digirati-co-uk/project-template-creation

Project Template Creation (Madoc TS)

Goal

Provide a concise playbook for creating a new project template, explaining each template option and where it is used in the UI/server.

Scope

• Template type definition and registration
• Template metadata, configuration, setup, hooks, and custom config
• Capture model and slot options used during project creation

Non-scope

• General project routes unrelated to templates
• Task execution internals
• UI component styling

Key Entry Points

• Template type: services/madoc-ts/src/extensions/projects/types.ts
• Template registry: services/madoc-ts/src/extensions/projects/extension.ts
• Built-in templates: services/madoc-ts/src/extensions/projects/templates/
• Project creation UI: services/madoc-ts/src/frontend/admin/pages/crowdsourcing/projects/new-project.tsx
• Template-based creation UI: services/madoc-ts/src/frontend/admin/pages/crowdsourcing/projects/new-project-from-template.tsx
• Template lookup hooks: services/madoc-ts/src/frontend/shared/hooks/use-project-template.ts
• Exported template format: services/madoc-ts/src/routes/projects/export-project-template.ts
• Plugin registration: services/madoc-ts/src/frontend/shared/plugins/plugin-manager.ts

Template Anatomy

Use ProjectTemplate from services/madoc-ts/src/extensions/projects/types.ts.

type

• Unique identifier for the template (used for registry + lookup).
• Referenced in:
  • Project create route (/projects/create/:type)
  • useProjectTemplate() and useProjectTemplates()
  • Template registration in ProjectTemplateExtension

metadata

• Label/description/thumbnail shown in new-project.tsx.
• actionLabel labels the “Create project” button.
• documentation enables a “View documentation” link.

captureModel

• Static capture model document/structure exported in templates.
• Used when importing remote templates or exporting a template (export-project-template.ts).

configuration

• defaults and immutable are applied in configuration editor (project-configuration.tsx).
• frozen disables configuration UI for the project.
• captureModels controls editor behavior in project-model-editor.tsx.
• tasks.generateOnCreate / tasks.generateOnNewContent controls task generation (used by task pipeline).
• status maps project status labels in frontend/shared/atoms/ProjectStatus.tsx.

setup

• Used by new-project-from-template.tsx to render “Additional settings” via EditShorthandCaptureModel.
• model: shorthand capture model schema for template options UI.
• defaults: default option values for the setup form.
• modelPreview: optional live preview for setup options.
• onCreateConfiguration: adjust the final ProjectConfiguration when a project is created.
• onCreateProject: perform follow-up actions after project creation.
• beforeForkDocument / beforeForkStructure: mutate capture model in the creation flow.
• onCreateCustomConfiguration: compute initial custom config values.

customConfig

• Used in new-project-from-template.tsx to render a dedicated “Custom config” step.
• replacesProjectConfig disables standard config UI when true.
• defaults, model, and applyConfig drive custom config behavior.

customActions

• Optional project-level actions, usually admin-only by default.

hooks

• Hooks are consumed during project lifecycle events (revision creation/approval, content add/remove, review assignment).
• Commonly used by crowdsourcing and task flows.

migrations

• Used to evolve template versions over time; run upgrades when template versions change.

components.customEditor

• Optional UI override for custom editing flows.

Registration Workflow

1. Create a new template file under services/madoc-ts/src/extensions/projects/templates/.
2. Export a ProjectTemplate object with a unique type and required metadata.
3. Register the template in ProjectTemplateExtension (services/madoc-ts/src/extensions/projects/extension.ts).
4. If the template should be plugin-provided, register via PluginManager plugin hook.

Example (Minimal Template)

import { ProjectTemplate } from '../types';

export const myTemplate: ProjectTemplate = {
  type: 'my-template',
  metadata: {
    label: 'My Template',
    description: 'Describe what this template does.',
  },
};

Pitfalls

• Forgetting to register the template in ProjectTemplateExtension.
• Using a non-unique type causing lookup collisions.
• Adding setup.model without setup.defaults (UI expects both).
• Marking config as frozen without providing custom config alternatives.

Suggested Checks

• Template appears in admin “Create project” list.
• Template-based project creation succeeds with setup options.
• Project configuration UI respects immutable / frozen flags.