Decision: Minimal Template Repository Shape

Status: implemented

Problem

Templates need a distribution form that is trivial to author, review, and (later) extract into its own repository, without heavyweight registry infrastructure.

Decision

Keep the template repository maximally simple: one README plus a set of template folders. Each template folder contains its template.yaml (and optional Dockerfile, scripts/, files/, examples/). No index file, no registry service.

• The whole collection can be extracted wholesale into a standalone GitHub repository when it grows.
• The main project repository links to it from docs rather than vendoring it.
• Discovery is a directory walk (consistent with the command-source-resolution ADR — no index.json).

sandbox-templates/
├── README.md                 # what's here + how to install
├── python-base/
│   └── template.yaml
├── node-web/
│   ├── template.yaml
│   └── Dockerfile
└── code-interpreter/
    └── template.yaml

API Design

N/A — this decision concerns repository layout, not code APIs.

Alternatives considered

• Registry service + database — Overkill for the current template count; adds infra and ops burden.
• Index/manifest file at repo root — Extra sync surface; a directory walk suffices (see command-source-resolution ADR).
• Vendor templates inside the main repo permanently — Couples release cadence; harder to extract later.

Dependencies

• 2026-09-03-command-source-resolution.md (directory-walk discovery)
• 2026-09-03-release-publish-flow.md (how the repo gets published)
• docs/design/template-system.md (template packaging + template.yaml)

Test Strategy

• A repo with N template folders is discoverable by directory walk.
• Each folder's template.yaml parses (including capabilities + custom_commands).
• The collection can be abx install-ed from a local path and from GitHub.

Acceptance criteria

• Repository is just README + template folders — no index or registry component.
• Templates are discoverable and installable via directory walk / GitHub.
• Collection is self-contained enough to extract into a standalone repo, with the main repo linking to it.