Template Files

Templates live in the config repo under templates/. Output rules point at files in that folder and choose whether to copy them verbatim or evaluate them as templates.

Data Available To Templates

When evaluate: true is set on a candidate, the file is rendered with:

Field	Type	Description
.Name	string	Repository name from .gitrepoforge.
.DefaultBranch	string	Repository default branch from .gitrepoforge.
.Config	map[string]interface{}	Repo config values from .gitrepoforge.

Helper Function

Function	Description
getConfig	Looks up a config value by key.
quote_double	Returns a double-quoted string with escaping applied.
quote_single	Returns a single-quoted string with escaping applied by doubling embedded single quotes.

Go template built-ins such as if, eq, ne, and, and or are also available.

Verbatim Copy

If evaluate is omitted or false, the template file is copied exactly as-is.

outputs/LICENSE.gitrepoforge

templates:
  - condition: license == "MIT"
    template: LICENSE/MIT

This is appropriate for static license text or other files that should not execute template directives.

Evaluated Template

If evaluate: true is set, gitrepoforge renders the file with Go’s text/template.

The optional template_mode field controls how template delimiters are recognized:

template_mode	Description
DOUBLE_BRACKET	Default behavior. Any {{ ... }} sequence is treated as a Go template action.
DOUBLE_BRACKET_STRICT	Only treats {{ ... }} as a Go template action when the {{ appears at the start of the file or is immediately preceded by whitespace.

templates/justfile.tmpl

# Commands for {{.Name}}
default:
  @just --list

{{- if eq .Config.language "go" }}
# Build {{.Name}} with Go
build:
  go build ./...
{{- end }}
{{- if eq .Config.language "java" }}
# Build {{.Name}} with Maven
build:
  mvn package
{{- end }}

outputs/justfile.gitrepoforge

templates:
  - condition: justfile
    template: justfile.tmpl
    evaluate: true
  - absent: true

The template value is always a path relative to templates/.

Use DOUBLE_BRACKET_STRICT when a file needs to preserve other {{ ... }}-style syntax such as GitHub Actions expressions:

outputs/.github/workflows/ci.yml.gitrepoforge

templates:
  - template: .github/workflows/ci.yml.tmpl
    evaluate: true
    template_mode: DOUBLE_BRACKET_STRICT

templates/.github/workflows/ci.yml.tmpl

key: ${{ runner.os }}-go-${{ hashFiles('**/go.sum') }}
{{- if eq .Config.codecov true }}
- uses: codecov/codecov-action@v4
{{- end }}

In strict mode, the ${{ ... }} expressions stay literal because the {{ is preceded by $, while the control blocks still execute because they start on their own lines.

Use quote_double or quote_single when a rendered value must become a quoted string literal without manually adding quotes in the template:

description: {{ .Config.description | quote_double }}
summary: {{ .Config.summary | quote_single }}
go-version: {{ .Config.versions.go | quote_double }}