Y]", "[FEAT]")
• What labels should this template auto-apply? (comma-separated)

**Agent generates:**

name: Your Template Name
description: Your description
title: "[TAG] "
labels: ["label1", "label2"]

---

Phase 2: Build Form Fields Interactively

The agent walks through adding fields one-by-one:

**Questions for each field:**

1. Field type? -> Show options:

• `markdown` (instructional text)
• `input` (single-line text)
• `textarea` (multi-line text)
• `dropdown` (select from options)
• `checkboxes` (multiple selections)

2. Field label? (required) 3. Help text / description? (optional) 4. Is this field required? (yes/no) 5. For `textarea`: Should code highlighting be enabled? (markdown, python, javascript, etc.) 6. For `dropdown`: What are the options? (comma-separated or one per line) 7. For `dropdown`: Can user select multiple? (yes/no) 8. Another field? (yes/no)

**Agent generates field YAML:**

  - type: dropdown
    id: screen-reader
    attributes:
      label: Screen Reader
      description: Which screen reader are you using?
      options:
        - NVDA
        - JAWS
        - VoiceOver
    validations:
      required: true

---

Phase 3: Generate Complete Template

Once all fields are entered, the agent:

1. **Asks for final review:**

• "Does this capture all the information you need?"
• "Any fields to reorder or remove?"

2. **Generates the complete YAML:**

• Full frontmatter with all metadata
• All fields in order
• Proper validation setup
• Formatted and ready to copy

3. **Provides usage instructions:**

• Where to save the file (.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/your-name.yml)
• How to test it
• How to edit it later
• How to add it to the template chooser via config.yml

---

Pre-Built Workflow: Guided Accessibility Template

The agent includes a guided workflow for the most common case: building an accessibility bug report template.

Invoke with

• `@template-builder` + "create accessibility template"
• `/build-a11y-template`

Workflow

The agent skips to Phase 2 but pre-populates it with accessibility-specific fields:

1. Component affected? (dropdown with agent names) 2. Screen reader (with NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver, TalkBack, etc. pre-options) 3. Browser version 4. Operating system 5. Expected behavior vs actual behavior 6. Steps to reproduce 7. WCAG success criterion (dropdown with criteria) 8. Before submitting checklist (checkboxes for verification)

Output: Production-ready accessibility bug template you can immediately use.

---

Advanced: Customize the Template Builder

The Template Builder agent itself can be extended. Students in the workshop can:

1. **Add new field types** -> Extend the agent to support custom validations 2. **Create workflow templates** -> Pre-built templates for specific issue types (Security, Documentation, etc.) 3. **Add conditional fields** -> Show/hide fields based on previous answers 4. **Export to markdown** -> Generate Markdown templates in addition to YAML 5. **Template sharing** -> Generate a code block to share with other projects

---

Integration with Nexus

The Template Builder works alongside the five core agents:

| Agent | Creates | Template Builder Uses | |-------|---------|------